Grobags, oh the confusion!

How many styles of grobags are out there????? I am so confused. I have come across ones with terry towelling in them, ones that look like a t-shirt type cotton inside and out, ones that have a furrier inside and the outside cotton is like a doona type cotton (tightly woven cotton, itms?). I am buying some off ebay (b/c they are so expensive in shops and on line) and when they get to me they ate not what I thought they were. Also, they have a zipper down the middle, down one side, helloooooo! Oh, I am not confused about the tog though, lol.

i love grobags! (and rarely buy them in store too)

0.5 tog is summer nights/day basically a sheet
1.0 tog is spring thin blanket (most recommended)
2.5 tog is a doona winter time (we use ours for most of the year)

ive only bought my kids one 0.5 tog grobags one each as ive found 1.0 the best! even in summer its gotta be hot hot hot and we really only used them as a comfort as they are so used to sleeping in them

pretty much all 0-6 month bags are zip on the side and buttons on shoulders it must be the safer option for that age (im not sure but i hate that design)

my kids have a mix of terry toweling, flannel or cotton bags and love them all
but just go by the tog in respect to what they are made of weve got terry toweling in 2.5 and 1.0
ive never found the material to be our issue
the zip down the middle is the fastest and easiest
i always just double check before bidding and ill ask about it of the pictures or description isnt clear (also double check your ebay as they might have explained the bag wrong!)
but we also only buy the SIDS grobag so thats why i dont worry about the inner or outta material

hope this helps and didnt confuse you more

it is very confusing. Depends if you actually bought Grobags or other brands?

The old Grobag 1 tog was terry toweling inside, now most of the 1 togs we have are flannel.

I like the bonds sleeping bags that have the zip at the side rather than in the front like the grobags from 6months onwards. my girls were houdini's and at 1yr old they could get themselves out of the grobags zipped at the front LOL

I've had Moo in the Aden & Anais ones for a long time, love them! The summer bag is one muslin layer and the winter is four layers of muslin. They are very generous sizes and I can get them at my local chemist :D Before these I was using the Grobag brand but I found them too expensive to keep buying.

I get cheaper sleeping bags off ebay second hand

the only grobag I have is from the op shop

I don't care as they were cheap and I live in Brisbane so I prefer lightweight ones

I stick to brands with TOG ratings only so I know what to dress DD in, according to the recommendations for the TOG rating.

I have some Grobags which I've bought on sale so a fair bit cheaper. I also have Living Textile bags which are gorgeous and well priced brand new (see their site) as are Dream Bags. They are my 3 faves.

As for the zips, the position is generally for different sizes to make it harder for those LO's who have worked out zippers :lol: The side ones are good if your LO is a tummy sleeper too as they're not laying on the zipper. That said, my DD has never been bothered by the zipper position.

As for materials, I find mine are all very, very similar inside and out and I think this comes down to the fact that they have TOG ratings. I'm personally not comfortable with fleece bags or any other materials that are a bit suss, may not breathe well. That's why I stick to those with the ratings.

HTH a little.

Thanks ladies, you have definitely helped me a lot in understanding those bags. I've ever only put DS in the bonds snuggle bags (we had 2 for summer and 2 for winter) but the winter one is quite thick and I think DS used to get way too hot in it and would wake up several times a night. It was a friend who actually pointed out to me that he could be getting too hot/uncomfortable. My DF is a hot potato, and I think DS is too. I'm the oposite so I tend to over dress poor lil munchkin most of the time! lol. This friend actually suggested the grobags (although pricey) and I have managed to get a 1.0 tog flannel lining one for $30 off ebay. It's in fantastic condition and since DS has been sleeping in it he now doesn't wake up at all through the night. So I thought I was getting a similar one again off ebay (ie with the flannel lining) but when it arrived it was a cotton one very similar to the summer bonds one (a little heavier though). Then I bought a terry toweling one but I don't like it and the zipper is in the middle (DS sleeps on his tummy a lot). I have found though, that 1.0 tog is good for most of the year use (as you can dress the child down or put more clothes on) and DS's bedroom is always a comfortable 21-22 degrees over night in cooler months. I am now looking at the 0.5 tog one for summer, when it gets quite warm as then his bedroom with the fan on is around 25-26 degrees on hot nights. Thanks again for your input ladies, it's really helped a lot :)

Edit: Never mind I figured it out, so they replace blankets? sounds good:)

Hey hun! Congrats on your pg!! Sorry I meant to reply this morning but got distracted with my cyclone DS, lol. Basically they replace the blankets yes, but you don't swaddle/wrap them up at the same time. My DS used to absolutely hate being wrapped up (would try and get his upper body out whenever he could especially his arms) so I only wrapped/swaddled him for 3 months and then I put him in the sleeping bags. You can get the bags from 0-6 months. If I was putting DS in the sleeping bag, I would dress him in his all in one bonds wondersuit with a singlet underneath. In winter if it got really cold I would throw a blanket on top of the bag as well, but then again he was sleeping in our bedroom in his cradle and the temp was quite cold at around 17 degrees. Then he moved into his own room and I kept the temp at a comfortable 21-22 degrees. I still put the blanket on top of the sleeping bag and all of a sudden I was over cooking him! I also used to use the thick winter bonds sleeping bag and with a wondersuit underneath, the room temp at a comfortable 21-22 degrees, and a blanket over the bag I was really over cooking my lil man. I am now a great big fan of the original grobag! I've recently bought the 1.0 tog which is fantastic for use all through the year (you can dress the bub light during the warmer months and dress them warmer under the bag in cooler months), so I only have a thin pair of pj under the bag and he sleeps so much better. The room temp is still comfortable 22 degrees, and this particular bag is good for room temps 20-24 degrees. The other bag which is 0.5 tog is for temps from 24-27 I think and the winter one is from 16-20 I think. Hope that makes sense!

Lolpigs - if you go down the sleeping bag route then stick to the clothing recommendations according to the TOG (temperature) ratings of the bags. The guidelines are excellent and take away a lot of the guess work and you avoid overheating your LO, like Miss B was referring to.

You shouldn't ever use blankets (or sheets for that matter) with sleeping bags as they then become a SIDS risk and it defeats the whole point of the bag. They replace blankets and sheets :D Dress your baby accordingly and you should be right. A room thermometer (GroBag have an excellent one that doubles as a night light) will help you decide which bag and what clothing.

DD's room is about 18-19 degrees at the moment overnight with the heater set to those temps. We put DD in a 2.5 TOG sleeveless bag (these are the heavier winter bags) with a pj set and a long sleeved bodysuit or a spencer underneath. The extra layer on her arms is perfect with the sleeveless bag. If her bags had sleeves, id just use a singlet underneath her pjs.

As I said, the clothing and TOG guides that come with all good sleeping bags are very handy. I also have an online version of the GroBag 'what to wear' guide in my favorites on my phone. Google it if you want an idea of what I'm talking about :)

thanks guys :) much apprecaited.

I get the snugtime brand ones......I buy up for the season when they have their twice yearly overstocks factory clearance...something to think about for summer Miss B as they are in dingley. We go for a 2tog for winter with just a jammie top and his night nappy underneath and a 0.5 or 1.0 tog for summer...their next clearance sale is November from memory so just in time for summer.....he is in size 2 now which should see him through till he is 3. I prefer the snugtime ones as they have sleeves where the grobags don't so I know his arms are kept warm as well.

Thanks Mel! My cheeky DS doesn't like the sleeves but I'm mention this to my SIL as she has one with sleeves for her DS and he likes it. I've often thought about just a jammie top and nothing on the legs (as the grobag people recommend) but I always have bottoms on DS. In summer I will def. go short sleeved/legless romper and just the 0.5 tog bag unless its super hot then I'll go with nappy and singlet only. It's just so much easier going by the tog isn't it?

snugtime do sleeveless as well if you prefer....and are much cheaper than Grobag.....

Oooh I'll check them out then, I'll take SIL with me :) So far I have the one 1.0 tog and I've also bought one 2.5 tog but I'm not sure if I will need it if I have the oil heater in DS's room in winter. I guess I can take the heater out and just put hum in the winter bag :think:. Those oil heaters are so expensive to run! I'll need a couple of 0.5 tog bags for summer (I always buy 2 in case one gets dirty) and I'll need an additional 1.0 tog so I'll look into these cheaper ones. Are they good quality like the grobags?

different to grobags...the winter ones we get are fleecy with a knit lining...centre zip....the summer weight ones are either cotton or a light weight knit wih centre zip...google them they have a webshop....the factory sale is usually about 40-70% off retail where they get rid of their overstocks once they have stocked myer myer and DJS etc etc......

I've just googled them, wow, so many different designs! And so much cheaper too!! Gosh, if you take even 40% off they are so much cheaper than grotime. The 1.0 tog grotime second hand off ebay cost me $30 and the 2.5 tog was $45, also second hand. Definitely having a lookie Mel, thanks heaps!

i bought a couple off lotus lines when i saw them at a babies and kids market for DD. co-slept with DS so they have been sitting there unused. just something i didn't need to use 2nd time around. i had a summer one and a winter one

Miss B - check out Living Textile's site too. Very well priced brand new although there isn't a huge range but their designs are cute. I got one off eBay for $15 too - never been worn!!