As a parent, I was and still am always worried about my daughter’s temperature when she is sleeping.
Keeping our little ones cool and comfortable can sometimes be hard to do, especially in the hotter months of the year.And the reverse is how to keep our babies warm enough in the winter months, without overheating.
Thankfully, the textiles industry developed a rating system for the warmth of textiles and these ratings are now used to help us to determine how to dress our babies for slumber. This rating system is called TOG.
If you are anything like me when I first heard this word, you may be asking yourself…
In This Post:
What Is TOG Rating?
Why Is TOG Important?
Tog Rating Chart
Choosing The Right Sleep Sack
How To Dress Baby For Sleep
Determining The Right Layers For Your Baby
What Is TOG Rating?
TOG (Thermal Overall Grade) is a standardized unit of measurement that calculates the thermal insulation or warmth of a textile. Another way to think about it is, TOG determines the weight of a garment.
Why Is TOG Important?
After our little one transitions out of the swaddle, we normally recommend transitioning into a sleep sack.
These wearable blankets are given a TOG rating, which helps parents to determine the right sleep sack based on their specific circ*mstances.
This is especially important to know with our newborns because they are unable to regulate their body temperatures.
A winter sack will have a higher TOG rating, while wearable blanket for the summer will have a lower TOG rating.
As a parent, I was and still am always worried about my daughter’s temperature when she is sleeping. Keeping our little ones cool and comfortable can sometimes be hard to do, especially in the hotter months of the year.And the reverse is how to keep our babies warm enough in the winter months, without overheating.…
IMPORTANT NOTE: Overheating a baby can be a risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). To reduce the risk, it’s important to be mindful to not overdress for sleep and monitor the room temp.For safe sleep, the ideal room temperature is between 68-72F/20-22C.
Tog Rating Chart
| TOG Rating | Nursery Temperature | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 TOG | 74-78 F / 23-26 C | Cotton Muslin |
| 1.0 TOG | 69-73 F / 21-23 C | Cotton |
| 2.5 TOG | 61-68 F / 16-20 C | Heavier, winter sleep sack |
To determine the weight for your child, you need to know the temperature of the nursery. Mostvideo monitorswill display this or you can get athermometer readerfor your baby’s room.
The ideal temperature for a baby’s room to sleep in is between 68-72F (20-22C).
Choosing The Right Sleep Sack
0.5 TOG Rating
A 0.5 TOG sleep sack is lightweight and made of breathable fabric (like cotton muslin). This weight is suited for warmer nurseries where there may not be A/C.
For a wearable blanket with this rating, you would be dressing your baby in a short sleeve onesie or for warmer rooms, perhaps just a diaper.
1.0TOG Rating
A 1.0 TOG sleep sack is normally made of cotton. This weight rating is best for use in homes that are able to control the temperature, with either heat or air conditioning, to keep the nursery in between 68-72F, the ideal temperature for slumber.
With this weight wearable blanket, your baby will typically be comfortable wearing a one-piece sleeper with feet and/or long pajama sleeves and bottoms. This is the ideal rating if you can keep your baby’s nursery between 68-72F all year round. Our favorites with this rating: Snuggy Buddy and Kyte Baby.
2.5 TOG Rating
A 2.5 TOG rating is forsleep sacksthat have double layers and retain a high amount of body heat.These are best for:
- A house where parents prefer a cooler temperature
- Houses or rooms that don’t have sufficient heating
- Babies that have a harder time keeping themselves warm
For example, we use this weight wearable blanket for Addie when we go to our lake house in October. The temperature can fall below 68-72 F because the only source of heating is a wood-burning furnace.
With this rating, your baby will typically be comfortable wearing a one-piece footed sleeper with feet and/or long pajama sleeves and bottoms with socks. You may find your baby may also need a short or long sleeve onesie underneath their pajamas.
Our favorite heavier weight wearable blanket is the Woolino.
How To Dress Baby For Sleep
Determining The Right Layers For Your Baby
This rating system and suggested clothing for babies at sleep times are just general guidelines, based on the average child. Keep in mind, every person feels temperatures differently.
For instance, I need to have a sweater, jacket, mitts, and a scarf on when it is 60F out. On the other hand, my husband only needs to wear a sweater.
If your little one runs on the warmer side, they may sleep best with a cooler temperature or a lighter sack or lighter pajamas.
If your baby runs on the cooler side, your little one may do best with a warmer temperature or a warmer sack or pajamas.
Most importantly, watch and assess your little one to see how they react to different temperatures, TOG ratings and pajama combinations. The right combination will help with developing healthy sleep habits.
If you need help figuring out how to dress your little one for bed or how to get more sleep for your family, please reach out! One of our certified child sleep consultants would love to help you figure it out!
