Sleeping bag

[Thatsanicepear]

Hello. My little boy is 3 weeks old and originally I would put him in a baby sleeping bag at night however the midwife told us she was very against them and that I should use blankets instead. I have read multiple articles which support the use of sleeping bags and even state they can help protect against SIDS but the mw has really put me off using them. However I think my son preferred the bag, although I know that at 3 weeks he is hardly likely to have a preference! Does anyone use the bags at this stage or would I be best to continue with blankets until he is a bit bigger? Thanks!

The issue with the sleeping bags is that if your little one is small (the one i have says under 10lb) there's a risk that they wriggle/slip down into the bag while sleeping and suffocate. If your DS is little, I'd stick with blankets. Our DD is 11wks and we've used blankets her whole life. We only put her in the sleeping bag when we go to my parents house, as it's very cold there.

Most sleeping bags aren't recommended for babies under 7lb 8 but most babies will get to that weight reasonably quickly, if not born heavier. You can also get bags with additional poppers which minimise the risk of baby wiggling in — we got ours in Boots. I love our bags and hated the couple of weeks that dd was too small as I think blankets are more risky because they are much easier to wiggle under

As long as your baby is within the weigh guidelines sleeping bags are very safe!
I have to use them as when I have a blanket my 4 month old grabs it and plays with it and a) he's likely to pull it over his face and b) it's distracts him from actually sleeping!
If you have a smaller baby, the grow snug ones are perfect as these can be used from a lower weight. We used these at the beginning but ended up swaddling as DS preferred to be super cosy when he was tiny.
Did your health visitor say why she was against them? I don't think it's very good that she's scaring new mums based on no evidence!

I would agree with the others and say it depends on the size of the sleeping bag. We initially bought 0-6 months but they were far to big for our newborn DS (he was over 8lbs so not small). We also got a 0-3month size and it was perfect. Used it in the hospital and and at home since birth. Tried blankets as well but DS doesn't like being swaddled and I worry about the blankets being a risk.

Agree with others, as long as you follow the instructions and are within the weight guidelines. We've used them for our 2 youngest, think we used them from about 4 weeks onwards

Forgot to add, a sleeping bag was actually on the list of items I was given from the maternity clinic to take for the birth and clinic stay.

As long as his head will not slide through the head hole then they are perfectly safe. What weight is he?

I think we used blankets to swaddle for the first week or two when DD was newborn and didn't really move much.
I reckon we moved over to sleeping bags pretty quickly, I found them so much easier. You can get some from the Gro Company for newborn, I think they're called grosnugs.

Thank you for all the really helpful comments! He was 7lb 4oz when he was born and was up to 7lb 11oz last week so I think I will hold off using the sleeping bag for a few more weeks. The mw said she was worried he might slip inside it so it makes sense to wait until he is bigger.