What Is TOG?
Dressing Your Baby for Great Sleep
Now that the weather is cooler, you Mamas are often wondering how best to keep baby warm for sleep, while not overheating! This is when it’s important to understand something called TOG (Thermal Overall Grade).
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TOG is a unit of thickness or insulation, and you’ll find it on most baby sleep bags, including Loulou Lollipops’!
While TOG measures how well a sleep bag does its job at keeping baby warm, it also takes into account the type of material a sleep bag is made of, as different materials provide warmth at different levels of thickness.
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TOGs range from 0.5 to 4.0, so it’s important to assess your child’s room temperature, and to keep in mind that each baby is an individual so guidelines about what to dress your baby in under their sleep bag are just that - guidelines. You will need to determine what is right for your individual baby in your individual home.
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Here, however, are some general recommendations:
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0.5 TOG for room temp of 24-27 degrees Celsius (75-81 Fahrenheit). Baby may need only a short sleeved onesie or even just a diaper under the sleep bag in this environment.
1.0 TOG for room temp of 23-24 degrees Celsius (72 - 75 Fahrenheit). You may consider a long sleeved onesie under the sleep bag in this situation, if you feel baby’s arms may be chilly without.
1.5 TOG for room temp of 20-22 degrees Celsius (68 - 72 Fahrenheit). Keep in mind that you might layer a short sleeved onesie under a long sleeved onesie, but it’s also not recommended that baby ever wear more than one additional layer than an adult is wearing to sleep in the same temperature and environment.
2.5 TOG for room temp of 17-19 degrees Celsius (64 – 68 Fahrenheit). Baby may need a footed PJ under their sleep bag in these chillier temps.
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Keep in mind that the ideal temperature for sleep is considered to be 18-20 degrees Celsius. But, of course, this isn’t always possible to achieve (for example, if you live in a warm climate and do not have air conditioning!). So, it’s helpful to keep guidelines in mind when dressing baby, especially in warmer temperatures.
Also remember that, if dressed properly for sleep, baby’s stomach and chest should feel warm and dry (not clammy, sweaty or cold)
And, if the temperature of your home changes throughout the day (which it does for most homes!), or from season to season, consider dressing baby for sleep in different clothes or different TOGs of sleep bags for daytime and nighttime sleep.
Erin Junker is a Professional Infant & Toddler Sleep Consultant, and owner of The Happy Sleep Company, working closely with tired parents to help them help their little ones get the healthy, restful sleep they need. Follow The Happy Sleep Company on Instagram and Facebook - let’s get your family the healthy, happy sleep you deserve!
