Babies prefer routine and they tend to sleep better when they are in familiar environments with smells and things they recognise.
Whilst in the womb, a baby is lulled to sleep by his mother’s heart beat and he feels safe because he is tucked in tightly, a feeling we then replicate with the use of swaddling when our baby is first born. The continuation of this feeling of security helps your baby to sleep well, which then helps you set up a routine that works for the whole family (including a good night’s sleep for all!)
Once your baby no longer wants to be swaddled (at about 8-10 weeks old), baby sleeping bags provide a wonderful way to continue the feeling of safety and security that swaddling provides, and helps to establish good sleeping patterns that work flexibly with our every day busy lives.
When your baby gets to about nine months of age, having slept in a sleeping bag for a few months already, he will instantly recognise his sleeping bag, and he will know that it is safe to sleep and time to sleep. He has established that it forms part of his sleep routine. So, even if you are on holiday and aren’t able to bath him at the same time as normal, feed him in the same chair you always do, or lay him in his own cot, you are able to travel with one essential item that he will recognise and find calming, which provides him with the ability to fall asleep more easily on his own.
This sleep solution makes travelling with your baby, or taking him to friends for dinner, so much more practical and easier to face.
The relationship your baby forms with his sleeping bag is one from which he derives huge comfort and security, which means you can go anywhere in the world, and if your baby has his sleeping bag, he will sleep well. (and so will you….)
Your baby can use a sleeping bag from 4kg (Dizzy Dots offers one with a removable swaddle that you can use from birth), and they are available in different sizes and seasons right up to 3 years of age.
Tips when buying a sleeping bag for your baby:
- Choose a simple and fuss-free design with an easy-to-use zip system that doesn’t expose your baby’s chest when undone (you don’t want to wake your baby up – just get to the nappy area)
- Is it 100% cotton? Very important, so your baby’s skin is able to breathe at night!
- Ensure that you have the right size sleeping bag and that your baby’s head is bigger than the neckline of the sleeping bag when fitted.
- The thickness of the sleeping bag must appropriate for the time of year.
- Never use a fleece sleeping bag or a sleeping bag with sleeves or a hood – your baby needs to get rid of excess heat when necessary.
- Use a thermometer in your baby’s room to check the temperature easily.
- Don’t stop using a sleeping bag in Summer – you may struggle to get your baby used to it again come Winter when you really need it. Plus, it protects your baby from mosquitos!
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