ROAD TEST: "The baby sleeping bag that's helped my newborn sleep for longer between feeds."

For new parents like me, ensuring your baby is getting enough sleep and is comfortable enough to stay asleep for as long as possible becomes somewhat of an obsession. When baby sleeps, we get to sleep (or at least that’s how it’s meant to work).

While I try to navigate the feeding minefield in my zombie-like, sleep-deprived state in the middle of the night (should I try to feed him off both boobs so he sleeps longer or just let him go to sleep when he gets sleepy off the first?!), I haven’t had to worry too much about whether he is warm enough in his suddenly chilly room, and whether he is comfortable.

After a few weeks of wrapping my squirming, kicking baby in jersey or muslin wraps to find he had wriggled out of them 15 minutes later ( however, this may be a reflection of my swaddling technique rather than the use of wraps to swaddle) we quickly decided to transition to zip-up swaddles. No more wrapping!

I've had the pleasure of road-testing the Swaddle Grobag from baby sleep brand The Gro Company over the past week to see how it fares – and it's been a lifesaver during these suddenly chilly autumn nights.

The Swaddle Grobag is a baby swaddle that's a baby sleeping bag/zip-up enclosed skirt where they can kick around, and you can pop their arms out if you like. There are two types: Light and Cosy, depending on the weather.

 

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We've been using the Cosy one and Axel has been sleeping soundly for almost five hours at the beginning of the night before his first feed. Big win.

Until now I hadn't tried a zip-up swaddle that is as secure as the Swaddle Grobag. I think my favourite thing about this product is actually the quality of the material. Rather than flimsy, super stretchy material, the Cosy Grobag, developed for cooler temperatures, is made from sturdy, thick and high quality cotton on the outside and very soft, fleecy material on the inside, keeping Axel warm throughout the night.

The product comes with helpful guidelines on what your baby should be wearing with the Grobag depending on the temperature of the room, taking the guesswork out of dressing your baby.

The sturdy fabric and design of the bag limits the movement of Axel's legs slightly more than other bags we have tried, keeping him secure and less likely to startle. And I can rest easy knowing that he is in an officially hip-healthy sleeping position, as it's acknowledged by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (when used as directed of course).

Unfortunately because Axel is at the upper weight limit for the newborn size, I haven’t been able to fit his tuckshop lady arms inside the bag, so I am yet to test the Grobag in its full swaddle glory, however Axel enjoys having his arms out so that he can suck on his little onesie mittens and it doesn’t seem to affect his sleep so this hasn’t been an issue for us.

One of the great things about having his arms out is that I can easily breastfeed him while he is still in the bag rather than unsettling him by removing him from it before feeding (Axel likes his arms to be free while feeding).

I also love that I can unzip the swaddle from the bottom so that I can change his nappy without having to take the whole thing off. This is another small win in the middle of the night when I’m trying to get through the change-feed-settle routine as quickly as possible so that I can get back to bed.

At first I found the zip a little tricky to manoeuvre with a squirming baby, but I quickly got the hang of it and can now close the zip together at the top in milliseconds.

I feel reassured knowing he's been comfortable and secure over the past few nights, and he has been sleeping soundly for almost five hours at the beginning of the night before his first feed.

I will definitely be investing in the newborn plus-sized Swaddle Grobag so that my growing baby can continue using this cosy bag throughout the winter months.

The Swaddle Grobag is available online for $30-$45. Have a look at the different styles.

Have you tried it too? Got any tips around newborn comfort and sleep? Do share below.

This content was brought to you with thanks by our brand partner, The Gro Company.