NOW CLOSED: Share your thoughts on keeping your baby warm at night with the team behind Grobags – £250 prize up for grabs

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at The Gro Company have asked us to find out your opinions and experiences of keeping your baby warm during the winter months.

The Gro Company say "Around 95% of UK parents of newborns choose to use a baby sleeping bag to keep their baby safe and snug during sleep and naptimes. In order to comply with the current British Safety Standard for baby sleep bags, Grobag does not offer a product with sleeves which means these parents sometimes feel concerned about their babies having chilly arms.

Designed to complement the multi-award winning Grobag, the new Gro-Suit keeps the baby's arm warm with thick quilted sleeves while the rest of the suit is a single cotton layer. Worn inside a Grobag it provides the perfect balance of warm arms and a safer body temperature."

They've chatted to parents before and find that often parents, who feel that their baby's arms and hands feel cold to the touch in colder winter months, are tempted to add extra layers to their children's bedding, which could potentially reduce the safety of the sleep environment.

So please share on this thread
~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?

Any other comments welcome - the team from The Gro Company are on hand on facebook to answer any queries you have but will also respond to queries raised on this thread.

Add your comments below - everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get Gro company products including Grobags and vouchers for high street stores to the value of £250.

Thanks,
MNHQ

[sweetclarity]

Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
Worried alot with our first, used a grobag as soon as DD1 (now 4) got out of her swaddling. DD2 (now 13 months) in a grobag for naps and night time. We did worry ours werent warm enough, particularly first time round. Grobag gave us peace of mind, leaving us free to worry about other things!


~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
No, I always put two fingers down their back to judge their core temperature.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
Use a room thermometer but also rely on touch if temperature falls

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
only grobag - we were given others but the designs never gave us confidence they were suitable, i.e. poppers instead of zip fastening meant legs could escape and leave baby contorted (but still asleep!) or zips that could be undone by a 2 year old.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
No i dont think we'd use it, it is the core temperature that matters most to us although i have been known to put socks on babys hands to warm them up but this product would not resolve the issue of cold hands. Babies can overheat aswell, i would worry that too much insulation might cause them to overheat.

[TheTempest]

Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

It was something I really worried about as it was costing me £40 a week at once stage just to keep my then flat habitable. I feel the cold easily and baby was going to bed in fleecy babygro's with a gro bag and blankets as she would always get them off!

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?

I did, which is why she always have long sleever babygro's under the gro bag. Just touch really on the back of her arms and neck.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
Touch really.
~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?

I did, when baby was small. They are now three and two and love to be snuggly under their duvets. I didn't know that, but will be looking into it.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?

I think it's a great idea and would have given me a lot of peace of mind when they were little.

[WowOoo]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
My children were in one of the warmest rooms in the house. I was never really that worried about them being cold at night.

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
I used to feel their chest to see if they were cold or had a temperature. Usually I didn't worry about it and didn't feel the need to check.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
We were given a room thermometer as a hand me down. Nice to know the temperature of the room.

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
I did use a sleeping bag for my children when they were young.
I wasn't aware about the safety regualations.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
I think it's a good idea for parents who are concerned about cold arms and hands, but not something that I would have bought myself. I think it's unnecessary mostly. I don't think a child would wake up from having cold arms.

[SuiGeneris]

Very different experiences with DS1 and 2.

DS1 hated the one sleeping bag we bought him (which in any event he only tried around 8 months as I thought they were unsafe until past 6 months), so he always slept with sheets and blankets and thicker sleep suits. At around 18 months we bought him a duvet and has used that since.

DS2 sleeps mostly with us, so has a warm sleep suit and a cuddle from me (duvet is down by my hips to avoid the risk of it going near DS2). For the 3/4 hours he spends in his cot he has either sheets and blankets or a sleeping bag. He seems to like it more than his brother, so we are about to buy him another one.

We never used room thermometers, just relied on how we felt.

Would not buy the new product, can achieve the same effect with summer sleep suit plus cardigan, surely? Plus the cardigan is easy to remove if the child is too hot...

[BedHog]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
My babies didn't like being too warm so I just used various thicknesses of grobags and sleepsuits according to room temperature.

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
No, not arms, although sleepsuits with foldover cuffs were useful as I could never get on with scratch mittens.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
A Grobag egg. My children have one each. They are a design classic - we get very excited when they change colour!!

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
Yes, we use them, although I prefer thicker bags by other brands. Grobags seem a bit thin to me. It doesn't seem fair that I have a snuggly 13 tog duvet and fleecy pyjamas and the baby only has 2.5 tog. I hadn't heard about the safety regs.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
It depends on the price. I'd rather it was a top rather than a whole suit as it would last longer and not be outgrown so quickly.

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
Our babies were too small to use sleeping bags initially and we started with blankets and found it very hard to stop them being kicked off etc. Grobags made a big big difference. Small baby sizes please!
Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
A little, DD tends to manage to pull the vest over her hands and off her shoulder so she gets colder. Finding vests that stay on her sleeves are tricky.
Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature? Yes, a Grobag one. It always reads differently to the baby monitor however..
Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms? Yes we use one. No I wasn't aware of the sleeves regulation, but one reason we have used Grobags rather than cheaper brands is faith that they will meet safety regulations.
What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro? I don't think I'd buy babygros or vests that could only be used for night time, particularly as I tend to feed our Dts breakfast in their night vest, then change for the day. I think our house is probably too warm when they go to bed in the evenings for the padded suit also, although it might be good on very cold nights.

[EarnestDullard]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
I've always been more concerned with my babies being too warm than too cold. In winter they wear a vest and a sleepsuit (velour if it's very cold) and have a blanket over them.

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
I've never really worried about their arms. I figure they'd wake up if they were uncomfortably cold. As for too hot, I use a room thermometer and if their cheeks are very red or they feel hot to the touch I'd remove a layer if bedding/clothing.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
We use a room thermometer and I'd feel their chest to check core temperature if I was worried.

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
I tried sleeping bags a few times when DD1 was a baby but she was happy enough with blankets so we didn't use them very much.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
I'd possibly consider it if the weather was very, very cold. Even with a blanket the baby's arms are usually uncovered so if I was worried about her arms being cold it could be a useful solution.

[goodygumdrops]

Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

We worried so much about cot death and keeping our baby the right temperature, gro bags were literally a god send as they took all the worry out of getting the right number of blankets, sliding under blankets etc.

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?

I didn't - now i feel bad for that!

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?

Room thermometer

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?

Yes and yes.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?

Yes definetley, anything to take the worry out of keeping my baby warm and safe is a good thing for me.

[Paco888]

I'm just a Granny trying to keep up!!!!! The gro-bags have worried me re the warmth of my last 2 grandchildren but they seem ok although hands are never warm!!! I shall have to learn to be modern (hence joining Mumsnet) though I am very re-assured by all the modern mum's comments on the success of bro-bags. Thank you all!

[Pinotgrigioplease]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

We used blankets when DS was very small but quickly moved onto Grobags. In the summer months he would just wear a vest underneath but now he wears a long sleeved vest and sleepsuit. I much prefer using the sleeping bags as DS is a wriggler!

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?

My DS gets very cold hands but so long as his chest is warm I try not to worry too much.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?

Both. We have a gro egg and our baby monitor also tells us the temperature but I will also judge how warm/cold my DS feels.

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?

Yes and yes.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?

No, I much prefer to use layers to adjust DS temperature. I'm also not sure why warmer sleeves are ok if a sleeping bag with arms is not?

[Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme]

I found a travel gro-bag absolutely invaluable when they were small. We could go to see friends and family and when the little one got tired we could get them ready for bed, give them a last feed and then tuck them up into the gro-bag and put them down for a nap in the pushchair. Then they simply transferred straight into the car, because the travel gro-bag has a two way zip and a velcro'd slit in the back for pushchair/car seat straps. Then when we got home they could be put straight into bed. It was lovely. We didn't have to rush off home after tea time and it didn't disrupt baby's routine. I loved my travel gro-bag and used it for both of mine.

[HannahLI]

I love sleeping bags, they make life so easy. I do worry about temperature as its hard to know at first and the sleeping bags feel thin despite keeping them warm.

I usually judge by temp on monitor and by touch of his body. My second baby now 7 months I have had to give an extra layer to compared to my older one as he seems to feel the cold more. I wasn't aware that the sleeping bags weren't supposed to have arms but I did know that they are regulated and if you can't just buy any old bag! I always buy gro or halo usually as they are both regulated.

I saw the new gro sleep wear the other day and thought it brilliant, would love o get a closer look but thought it a great idea.

For me I find your thermometer helpful but what I have struggled with is the layers for the temperature and I wish there was more guidance for that on your thermometer too.

[Florin]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

As a new first time parent I am nervous about getting it right I want my baby to be comfortable but I am also very aware of the dangers of h being too hot and the dangers of blankets going over his head


~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?

Yes I worry that sometimes when my baby wakes his arms and hands feel very cold. I touch the back of his neck to get an idea of how warm he is. I would prefer him to be on the cooler side as the worst thing to happen if he is slightly cold is he will wake however he is at risk of SIDS if too hot which is something I get very worried about.
~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?

We have a digital room thermometer on our baby monitor which we do rely on but also use touch to check


~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?

Yes we use gro bags and have done since he tea he reached the recommended weight. They have been our best baby purchase ever as as soon as he goes into his gro bag he settles even if he had been screaming. He has slept through from 6pm -7:30am since he was 13 weeks old and we feel this is mainly due to the gro bags.
I didn't know about the arms not reaching government standards but glad I do now as I was considering a travel sleeping bag with arms gro another company. This puts me off buying it

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?

I think it is a brilliant idea and also reasonably priced I will be very tempted to try some when the cold weather really hits.

[ChristmasCountdown]

Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
I wasn't too worried about keeping DS warm when he was a baby, I worried a lot more when he was a newborn and it was scorching hot. There was the occasional night when his bedroom was very cold and I was always wary of putting a blanket over him (we used gro bags).

Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
DS wouldn't keep his arms in anything - I couldn't even swaddle him when he was a baby! In the winter he had a body suit under his sleep suit, so if it was really cold I might put a long sleeved body suit on.

Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
Both. We had a gro egg, which I really liked as you could see at a glance how the temperature was without having to go right into the bedroom and peer at it in the dark. If the egg indicated very hot or cold weather I would check the back of his neck to gauge temperature.

Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
I was a huge fan of grobags - DS used them until he was in a bed. I usually always buy them as a gift for new parents. DS was very wriggly and moved about his cot, so they were ideal for keeping him warm. I did know about the arms regulations.

What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
I would probably have considered buying it when DS was a baby (if it was well recommended by MNers). However, it is a bit pricey at £14.99 for two. I didn't have to change DS's sleepsuits very often during the night, but I know a few parents who would go through two sleepsuits easily, so I'd have probably wanted more than two. £30 for four, when they would only last a few months is too steep. I imagine the supermarkets would start selling them much cheaper (like they do sleep bags) which would make them more tempting for most. I would prefer brighter funkier colours too.

[ctoyno]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

My baby slept in the same bed as me and my partner, therefore I felt comfortable about his temperature because I could feel him and observe him closely since he was right next to me.

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?

No I didn't worry about this - I remember he sometimes had hands which were colder than the rest of him when he was little - but not cold enough to get frostbite! His core temp always fine, as far as I could tell.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?

touch and observation

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?

we did have a couple but I didn't find them that useful - too long and a bit silly really! We didn't need anything like a sleeping bag/special baby blanket when he was in bed with us, and during the day he tended to nap in the sling and I'd just put him down if I was in the house and keep a little blanket over him if neccesary.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?

I think it would work well alongside the grobags, if that's what people use - although my doubts are whether this is really needed - just because baby's arms/hands feel cool to touch, is that really a problem? Could it be that this product is simply playing on parent's anxieties?

[vixo]

We have an old and cold house so I've never worried too much about them getting too warm in winter, but because of all the warnings about not letting them overheat I think I have always erred on the side of fewer layers - I check them when we go to bed and sometimes add a blanket tucked in round them on cold nights.

I did worry about cold hands/arms with my first, but then read that babies often have colder hands, so I now check round their neck or put a hand just down their back to see if their body seems warm and judge by that.

I assumed there was a reason baby sleeping bags didn't have arms and that it had something to do with safety. We have used sleeping bags with both ours and intend to with the baby which is due next month. They wriggle so much when they're little, and the sleeping bags mean that I know they'll always keep the covers on and not end up too tangled.

I can see that people might like the idea of their baby having warm arms, but I wonder if it's necessary since babies seem to have been absolutely fine, and sleeping well, with sleeveless sleeping bags up until now. No doubt some people will buy them,though, and that's fine, and up to them. I think I'll stick with them having slightly chilly arms as long as the rest of them is ok and they stay asleep!

[Climbingpenguin]

~Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

Both mine were swaddled for the few few months, which happened to be the winter months. We did a mix of basket and co-sleeping so I tended to stay away from grobags for a while as that would be a faff in having to remove it as they entered the bed.

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?

What I struggled with more was keeping myself warm with no pillows/big duvet when sleeping, I generally didn't worry about the baby except for overheating. If they were in blankets the their arms would wriggle free as well as their upper torso so I didn't see cold arm issue as being particular to the grobag method.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?

mostly touch, although once we got a monitor that happened to also display temperature then we used a mixture. DS was a baby that struggled to retain his body heat so the absolute temperature was meaningless anyway.

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?

I did not know they shouldn't have sleeves, although I assumed there must be a reason that most sleeping bags don't have them. I use them but only once the children are older

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?

I think probably not. It limits choice when you come to get bedtime clothes out, you'd have to have quite a few so you always had one to hand and there is still the fact they will spend time in the babygro in the mornings/late evenings not in the grobag but with hot arms.

[puzzletree]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
Swaddled my first to start, then used a sleeping bag. Next two children used sheets (July babies) then sleeping bags as it got colder. Was most concerned not to let them overheat, especially when newborn.
~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
If it's cold in the room I do think cold arms and hands can be a problem, I tend to put the baby in a long sleeved vest and sleepsuit and if really cold have put a cardigan or jumper over. Judge by feeling chest and generally checking they are settled.
~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
Have a thermometer for reference. Also the monitor will beep if the room gets very cold. But generally can feel how cold it is as we sleep in the same room as the baby.
~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
Yes. Didn't know, but presumed this must be the case.
~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
Unlikely, as it will be expensive to get in multiple and different sizes. Happy with using long sleeved clothing layers.

[melliebobs]

Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
It was a concern to start as we live in an old terrace house that has no central heating and just a wood burner. It get's VERY cold so keeping DD warm we were always aware of. But with some common sense it wasn't hard. With the use of a room thermometer, using layers of clothing and blankets it's not been the problem we were expecting

Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
At first DD was always swaddled in a special velcro swaddle blanket but after a few days she hated it and fought against it to have her arms out. We always used to put mits on her hands too to keep them warm, but again she fought against them to have her hands out. I try not to worry any more, she is always appropriately dressed, if i think shes going to get cold i put a long sleeve vest under her sleepsuit and when it's really cold we've used a fleecie sleepsuit to compensate. But so long as the room temperature is ok it tends to be fine

Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
We use a coloured room thermometer to initially get an idea of what the temperatures like, then i feel DD or look at her colour

Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
No i don't. I don't like them. They are expensive for what they were, especially when we would still need blankets as well AND dd would grow out of them. I much prefer blankets as you can layer alot more effeciently. I had no idea on safety regulations but that's only because we don't use sleeping bags. If we did i'd probably have read about it somewhere

What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
Honestly, i think it's rubbish. £14.99 for a babygrow?!?!?! That is insane. You'd need alot more than 1 as your baby is bound to have a nappy leak in it or be sick etc so it would be cheaper for long sleeved vests, a thicker babygrow and blankets. Think its one to scaremonger the 1st time mums into! ould i use it?! Not at that price!

[StainlessSteelCat]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
When very young, I didn't worry. He slept sort of swaddled. As he grew and could kick the blankets off, I started worrying more, and would get up to check him, even though he was in our room until 6 months old. Somehow I missed the existence of grobags for months. Wish I hadn't!
~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
A little. I often would dress him in long sleeved body, t shirt and sleep suit to increase the layers on his arms.
~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
Touch, at the back of the neck or chest.
~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
Yes, No. But I wouldn't have used one with sleeves. I like having ability to vary amount on him.
~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
Now, no - my youngest is 14 months. but if I had younger baby I would definitely consider it, and may well mention it to friends with younger babies.

[cashmere]

1. I worried about keeping DS at the correct temperature. Once he was big enough for gro bags they made life easier as I only had to think about the bag tog rather than layers of sheets/blankets.
   

We used sleeping bags from a few months until DS was standing (then he got cross at not being able to move so we switched to fleece suits).

1. Yes and wasn't sure what to do about it. You are cautioned about letting them get too warm but grandparents said their babies slept in a cardigan. We just used long sleeved vests for night. Knitted arn warmers would work well too!
   

My midwife thinks tiny babies are better in blankets/ warm tops so their arms don't get cold.

1. We used the thermometers that came with sleeping bags- had one in most rooms! Then felt the baby's chest/back.
   

1. I wasn't aware that sleeping bags should have no arms.
   

1. I would have bought this 1st time round (had most things!)
   

This time only if competitively priced. Would need at least 3 to use on rotation I think and long sleeved vests/sleepsuits are so cheap.
I wouldn't pay more than £10 a suit on the basis that a snow suit is £20ish.
Really good idea though and I think lots of people would buy them.

[fusspot66]

Both my babies used grobags till nearly 3. They felt safe and never had the covers kicked off as the bag was zipped up. The cold arms don't worry me as I know they won't overheat and they seem untroubled by it. The SIDS prevention appealed to me at the start.

[maxmissie]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

Used sleeping bags whilst both DS and DD were babies which kept them really warm. Found sleeping bags really good as didn't have to worry about them kicking blankets off. Our house is quite cold as it's over 100 years old and has no cavity wall insulation so when my daughter was little we bought a little electric radiator to heat her room but realised after one winter that she didn't really need it and haven't used it since as they never seemed to feel the cold at night, even though our bedrooms are not very warm once the heating goes off.

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?

Was concerned sometimes about their arms and hands being cold and occasionally put cardigans on over the top of the sleeping bag. However having cold arms/hands didn't seem to bother them or wake them up so I didn't do this very often. I would check the back of their neck and also to see if they were sweaty to see if they were too hot or cold.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?

I did use a thermometer when they were very small babies but generally would go touch.

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms
I did use sleeping bags when they were babies but not once they were toddlers. I wasn't aware that having arms would mean sleeping bags would not comply with safety regulations, although I assumed there was a reason why they don't have sleeves but didn't know what it was.


~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro? I think it would be reassuring to people that are worried about their children being cold. I would probably have considered buying it when my daughter was a baby before I realised that them having hands/arms outside the sleeping bag didn't seem to make them cold or wake them up.

[mrscumberbatch]

~ Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night
Well, I got completely paranoid about it! DD was a snuggler so would often get sweaty hair and I'd be totally PFB 'OMG I COOKED THE BABY'.

Eventually we got the hang of it and realised that so long as we maintained an average temp in the room,maybe an extra blanket over the top if it was a chilly night, she was fine.
~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
At first, I worried all the time, but then realised that she had wee cold fingers anyway! Too warm wasn't an issue (we're in Scotland.) but too cold I'd add an extra blanket in for warmth.
~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?
No, it was quite obvious to me whether a room was chilly or not.
~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?
We did use a sleeping bag, wasn't aware that it was a regulation that there were no arms on them but makes ense when I think about it!
~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
Possibly, if the price/quality is right. We tend to buy decent pyjamas with long sleeves anyway.

[Strugglingtothinkofanickname]

Your overall views and experiences of keeping your baby (or your child when they were a baby) warm at night

it was something I found quite a worry, especially when we went away to relatives houses that were colder than ours. I found it hard sometimes that the temperature would drop quite rapidly in the night

DS is 2.5 now and we didn't use sleeping bags over the summer. I tried him when it got colder with a duvet but he wriggles a lot in his sleep. it was never covering him at all after a few hours sleep so he is back in his gro-bags and seems quite happy with it (after a few grumbles the first couple of nights).

~ Did you or do you worry about your baby's arms being cold at night? How do you judge if they are cold or too warm?
Not really, but our son has eczema so we put scratch sleeves on his arms, underneath the sleeping bag and over his sleepsuit, so he alwasy had two layers on his arms in the winter. Otherwise maybe I would have done.

~ Do you use a room thermometer or use touch to gauge temperature?

Just touch and often double checked with my husband. our room thermometers we got always seemed really inaccurate.

~ Do you use a baby sleeping bag? Are you aware that to comply with British Safety regulations, baby sleeping bags should not have sleeves/arms?

Yes, used gro-bags, and still do. wasn't aware of the regulations.

~ What do you think about this new product? Do you think it's something you'd use in the winter months as an alternative to a standard baby gro?
I wouldn't use it personally, but only because (see above) ds is always wearing scratchsleeves plus a sleepsuit/ baby grow. If we didn't use scratchsleeves then maybe I would consider it, but I'm not sure as £15 is a lot more than I would normally spend on a sleep suit.