TOG Rating: Choosing the Right Baby Essentials According to Season and Temperature
Understanding TOG
TOG is a way of measuring the temperature of a garment, blanket or sleeping bag. This tells you how effective a product is at keeping the wearer warm or cool. The acronym TOG stands for Thermal Overall Grade.
Used to rate clothing insulation, TOG basically indicates how well something keeps you warm or cool during use. The higher the TOG rating of your item of clothing or bedding, the more warmth it will provide during use.
Why You Need a Sleep Sack for Your Baby
Sleep sacks can be an essential part of your baby's sleep routine. They allow you to keep your baby warm and cozy without having to worry about blankets, sheets or pillows.
Here are some benefits in using a sleep sack:
- It is designed to provide a layer of warmth for your baby while he sleeps so you can rest assured that he'll wake up well-rested in the morning. It will keep your baby warm without creating too much of an excess heat.
- The sleep sack provides a snug fit without being too tight. This design helps children achieve healthy physical development during critical growth spurts.
- Eliminates the risk of being kicked off and riding up during sleep.
- The snug feeling of being wrapped up in the sleep sack helps your child to relax and fall asleep faster.
Babies who are swaddled tend to sleep longer, but once they learn how to roll over, it is time for them to use a Sleep Sack. The Sunday Hug Sleep Sack allows your growing baby more freedom of movement and keeps him or her safe and cozy at night.
Why is it important to know the TOG of baby products?
This is especially important to consider when buying any type of clothing or product for your baby because if it isn’t breathable enough, then they could get overheated pretty easily when the weather is hot and humid!
If you live in an extremely cold place and have an infant, you might want to consider using a thicker material with higher TOG rating because he or she might have trouble regulating his or her body temperature.
For example, when it comes to blankets - parents use one that has at least a 3-4 TOG rating when putting their babies to sleep during winter months because they don't want them getting too cold. However, some parents may also opt for a lighter blanket if they live in an area where the temperature doesn’t drop too low during the cold months so that their baby doesn't overheat while sleeping at night.
How Babies Regulate Their Temperature: What You Need to Know
Our little bundles of joy face serious challenges outside the womb. For example, babies do not regulate their body temperature as well as adults do.
Babies lose heat rapidly - as much as four times faster than adults! They don't have the same ability to shiver and generate heat through muscle contraction.
Newborns are more sensitive than adults to changes in temperature and humidity levels. They also don't have fully developed sweat glands so you won't see them sweating like an adult would if they get overheated. Instead, they get flushed and fussy — sometimes even pulling off clothing as if it's too hot for them!
In addition to these, because babies have a higher metabolic rate than adults, they require more oxygen and energy to maintain normal body functions.
How to Create a Good Sleep Environment for Your Baby
It is important to make sure that babies sleep in a comfortable environment. The ideal room temperature for sleeping is between 20-22 degrees Celsius (68-72 degrees Fahrenheit).
Babies lose heat through their heads and their hands and feet, so it is important to keep them covered up when they sleep.
On the other hand, there is a risk of overheating when babies sleep in cots with blankets especially during summer months when it gets warmer. These are the signs to watch out for:
- waking up sweating
- flushed face or red cheeks
- breathing is heavy or labored
- blotchiness in the skin
How TOG Ratings Affect the Temperature Regulation of Babies
0.5 TOG Rating
Air-Mesh
Baby products, clothes, or fabrics with 0.5 TOG have a thin layer that will keep your baby warm while they are still small and developing their body temperature regulation systems. These are good to use for room temperatures that reach up to 26 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit).
1.0 TOG Rating
Bamboo / Cotton
Products with 1.0 TOG gives enough warmth for most climates without being too hot for your child during nap time or night sleep sessions. It’s also great for warm summer nights since it still allows some air flow through the fabric while holding onto body heat!
2.5 TOG Rating
Bamboo / Cotton (Three-layered)
Lastly, we have 2.5 TOG fabrics or clothes which is the “warmest'' rating. These tend to be more dense than the other two options so it might not be as suitable for warmer climates.
Choosing Baby Clothes with the Right TOG
For babies, you’ll typically find summer garments with TOGs ranging from a rating of 0.5 to 1. This means they’re suitable for use in room temperatures that range between 23°C (74°F) and 26°C+ (78°F).
Baby clothes with a 1.0 are suitable for most climates because they can keep your baby warm while at the same time, prevents the danger of overheating as they’re perfect for rooms that have temperatures of 21°C (69°F) to 23°C (73°F). Examples of these are long-sleeved rompers.
Winter outfits have TOGs of 2.5. These are worn in rooms with temperatures between 16°C (61°F) to 20°C (68°F).
If your baby is going to be sleeping outside of this range (rooms with lower temperatures), it may be worth getting an item with a higher TOG rating like onesies or pajamas.
However, it is worth mentioning that the TOG should be chosen according to the temperature in the nursery or bedroom instead of the outside temperature due to the duration of stay.
When choosing your baby’s sleepwear, it’s important to remember that it is a challenge for babies to regulate their body temperature.
For example, if you put your baby to bed wearing a 1.0 TOG piece at 24 degrees Celsius (75ºF) but after half an hour they are sweating because it feels too hot for them, then you need to change them into something with a lower TOG rating - ideally a clothing with lighter and cooler material that is at 0.5. This way they won’t overheat and wake up from being uncomfortable!
Baby Sleep Sack: TOG Explained
TOG is a measurement used to describe the insulating ability of a material. However, the type of material should also be accounted for when determining how comfortable a sleep sack is for a baby.
Different fabrics have different thermal qualities, thickness, and insulating properties so it’s important to choose the right material that is just perfect for a baby’s sensitive skin.
The most common materials used for baby sleep sacks are cotton or bamboo (which are both breathable and soft), polyester (which has excellent insulation properties) and wool (which provides great warmth but can be uncomfortable on sensitive skin).
If you want your baby to wear a sleep sack every night, then choose one with an appropriate TOG rating. If you only need it occasionally then go for something cheaper and less bulky.
On the other hand, since a good sleep sack is also used for sleep training, you may well choose a high-quality one that your baby can use for months.
Did you know that Sunday Hug triple-layered Sleep Sack is made of a 60% bamboo and 40% cotton fabric blend for supreme quality? Bamboo is a natural fiber that's grown in a sustainable way. They are also soft and breathable but 100% bamboo fabrics are not that durable. They easily fray and cannot be used in the long run.
Cotton on the other hand is great at wicking moisture, making it suitable for hot or humid climates. But clothes made from cotton are often too hot for babies and can cause overheating.
That is why our innovative solution at Sunday Hug to making the perfect baby clothes fabric is to find the perfect blend of these fabric materials.
TOG Layering Guide for Comfortable Baby Sleep
As parents, we should be aware of the risk of bundling our babies too warmly. It is recommended to dress your baby an additional one layer than what you are wearing.
If your child’s room has an appropriate TOG value, but you're using an extra blanket or duvet on top of them every night, this can interfere with their ability to get comfortable and fall asleep quickly.
In most cases, it's better to use an appropriate TOG with 1 to 2 layers of clothing than it is to dress your baby in too many layers of clothes and additional blankets and sheets.
Here are some layering recommendations:
- Dress your baby in a swaddle, long-sleeved bodysuit, sleep sack, or footed pajamas. This will be their base layer - providing warmth without being bulky. If it's cold out, add another base layer underneath this one.
- Add a light blanket over top of this base layer (optional). If it's really warm out, you can skip this.
For newborn babies up to the age of 6 months, look for easy-to-wear and convenient swaddles like the Sunday Hug Baby Swaddle. This has a two-way zipper which allows you to change your baby’s diapers without waking him or her up.
- Sleep sacks: These are a good idea for helping keep your baby's feet warm and cozy during sleep time.
- Bodysuit with Sleeves or Rompers: Bodysuits and rompers can help keep babies warm during nap time because it covers their arms and legs.
How to Layer with Sunday Hug Baby Clothes
The Sunday Hug Baby Sleep Sack is designed to be layered with other clothing. The closed bottom part of our sleep sack will help keep your baby warm when they are sleeping.
You can double up on layers. For example:
- Layer our Sleep Sack with our sleeveless or long-sleeved baby romper with a TOG of 1.0 if the temperature is lower than 20 degrees Celsius.
- Our Mesh Sleep Sack can be layered over our mesh bodysuit when the weather is warm.
- The Baby Jacket with Hood can be worn over our Top and Shorts Pajama Set when the weather is chilly.
Our 2.5 TOG Baby Blanket is great to use once your baby moved to sleeping on the bed.
Sunday Hug Baby Blankets are made from premium Korean cotton and come in a variety of colors. You can put them under your child’s sleep sack to keep them warm during the fall or winter months.
In order to layer properly, you also need to know the composition of each baby cloth fabric. Cotton retains heat well and is very breathable so it makes a great first layer. It is also comfortable against your baby's skin. If you choose cotton as your first layer, we recommend using a 2.5 clothing as a second layer over your baby's clothing for added warmth.
Some of our products made of cotton are our baby bodysuits and rompers.
Our baby clothes made from the combination of cotton and bamboo fabric are just perfect for long-term use. Bamboo is cooling to the skin. Our Mesh Sleep Sack, Mesh Bodysuit, and Mesh Top and Shorts Set are great for summer.
What to Consider When Your Baby Has a Fever
The Sunday Hug Mesh Baby Sleep Sack with a TOG of 0.5 can be used when your baby is sick. This prevents his or her body from overheating. Since the fabric material is made from a bamboo and cotton blend, it is breathable and can make your baby comfortable as it cools his or her skin.
However, a Sleep Sack with 1.0 TOG might not be sufficient enough to keep your baby warm if he stays in a room that has a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and below. In this case, you might have to layer with blankets but since your child has a fever, it can cause discomfort and he will just remove the blankets.
Sunday Hug Baby Sleep Sacks: Breathable, Cooling, and Durable
The Sunday Hug Baby Sleep Sack is sleeveless. This allows for better air circulation. As mentioned, it is made from 60% bamboo and 40% cotton fabric. This perfect blend means that the sleep sack is more durable compared to others which are made from 100% cotton or 100% bamboo fabric.
Cotton tends to break down over time with use, especially if you have a drooling or messy eater on your hands! The special 60% bamboo and 40% cotton blend doesn't have those issues and will last longer than cotton.
Our sleep sacks help keep your little one warm in winter and cool in summer - it can be used all year round. These are also great for babies who have heat rashes or sensitive skin as they are soft on the skin and are hypoallergenic.
The Sunday Hug bamboo-cotton sleep sacks help prevent overheating by releasing excess heat while keeping your baby safe in their sleep space. They also assist in temperature regulation and are great at wicking away moisture. When we say "temperature regulating", we mean that it will keep your baby cool when they're hot and warm when they're not.
Think Twice, Buy Once: How Many Sleep Sacks Are Necessary?
Sleep sacks are an easy way to get your child ready for bedtime. The Sunday Hug Sleep Sack is designed to be a wearable blanket that helps babies fall asleep and stay asleep longer.
But how many sleep sacks do you really need?
It may be beneficial to have an extra sleep sack ready so that your baby will have something to use when the other one is being air dried.
You may also want to consider buying more if you're planning doing laundry regularly (every 2-3 days). This will help ensure that you always have a clean sleep sack for your little one!
Our customers never get bored of our sleep sacks because we offer a variety of colors that’s just perfect for any wardrobe.