Gro bags vs blankets

[Slicedpineapple]

Was quite surprised to hear a midwife today advise against using gro bags with newborns and instead tuck blankets in tightly under baby.
To do with heat regulation and not being able to kick off a gro bag.

I thought the whole point was that they can't kick anything over their face with a gro bag. Obviously you use the right tog for the room temperature.

Have I missed something with this? I have bought everything as per safe sleeping guidance which I thought was absolutely no blankets or bedding until baby is a year old at least.

I would personally completely ignore the midwife on this one. Use the right tog for the temperature and get a half decent night's kip without baby kicking the blanket off and waking up crying because they're cold.

I used both (hadn't heard of gro bags until someone bought me one when ds was a few weeks old) and gro bags are loads better (unless they like being swaddled which is a whole other thread)

Grobags are amazing and I think (although if I'm wrong on this then sorry!) that they're approved by Lullaby Trust. Actual Grobag brand though rather than random brand baby sleeping bags.

Honestly they change guidelines on what to do with babies constantly, it's gets ridiculous. Gro bags are great. My ds2 wore them until he was about a year old, saved worrying that he would be cold. Unlikely that a newborn will kick covers off if they are too warm anyway.

Grobags made it so much easier to get my bf ds back to sleep after a feed. He stayed nice and cosy during being lifted, fed and put down - far less unsettling than using blankets.

DS was swaddled for the first few months.

Then once he could really wriggle out of his swaddle and wake himself up, I got some sleeping bags.

I always checked his temperature too throughout the night, on his belly, to make sure he wasnt too hot.

You may be interested in the sleeping bags with feet holes. Sarah Ockwell Smith recommends them. Little ones can still regulate their temperature (as most of us do with our feet, it's why we stick them out of the duvet when we're hot) but they're still snug and warm in their sleeping bag.

I only ever used blankets and only ever would. I don't like the idea of using anything else tbh. Blankets were what was used before.

Swaddling can be comforting for a newborn but if your babe sleeps well in a grobag go with that. Both mine only ever used those. Or nothing if hot. They’re teens now!

Fashions change, blankets can get added and subjected according to weather, not everyone has multiple sleeping bags.

I thought a big thing was baby wouldn’t know to kick it off and would overheat? Either way my baby sleeps with a blanket but she’s six months-before that she didn’t have anything

DS wore grobags til he was 3! They were great - we always chose a low tog to prevent overheating and added a light cellular blanket if it was a little chilly. Then he could kick that off if he was too hot.,

Gro bags all they way for us. The amount dd wriggles she’d be uncovered within seconds of putting her down.
We used them from a few weeks old (when she reached 8lbish).

If you want to swaddle then you can get grosnugs for newborns

Ours were fully swaddled for sleep for 2-3w, then more loosely swaddled (one liked body swaddled, arms out; the other liked the reverse - arms swaddled, legs free), and went into grobags from 5-6w. I had a grobag that you could shorten by folding up and tying the foot end. One night I didn't bother, and ds wriggled down into it!

Thanks all. We have some 0 - 6 month grobags. One we bought and 3 we were given. Also have lots of cellular blankets anyway.

Baby will be in with us for a good few months so I will be able to check, keep an eye on temperature. I think I'd feel much more comfortable with gro bags than a blanket for a newborn. I am following lullaby trust guidance for sleeping and will see how it all goes.
@PlinkPlink do you know the brand with the leg holes? Would be interested in having a look.

Love our grow bag, I use the Snuz one.

You can only use them from 4kg though.

We have also got some things called bundlers from m&s, similar to gro bags but thin and the bottoms open up.

Both my DC were too tiny for even the smallest gro bag to start with (they also slept better when swaddled)
But when we stopped swaddling at about 10 weeks we used sleeping bags.

My dd wore sleeping bags until she moved into a toddler bed at about 2 years 8 months
I think ( can't remember exactly) she may of been closer to 2.5 years that she moved and then we gave her a 4 tog duvet

She was to tiny for sleeping bags at first though but she was born at 5 pounds one ounce
So we swaddled at first and did use tucked in blankets

I only used cellular cotton blankets with cotton sheets.

There's all sorts of fibres in those grow bags, not all natural.

Both of mine in low tog gro bags (or generic equivalent) until they went into their big beds! Added/subtracted layers as needed eg long sleeve vests, no pyjama bottoms etc. Both very very wriggly sleepers, still are in fact, so we'd never have survived with blankets! I also think it's what stopped them ever attempting to climb out their cots when they got bigger

Hi @slicedpineapple

Here's a link to Slumbersac:
www.slumbersac.co.uk/baby-sleeping-bags-with-feet/?gclid=CjwKCAjwwZrmBRA7EiwA4iMzBHalsMWm-E0oH5yYCiDegCnZVEcp7pAy281i_Dh14k4b7tgFMug6MxoC7NIQAvD_BwE

They do them from 2 months I think?

Sarah Ockwell is v good- I picked it up through the newsletter emails she sends. Worth signing up for if you fancy it.

Thanks all! Some good food for thought

I think the problem with grobags from birth is that even the ‘newborn’ ones have w minimum weight restriction of about 8 and a half pounds which many babies are not when first born! I have a whole drawer full of second hand grobags and had every intention of using them...my 6lb 4 baby couldn’t! She’s now 4 weeks old and still too small. We had no option but to use blankets. Tbh my house is very hot though and I worry more about over heating than getting cold (obviously this depends on what season your baby is born too). My baby does kick her blanket off sometimes (even tucked in tight round the sides) but I don’t think it’s a temperature thing i think she’s just a wriggler!!