What did your newborn wear to sleep?

[thismotherhoodthing]

I am a FTM due in October. I've been looking into safe sleeping and how to dress babies for sleep. I know there are lots of tables/charts online giving advice on what to wear by temperature of room etc. Although I do find them a bit contradictory!

Im basically wondering what to buy in terms of blankets vs swaddles. What did you use for your newborn? Did you swaddle them in a blanket or just tuck them blankets under sheets? Or did you use the Velcro or zip swaddles like the love to dream ones? I'm wondering whether to get a couple of each and just see what works.

I used a blanket tucked in below his armpits bit he always kicked it off so since then it was either Tommy tipppee grosnugs or nothing fits warm.

@thismotherhoodthing no problem! I know what you mean when you say all the guides seem contradictory though - I thought the same! But the guide I shared seemed one of the most simple to follow and DD always seems to have been comfortable enough while we’ve been following it.

There is so much information out there on what is best for your baby which I found quite overwhelming, but you soon learn what works and what doesn’t. Some newborns preferring to be swaddled while others don’t is just one example!

All the best and hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy

Nightdress or babygro with a little sleeping bag thingy or a tiny eiderdown. It was a long time ago.

Mine was born in a heatwave and our bedroom is always so warm, I was always very anxious about her overheating and I think I posted a panicky thread on here about it!

First night we got home I had her in a sleepsuit, vest, little hat and cellular blanket tucked in as that is what they’d had me put her in in the postnatal ward where we’d been for nearly a week (which in itself was hotter than the sun!) The midwife came the next day and gently pointed out it was 29 degrees outside she probably didn’t need a hat!

After that was just a vest or just nappy with a loose muslin tucked in - we very much planned for her to be in the next to me crib but that never happened in the end, so once she ended up cosleeping for a lot of the time we switched to one of the tommee tippee newborn gro snuggles or whatever they are called, but never fully swaddled always with arms out - I tried properly swaddling one night but it just felt so wrong in the heat somehow and she hated it anyway so we didn’t bother after that. The midwife also advised against it but I know it’s up for debate really, lots of people swear by it but it made me anxious and didn’t seem to suit my dd.

She’s a very warm baby anyway - I’m always conscious that I dress her in a lot less than my friends with little ones and she still usually sleeps in the minimum possible but she’s always warm/hot. My friends little girl is the opposite, so I think that whilst obviously it’s important to be safe you do have to judge it a little on what suits your baby once they arrive.

Ah lovely. definitely look on eBay for clothing bundles too then. I think my daughter wore 95% second hand clothing in her first year. She grew so fast I’m glad I didn’t waste money on new stuff. Plus, most the stuff we bought looked brand new as they don’t wear it for long! I can’t resist a bargain and like you, happy to help the planet 😊

@OvertiredOverthinker it does look simple and easy to follow thanks for sharing it

Thank you - not long to go now so will try and enjoy the last few weeks!

@AliasGrape oh goodness, this would be me! It's so overwhelming but sure I'll muddle through it!

@strawberrymilkshakeisdelicious totally agree! All of the second hand stuff I've got is in amazing condition as well and looks brand new. Definitely worth it and have saved a lot of money

Sleeveless vest, sleepsuit then thin velcro swaddle. She hated the swaddle so we quickly switched to a newborn sized grobag so she could have her arms out.

Sleep suit, grobag and stretchy cotton blanket for swaddle.

A merino vest, a sleepsuit and then swaddled. Starting amusing a sleeping bag when they were a bit bigger.

We used velcro swaddles from a company called Summer. They were really easy to use and my babies both slept well. We then moved them into sleeping bags when a few months old.

I know this post is a bit old but wanted to add what worked for us. We used the ergopouch swaddles and followed their TOG and layering guide instead of using blankets. It made things so simple and baby stayed cozy all night. The zip-up style is a huge plus for middle-of-the-night changes.

Mine was october last year. We never got the hang of swaddling and baby wasn't bothered. We never used blankets, I was too nervous of the blanket getting on her face. We use 2.5 tog sleeping bags (you don't need the fancy brands, the supermarket ones are fine!), and she wore a babygrow underneath, with a vest added on colder nights. I had second hand sleeping bags from friends / Vinted. I realised months in that I'd been using one more layer than the guidance, but baby has always slept OK so I've kept doing that. I'm sometimes surprised when others tell me how little their baby sleeps in, in terms of layers! So currently we do babygrow, socks, short sleeve vest, and 2.5 tog, and her room is about 18 degrees.