How to choose the right sleeping bag for your baby or toddler
Frequent use of a safe baby sleeping bag can help to create a nightly ritual.
SIDS and Kids recommend that parents DO NOT use pillows, doonas, soft toys, quilts or bumpers in a cot, to ensure that a baby’s head and face remain uncovered. The benefit of using a safe baby sleeping bag is that it is a wearable blanket for your child, which cannot be kicked off during the night. So your child stays at the right temperature all night meaning less potential of waking up.
A safe sleeping bag should have a fitted neck and armholes/sleeves, without a hood. To check the size of a sleeping bag on your little one, ensure the neckline cannot slip above the shoulders and over the child’s chin.
The snug fit of a sleeping bag means that your child’s temperature is kept constant and sleeping babies cannot be tangled by loose fitting blankets.
Frequent use of a safe baby sleeping bag also helps to create a nightly ritual; a portable comforter for your little one, whether transitioning from bassinet to cot, or when sleeping in a foreign environment - the familiarity of the snug sleeping bag comes with your child and makes for easier sleep patterns to develop.
Size:
Ensure you choose the right size for your baby now, not for the future.
While it may seem better value to buy something she will 'grow into', you risk buying something that is not safe now. With a sleeping bag that is too big, your baby may slide round inside it or slip down inside the neck.
The sleeping bag should be the correct size for the baby with a fitted neck, armholes (or sleeves) and no hood.
See Red Nose recommendations here.
TOG Rating and Warmth:
Merino bags are not tog rated, as they are natural fibre which adjusts according to temperature.
Many sleeping bags use the European TOG rating system to indicate how warm the sleeping bag is and what season they are suitable for.
The higher the TOG, the warmer the sleeping bag.
The TOG indicates approximately how many blankets the sleeping bag is equivalent to.
Bags with rating 1.2 or below are for spring/summer use.
Bags with rating 2-2.5 are for autumn/winter.
Each brand will offer a guideline for the appropriate bag and garment combination to suit the room temperature.
Every baby and child is different so adjust your child’s sleeping bag and pyjamas to suit their body temperature.
Image courtesy Love To Dream
Zip Front or Side Zip and Domes?
A bag with a front zipper is really easy to use - simply pop your baby in and zip down the front (zips end at the bottom). Bags with front zips don't have the hassle of babies popping the shoulder domes, generally have smaller arm holes which are a closer fit and have no risk of the domes failing after lots -of use. It's still easy to change a nappy with a front zip, as they are plenty long enough and the bags open wide enough to access the nappy.
Shoulder domes and side zip enable you to open the bag out flat. This can be easier for babies under 6 months who still need frequent night nappy changes. With babies who sleep through the night the easier nappy change isn't really a factor.
