Your Guide to Sleep Sacks
There are so many options when it comes to choosing a sleep sack for your baby. There are different fabric options, different sizes, and of course, different TOG ratings.
If you’re wondering what a TOG rating is, it is the Thermal Overall Grade of the fabric. In laymen’s terms, that means: how warm the fabric is.
Winter jackets have a TOG rating, blankets have a TOG rating, and so do sleep sacks! You’ll want to make sure that the TOG rating you have for your child is appropriate for the temperature in your home.
So, let’s chat about the different fabric types of sleep sacks!
Woven Cotton: Woven cotton or “quilted cotton” is generally a great, warm sleep sack. What I don’t love about these quilted sacks is that I find them quite stiff - similar to an actual quilt. However, in this quilted cotton sack, your baby is sure to stay warm and toasty all night long. These sacks generally range from 2.0-3.5 TOG.
Muslin Cotton: Muslin cotton is one of the most sought-after fabrics for summer-time. It’s thin, breathable fabric is ideal for extremely warm climates. You’ll want to use a sleep sack for all sleep situations with your child, so even if your house is H O T in the summer, I would recommend using a super thin sleep sack with just their diaper. Muslin cotton sacks often get softer with every wash and dry.
Muslin Bamboo: Muslin bamboo is similar to muslin cotton, except it starts off very soft and stays that way. They are slightly warmer (like 0.3 TOG) than traditional muslin sacks, but these are another fantastic summer-time sleep sack option. If your child is a warm sleeper, they will love the muslin and muslin bamboo sacks.
Bamboo Cotton: In my opinion, bamboo cotton sleep sacks are the Lamborghini of sleep sacks. They are hands-down the softest sleep sack. They are AMAZING for children with eczema or sensitive skin as the bamboo fibres are really soothing. This sack also is temperature dependant. Even with a lighter TOG rating, the bamboo cotton sleep sack has the ability to keep your child warmer than the muslin sack with the same rating. It adapts to your child’s body temperature. There are often quilted bamboo cotton sacks and regular bamboo cotton sacks that range in TOG to ensure that your baby’s temperature is stable.
Plush: Plush sleep sacks are one of the main sellers in winter-time! They are soft, they generally come in fun patterns, and they keep your child really warm. However, I don’t recommend these sacks for children who sweat in their sleep or who are generally warm sleepers. This sleep sack would keep them too warm and uncomfortable. Many babies prefer the plush sleep sacks because they feel like a soft, plush teddy bear.
Velour: Velour sleep sacks are the ideal winter-sack. They generally come in a TOG rating of 2.5 (which is WARM) and are great for outdoor camping or homes that are cool at nighttime. The inside is generally lined with soft cotton, so the velour isn’t directly on the skin. I love velour sacks for winter, but I always pack them away in spring-time as they are way too warm for the spring/summer months.
Cotton: Thin cotton sleep sacks are generally loved by many because of the cheap price tag. I don’t love thin cotton sacks because I have found the ones that I’ve tried have way too much wiggle room in the chest area, allowing wiggly babies to Houdini out of them. However, they are generally cheap, easy to get, and still better than using nothing!
Fleece: Fleece is tricky because usually the TOG rating on a fleece sleep sack is close to 1.0, but the nature of the fabric keeps your baby slightly warmer than that. This fabric is NOT recommended for children with sensitive skin as it feels really irritating. If using a fleece sleep sack, I would recommend using cotton pjs underneath - not fleece with fleece.
Merino Wool: Merino wool is expensive, but super cool. It is also one of those magic fabrics that adapts to the temperature in the room, and your baby’s body temperature. Some merino wool sleep sacks actually say 0.5-2.5 TOG on the tag. Which would mean that it is an all-season sleep sack. One downside to merino wool is that you need special detergent to properly clean wool products, and I have found that the outside of Merino Wool sleep sacks tend to pill. They are an amazing year-round sleep sack.
If you’re wondering: “Why do I even need to use a sleep sack?” Then head on over to this blog post to read up more about them and why they’re AMAZING.
Along with the fabrics, there are 3 different types of sleep sacks.
Sleep Sacks that cover the arms
Sleep Sacks that don’t cover the arms
Sleep Sacks that allow access to the feet (footed)
Surprisingly, your baby is actually fine in a sleep sack that doesn’t have any arm coverage as long as the temperature in their room is appropriate. The ideal temperature of your child’s room should be between 18-21 degrees Celsius.
I am not a huge fan of footed sleep sacks because they often encourage early crib-climbing since your child has immediate access to their feet. Cold feet can also be a trigger that wakes a baby up - so avoiding that is ideal.
If you have any sleep sack questions, post them below!
Bailey
