Key Points
- High body temperatures at night time are a risk factor for SIDS
- 18C (or 64F) is the ideal room temperature for a sleeping newborn
- Be careful in summer months as temperature fluctuations can cause overheating
Finding the right combination of sleep sack and clothing can be challenging especially when in the last minutes of your bedtime routine and you're deliriously scrambling to make the right decision.
Making matters worse, is knowing that the body temperature of your newborn is a contributing factor to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) .
This guide will set out a what your baby should be wearing before bedtime so you can make sure that you're not going to overheat or under heat your newborn.
What clothing should a baby wear at bedtime?
As the general rule goes, your baby will only need to add 1 additional piece of clothing above what you would normally wear to be comfortable in that room.
Consider using a Sleep Sack to help make your little one more comfortable. Sleep sacks have improved safety when compared to a Swaddle especially as your newborn approaches 4 months.
Sleep sacks have a Thermal Overall Grade (TOG) which approximates how many blankets they are equivalent too. A TOG of 2.5 is quite high and suitable for winter months, where as a TOG of .5 is more suitable for summer months.
What Is the Best Room Temperature for Baby?
The ideal room temperature for a newborn is between 18-20C (65-68F). At this temperature, a newborn should be in a 2.5 Tog sleep sack and wearing a long sleeved onesie.
This may sound cooler than you might like, but 18C is the recommended room temperature for newborns .
What to wear in hotter or cooler temperatures
Having a consistently 'ideal' room temperature is not always possible. Throughout the year, winter and summer months will likely result in fluctuations that result in temperatures being lower or higher than the ideal.
The following tables illustrates the ideal combinations of Sleep Sack and Clothing combinations to wear at any temperature.
| Temperature (Celsius) | Temperature (Farenheit) | Sleep Sack | Clothing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26C or more | 79F or more | 0.5 Tog | Short sleeved onesie |
| 24-25C | 75-77F | 1 Tog | Short sleeved onesie |
| 22-23C | 71-74F | 1 Tog | Long sleeved onesie |
| 20-21C | 68-70F | 1 Tog | Long sleeved onesie + singlet |
| 18-19C | 64-67F | 2.5 Tog | Long sleeved onesie |
| 16-17C | 60-63F | 2.5 Tog | Long sleeved onesie + singlet |
| Less than 16C | Less than 60F | 3.5 Tog | Long sleeved onesie + singlet |
How to Dress Your Baby for Sleep in Summer
It might be tempting to over dress your newborn to cater to the fluctuating temperatures, but this will likely cause overheating and increase your risk factors of SIDS.
The summer months can pose a challenge for what to wear at night time as your baby will likely fall asleep before sunset, after which the temperatures will likely drop.