Too warm, too cold – with baby it’s an eternal worry that their bedroom temperature and clothing isn’t right. Newborn babies can’t regulate their own temperature at first but during the day baby wearing can help regulate your little one’s body temperature. How? When you as parents sweat, you are the natural air conditioner for your child! Parents can cool and warm their babies through their skin – depending on whether they are too cold or too hot. But at night this isn’t possible so when you put your baby to bed, it is important to find the right room temperature and choose the most appropriate clothing to support the most beneficial sleeping conditions for your little one. A baby winter sleeping bag helps you to achieve this.
How to choose the right TOG sleeping bag:
The following three important factors should be considered for your baby’s optimal sleeping temperature:
- Thickness of the sleeping bag,
- Clothes your baby wears underneath,
- Room temperature.
The thermal resistance of textiles is expressed in the unit of measurement called TOG. The higher the TOG number, the warmer a sleeping bag will keep your baby. Our Ergobaby sleeping bags are available in the following TOG strengths:
0.5 (light)
1.0 (mid weight)
2.5 (cozy).
The following overview shows when which TOG thickness is suitable and which additional clothing your baby should wear at which room temperature:
Dressing your baby at night – what else to look out for:
- Optimal room temperature for baby’s sleep is 16 to 18 degrees.
- In addition to the TOG strength, the size and fit of the sleeping bag are also important. Check to see if the sleeping bag is snug against the arms and it fits well around the neck. One that is too big can be dangerous because the child’s head can slip into it. If they wriggle, their arms can also end up inside the sleeping bag. Make sure you stick to the recommended sizes according to your child’s body length.
- The room temperature your baby is sleeping in can drop during the night. If the room has been heated during the day using central heating, air the room thoroughly before going to bed so that a more realistic temperature is achieved. It is best to switch off the central heating a few hours before going to bed. Unless the room temperature is so low that it must stay on at night.
- If your baby wakes up more often at night, they may be feeling the chill. Feel your child’s hands. They should feel cool, but never ice cold – in this case, the sleeping bag is too thin. The NHS and Lullaby Trust recommend to feel your baby’s chest or the back of their neck to be sure as your baby’s hands and feet will usually be cooler.
So, do you have the right sleeping bag for your baby ready for the winter months? If not, you can find the right winter sleeping bag here!
