Sleeping bags - advice please

[Greengage]

My DD is nearly 7 months old. She's always been great at going to sleep, until recently when she's started to roll over and crawl about in her cot, despite being really tired. She then bangs her head and gets her arms and legs caught between the bars and gets in a real state.

She seems to like being being tucked in tightly - using a sheet and a blanket, but they are now so easily kicked off.

I've been thinking about getting a sleeping bag and was wondering how good you find them for:
a) her feeling snug and secure
b) preventing her from moving around the cot

I first 'discovered' those fantastic sleeping bags when my second son was about 4mths old and wished I had had them with my first son.

I have been using them again with son number three since he was about 1mth old (now 11mths).When I am about to put him 'in', he adopts his favourite sleep position in readiness so we think he likes it!

They don't prevent a baby from moving around the cot - perhaps just limit this a bit (as baby's usually manage to move fairly well even whilst wearing one!). However, baby always seems snug and content in them and you know that he/she will not be cold in the middle of the night. Adjust what baby actually wears along with the bag though depending on weather &/or room temperature (don't want baby to overheat) eg sleepsuit + tshirt then sleepsuit only then bodysuit only(and remember you can get different 'togs' of bag anyhow).

Not too expensive to buy and worth giving it a go.

yes, babies can still crawl in sleeping bags, but like butterflymum says, they (the sleeping bags) are still great!

My dd goes through phases of being very active at bedtime - you may find this just gets better. However you might try putting her to bed a little earlier (so that she's not so tired - she might still crawl around but probably won't get into such a state).

Greengage - we've got 2 dds, one aged two and a half and the other 5 months. We put dd1 in a sleeping bag at around the same time as you - she kept kicking her covers off and waking up cold. She took to it straight away and now doesn't like sleeping in anything else! DD2 was put in a sleeping bag as soon as she was "allowed" to and has loved it ever since (slept the whole night through for the first time, the first night she was in her "bag".

I would reccomend sleeping bags to anyone (and have done so!) - definately give it a go, if your dd doesn't like it then as butterflymum says, it hasn't cost you the earth, and you could always try it again at a later date (the bags from grobag.com are from age 6 to 36 months).

Luckily a friend of ours recommended these sleeping bags when I was still pregnant so we were all ready to bag DD (now 9mo)up when she arrived ! We've had all of ours (4 in total) from Marks and Spencer and they have been brilliant. I just wish that they had been around when DS1 & DS2 were tiny.

I forgot the mention that DD is also a very mobile baby and like your DD she tends to get her legs stuck through the bars of her cot when she isn't in her sleeping bag. Although she has now worked out how to unzip it, Grrrrrrrr !

I can highly recommend the sleeping bags, we had the grobag ones and you can get summer weight ones so your baby won't overheat. THey aren't cheap but worth it for a good night's sleep!

I highly recommend them too. ds is much more settled when he is in his sleeping bag. He still moves around a lot, all over the cot, and can stand up and get around in it, but it just stops him getting legs between bars of cot etc. and, of course, prevents him kicking off covers. At the moment we are using the `high summer' weight from grobag (0.5 tog). I would definitely recommend this weight for summer, and I haven't seen such lightweight ones anywhere else. Grobag website is www.grobag.com.

our dd has only had sleeping bags - from the time she was born and in hospital - never able to keep a blanket/rug on her. We bought gro bag ones ( Jhn Lewis has them for a reasonable price.)- two for each season and she loves them. She is quite active and is able to move a little but like EJ's mum's little one, she gets her legs through her cot bars when she is not in her sleeping bag. They also last for ages. We are also lucky as dd is quite small so although 10 months old still able to fit into 0 - 6 month old ones.

I agree. ds has been in a sleeping bag since he was a few months old.

Go straight out/online and buy 2, 0.5 tog, or a 0.5 and a 1.0 tog. Maybe you could pick one up on Ebay or somewhere second hand to try? But the common 2.5 tog is too hot for the current heatwave where we are. Both my dds sleep through most nights in theirs(2y 9m and 4.5 m). the older one has never tried to get out of her cot without asking me yet (useful with new baby in house, don't want big sis roaming while I'm asleep!), and still loves her age 3-6 bags (she's very tall, but can just fit in the smaller size, I just like to give her extra space). She can move around any way she likes. Never had the legs/arms stuck problem either, and she knows every other trick in the book to delay sleeptime/call me back to consult!

John Lewis have 0.5 tog. I personally like the organic cotton one which is 1 tog, but is so nice and absorbent in the summer.

As I have recently commented on the thread about bedrooms being too hot, I am a great fan of sleeping bags. I have got 3 for dd - winter one (2 tog) a towelling one for warmer weather (1 tog) and I recently got a high summer one (0.5 tog) from the Grobag website sale. The good thing about the high summer bag is that the age range is from 6-36 months, with press studs at the bottom so you can use it at the younger age, without it being too long. I bought my others from John Lewis. I wish I had discovered them when ds was small.

Another fan of sleeping bags. They are brilliant. Can't really add anything else to what has already been recommended. My dd went into a sleeping bag at about 4/5 months and ds (aged 7 weeks) has had one since birth ( you can now get ones for newborn babies provided they are over 7 lbs I think that's right).

We started using sleeping bags with DD when she was 6 weeks old. She is now 13 months. We love them. However they do NOT stop her from moving about or standing up I am afraid. She does look snug though. She seems to know that bag = sleep time which is great.

We use Grobags. We have a 2.0 tog bag for normal use, a travel bag for use in the car and pushchair (great for late nights) and a 0.5 tog lightweight one for the summer and on holiday.

What she wears underneath them depends on the weather. In the winter she wears a long sleeved vest, when warmer a short sleeved one. As it is so warm now she has the 0.5 tog one and just her nappy.

I could go on for ages but we certainly recommend them. We have to lots of others so far and everyone who have used them have told us they loved them too.

Many thanks everyone for your advice. I shall be getting one tomorrow.

I'm due mid-august and definielty want to get a grobag this time. Only thing I couldn't decide is whether to take advantag of grobags offer and get a newborn 1 tog one and then a small 2.5tog - or whether the newborn one will be a waste of money and be outgrown too soon (DS was 6lb and DD 7lb so both quite small). Also can't decide which tog to get as mid-agust is towards the end of the summer but September can be pretty warm too and our bedroom if stiffling at the moment. Any suggestions?

tricky one!
perhaps it depends on how much money you feel you can spare. I'm glad I didn't get the newborn one cos I do think it would have been a waste of money. Instead we swaddled him for teh first month or so - this way if it's hot you can use less blankets/sheets. But he didn't really wriggle at all for months so this was OK for us and also we were a bit strapped for cash - if I'd felt richer perhaps I would have pushed the boat out. TBH even the 0-6 month one didn't last all that long but I felt I got value for money out of it. I'd use the discount for 2 on a 0-6 months and 6-18 month one myself.
Could someone lend you a newborn one perhaps?
As for the togs . . .
even more tricky.
Well the 1.0 tog does seem pretty flexible according to their website as you just add more clothes underneath to keep them wwarm in winter - or you could do what I do but is not recommended and just stick an extra blanket on top if it seems chilly - don't see why that is not recommended really if people without grobags use them all the time.
Final thought - have you thought about getting 2 in each size in case of sick? We've managed with just one but it's been a real pain a few times when ds puked everywhere.

hi Katherine
Newborn grobags weren't available when I had ds. he was 7ib at birth and was the right size for a small one by around 6-7 weeks. I'd definitely get the 2.5 tog for the small size (unless your house is warm even in winter). I found the small size lasted the full six months (ds not very big), and I always have two in each size since I can rarely get things through the wash and dry in one day.
Personally not sure that a newborn size is essential - babe might prefer swaddling or be in with you a bit in the early weeks anyway (and that's easier without the grobag overheating them!)

My friend has just informed me ASDA are doing cheepish summer gro-bags for under a tenner (I think she said they were £7.99?)...so maybe you get a cheap one and see if you like it before getting a more expensive one.

cazzybabs - Thanks for your message about Asda. I
had a Bloomimg Marvellous winter weight bag for my baby which I loved, but I could not really afford to buy a summer weight one. After reading your message I sent dh to Asda ob his way home from work, where he got the last one in the shop. Believe it or not it just happened to be white with yellow gingham trim, which matches the nursery perfectly !
p.s DD loves it, and is sleeping much better.

Agree on Asda bag, I got 2 so when one is in the wash - how does it get dirty in the cot ??!! - the other one is ready and waiting. I did have one from Daisy & Tom that was £30 and the zip broke on night 3, Asda one loads better.

I'm a big fan of bags too. Thanks for the Asda tip-off - will email dp ASAP!