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Original poster

anyone else been told NOT to use a grobag with a small baby?

46 replies

Moomin · 24/01/2006 20:04

went to see a friend today who's just had her 1st baby, she's 6 weeks old. when my friend was pg i told her how great grobags were and she went ahead and bought 3. she waited until her dd was over 7lbs but then her midwives and health visitors have advised her not to use them at all, telling her it's 'not safe'!!!

I've never heard of grobags being at all controversial as long as the baby is heavy enough to use it and you follow all the guidelines. do you think this is a piece of advice all the mws and hvs in her area have been told to say? she said they couldn't really give her any detailed reasons for not using them. i said i bet the makers of grobags would be very interested to hear they're getting such bad press in her part of the world! anyone know of / been told anything similar?

OP posts:

edam · 24/01/2006 20:37

lol MP! Proper grobags are made by a smallish company. I was in touch with them as part of my job at one stage and they seemed very clued up (and lovely).

BonyM · 24/01/2006 20:37

We put dd2 (now 10mths) into newborn Grobags right from the start. Reckoned that as they are specifically for newborns they would be perfectly safe.

expatinscotland · 24/01/2006 20:38

Have used one on both DDs from birth. We used a towelling one on DD1, who was born in a HOT summer - 2003 - w/a vest and sox on underneath.

Using a 2.5 tog one just now w/DD2, with a thin vest, sleepsuit and sox underneath. She stays a nice temp in her moses basket. I usually keep the heat on low in there so the room doesn't get too warm, but she seems to like it warmer than her sister for some reason.

morningpaper · 24/01/2006 20:41

hmm

I have a 2.5 tog but it is not enough in this weather

I lightly swaddle her OVER the grobag but she never seems remotely hot - house is around 16 degrees at night and her hands are FREEZING whenever I get her out so she must be fine surely?

Hulababy · 24/01/2006 20:43

Feel the back of her neck to check MP. But as 16 degrees is below what they suggest for the baby's room, then I can't imagine a litte extra is going to be a problem.

We always had the opposite problem. In the summer it was always way higher than recommended in DD's room.

kama · 24/01/2006 20:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

morningpaper · 24/01/2006 20:44

our central heating is too noisy to leave on at night

I shove a finger down her front to feel her chest - she always feels fine to me

I have a hot water bottle, two pairs of socks, fleexy pyjamas, dressing gown, two duvets and two patchwork quilts

and not much sex

Passionflower · 24/01/2006 20:45

All three of mine were in grobags as soon as we got home from hospital.

I'm of the what a load of cobblers camp. Unless HV's give a proper reason then I take what they say with a pinch of salt and rely on common sense instead. It hasn't put me far wrong so far.

expatinscotland · 24/01/2006 20:46

DD2 is definitely more like me, she prefers it a bit warmer. DD1 and DH are like little self-generating infernos.

AllBuggiedOut · 24/01/2006 20:48

Am reassured lots of us treat HVs with a pinch of salt! The glass of wine is helping, btw. DS2 soundly asleep in his vest, pyjama top and 2.5tog grobag. His hands are freezing but he doesn't seem to care!

Nemo1977 · 24/01/2006 20:50

tried to use grobags with ds but he hated them. now use the same ones on dd who loves them. She is 6wks old and like others wears a vest, sleepsuit and grobag with mitts on hands as they get chilly. Our bedroom is quite cold as we have no radiator in there and I like to have the window open due to asthma. Still wouldnt put a blanket over the grobag as think that would be too much.

cece · 24/01/2006 20:51

I thought baby had to be 11 lbs befoe they could use them. Which was lucky as ds was over 11 lbs at birth

cece · 24/01/2006 20:52

byu the way I love gro bags. ds just got a duvet and moved on from them and he is 26 months now...

dd had them till about that age too.

hotmama · 24/01/2006 20:53

It's the heat of the room that is important as well as the tog rating of the sleeping bag.

My dd only has a 1.0 tog sleeping bag even if the middle of winter as I have a warm insulated house.

IMO it is really important to monitor the temperature of the room that your lo's sleep in and therefore adjust the tog rating of the sleeping bag and the clothes they wear underneath.

My dd was in a sleeping bag from a month old (mind you she was 8.10 at birth).

I have never heard of sleeping bags being dangerous before - it is the overheating that is dangerous.

IMHO - sleeping bags are an absolute godsend - my dd has slept through from 3 months and I put this dowe in part to sleeping bags as she is nice and snug and doesn't kick her covers off. dd is nearly 16 months.

Dd2 is due on Sunday and unless someone tells me otherwise (with good evidence) then I will repeating what I have done with dd1.

hotmama · 24/01/2006 20:55

In fact I have just bought dd1 a 18-36 months sleeping bag as I have no intention of putting her under a duvet at the moment - as she can kick it off and wakeup when cold!

tinytotmummy · 24/01/2006 20:59

My DD was in a small baby sleeping bag from about 2 weeks and hasn't slept without one since. I haven't heard any advice to the contrary, and providing you adjust the tog rating according the season, I can't see that they can overheat? Its got to be safer than them wriggling under blankets and sheets, surely?

NannyL · 25/01/2006 08:55

Ive enver herd of them being unsafe either.

The conventional "grobag" small size is from 10Ib but they do an extra small size from 6Ib.

I will certainly use them!

eidsvold · 25/01/2006 09:14

I bought grobags for dd1 and they were for 71/2lbs. I actually used them for her when she was even smaller than that.

I jsut made sure I had the right one for the temp... have very lightweight ones to use at the start with dd2 when she was born mid summer.....

having said that most of ours except for the lightweight summer ones I made are 'grobag' ones made by grobag.....

dd1 was in grobags until this summer - now 3 1/2 - as she can now undo them.

Neither of mine will tolerate rugs/blankets so grobags were the way to go.....

ernest · 26/01/2006 08:23

I used gro bags with mine from new born. In fact, I didn't even get a 'newborn' size, I just used the ones I already had from ds & put nappy pins in to trim it down to size. Does that make me mad bad mother?
Said child is still alive & kicking & in fact has taken to using his sleeping bag as a 'blankie' too, so it's starting to look very old & frayed.

ggglimpopo · 26/01/2006 08:44

Message withdrawn

Seona1973 · 26/01/2006 19:50

The SIDS website makes no mention of an age limit for the use of baby sleeping bags:

Can my baby use a sleeping bag/sack?

If you wish to use a sleeping bag for your baby make sure it's designed for regular use at night (ie not one designed for camping) and without a hood. It must be the right size to prevent your baby from sliding down into the bag. To make sure your baby doesn't become too hot choose a lightweight bag. What the baby needs will vary greatly according to the temperature of the room. Never use a sleeping bag with a duvet or quilt. If it?s very warm, your baby may need only a vest and a nappy, with light bedding such as a sheet, or perhaps no bedding at all. If your baby looks hot and sweaty it usually means they?ve got too much bedding.

We were late using them and dd was in one from 10-18 months at which point we switched to a duvet. I would use them from an earlier age with the next lo (whenever that may be!)

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