The day has come, and your precious little bundle of joy has finally arrived, congratulations! Unfortunately, they did not come with a ‘How to’ guide, and you may be thinking, how do I dress my baby for bedtime? (among hundreds of other questions).
Well, we know all babies are different, some sleep better in slightly cooler temperatures and others slightly warmer. As a general guideline, the ideal room temperature for prime baby sleep is between 16-20 degrees. Babies regulate their temperature through their face and head so sleeping baby on their back with the head and face uncovered is the best way to protect her from overheating, this means no hats!
Summer:
Summer can be a hot and sweaty mess of a season to sleep for anyone, let alone a newborn. To help keep your baby sleeping safely and comfortably we recommend using light natural fabrics such as cotton/muslin, bamboo for their sleep sack or swaddle to help prevent overheating (1TOG and under is the most suitable for summer) for temperatures 24-28 degrees a simple short sleeve bodysuit and light weight sleep sack or swaddle is great. For temperatures above 28 degrees try swapping the bodysuit for just a nappy.
Winter:
Many parents make the mistake of thinking that a baby is cold if their hands or feet feel chilly, but the limbs are not really a good way to measure their core temperature. Their adorable little fingers and toes can often feel cold when really, their core temperature is just perfect. The best way to check whether your baby is too hot or cold is to feel their stomach or back. For room temperatures 17-20 degrees, a long sleeve body suit and onesie, or pants and socks and a sleep sack of atleast 2TOG is recommended. When it really starts getting cold, we’re talking temperatures below 17 degrees, add an extra layer of either a onesie or long sleeve bodysuit. And always remember no hats for sleeping!
In between seasons:
In between seasons can be difficult to gauge as the weather can be hot one night and cool the next! For temperatures 20-24, a long sleeve bodysuit and pants or onesie with a 1TOG sleep sack or swaddle or a long sleeve bodysuit with a 2TOG-2.5TOG sleep sack should keep your baby sleeping soundly!
At Little Giants Kids Store, we believe safe sleep is absolutely important, so we’ve given you some handy tips below to help you get your little one sleeping safely from day 1:
- Always sleep baby on their back, from birth.
- Keep babies face and head clear of hats, blankets, toys, pillows or anything else that must obstruct their breathing.
- Make sure baby has their own safe sleep space with a firm flat mattress.
- Always keep baby in a smoke free environment.
- Use a sleeping bag instead of blankets and loose bedding.
- Always make sure you stop swaddling your baby once they start showing signs of rolling.
A little about Angel Sleep Sacks. We are a proudly New Zealand owned business, founded by Jackie Osborne, a mother of 2 energetic little boys! Jackie designed the unique swaddle transition Angel Sleep Sacks! She came up with the idea when her oldest boy, Brooklyn was born. Although he loved being nice and snug, he never liked being swaddled with his arms so tightly wrapped. They tried numerous different wraps, swaddles, sleep sacks you name it, while some of them worked great they all had something missing. Jackie decided to put all the positives of a swaddle/Sleep sack together with what features were missing from the current market. This is when the Angel Sleep Sack was born! 5 years later there is now a growing range of sleep sacks and swaddles perfect for all ages and stages and is proudly owned by Hannah at Little Giants Kids Store.
Written by Jackie, founder of Angel Sleep Sacks.