Give your child a good night, thanks to ergoPouch

Sleep expert and long-time ergoPouch fan Stephanie Molenaar shares her views on how ergoPouch sleeping bags can help your child get a better night's sleep.

How does your child sleep comfortably when it is warm or cold?

It can sometimes be a puzzle: what should you dress your child in to sleep when it is warm or cold outside? Coolness is necessary for good sleep, but too cold will wake them up. Small children also sleep a lot and are less able to regulate their temperature. That makes it not so easy.

That's why it's important to choose the right sleeping bag for your children and the right clothes for them to wear. The right fit not only provides safety and security, but also the comfort they need. The right fabric ensures that the temperature is regulated, and natural filling prevents sweating and is even safer. If you choose natural materials, your child will sleep better. You can ensure that your child is at the right temperature by paying close attention to the isolation value, known as the TOG value. The lower this value, the lighter the fabric. This applies to all layers, including the bodysuit and pajamas.

The temperature of the sleeping environment and how warmly your child is dressed therefore determine the (ideal) sleeping conditions. You can let your child sleep cooler in a warmer room (or vice versa) by playing with layers and TOG values. You can see this on this ergoPouch table.

As you can see, you have many options. For example, if the temperature is 24 degrees, you can let your child sleep in a 1 TOG transitional sleeping bag, but also in a summer sleeping bag with a onesie. This way, you can compensate when the nursery is warm or cold. You can always use a room thermometer to measure the exact temperature in your child's room. You get a handy thermometer with an ergoPouch sleeping bag.

ErgoPouch sleeping bags are made from natural materials and the thicker versions have a natural filling, rather than a synthetic filling as is often the case with other brands. This means there is no longer any feeling of warmth or pressure. What's more, this natural filling is gentler on the sensitive skin of small children. The ergoPouch sleeping bags provide a cozy fit where needed and have plenty of room for the legs. For older children, you can even adjust this legroom so that they don't trip over their sleeping bag. For younger children, the four-way zipper is handy, for example during a nighttime diaper change. The unique ergoPouch fit keeps the sleeping bag warm or cool, but also provides boundaries and safety. This makes them ideal for use after swaddling. They grow with your child and the season.

What else should you pay attention to?

Where and how your child sleeps is just as important, in short, sleep hygiene. This includes all the rituals and routines associated with sleeping, together with the environment in which they sleep. This sleep hygiene supports falling asleep, staying asleep, and sleep rhythm. Consider, for example:

• A predictable sleep rhythm and rhythm during the day and everything related to sleep
• A gentle transition to sleep, with rest beforehand and no stimuli
• A dark, quiet place to sleep (from six weeks) with a room temperature of 16-18°C
• Consistent and loving responses, so that your child relaxes and knows what to expect

Often, there is not much you can do about how warm or cold the nursery is. A south-facing room is simply warmer, and a house is difficult to keep cool in the summer anyway. Ventilate daily, pay attention to the humidity, and try to keep the temperature around 16-18°C. Play around with layers; for example, choose a bodysuit, a warm outfit, and a thick sleeping bag when it is really cold. Put on thinner pajamas when it is not extremely cold. This way, you can always use the same thick sleeping bag. Is it very warm? Then a diaper and a cool sleeping bag (without sleeves) are perfectly fine. This way, you can also adjust the layers slightly during the day compared to the night.

Tip: in winter it seems very cold, but because of the heating it can still be warm and certainly dry. Therefore, pay close attention to the layers and also where you let your child sleep. Set your thermostat so that it doesn't get too cold at night, this way you prevent your child from needing you because it is too cold.

Stephanie Molenaar is a mother of four and an ergoPouch fan from the very beginning. As a sleep expert, founder of the Droomritme method, and author of eleven books, she knows everything there is to know about sleep.