Guest article by baby sleep coach Caroline Helming

One of the most common questions in my consultations is:

What should I dress my child in for bed?

There are now countless options: sleeping bags with legs, sleeping bags without legs, summer sleeping bags, winter sleeping bags with inner sleeping bag, without inner sleeping bag, etc.

And once I have decided on a model: What should I put on my child underneath?

Questions upon questions.

First of all, I would definitely recommend using a sleeping bag for the entire first year and beyond, for safety reasons. Whether it has legs or a sleeping bag liner is a matter of preference (especially for the child).

There is a lot of flexibility under the sleeping bag: bodysuit and pajamas, just bodysuit or just pajamas.

The optimal sleeping temperature is usually 18 degrees, which I find to be a good guideline.

All well and good. That's the theory.

But which sleeping bag should I use, what if it's not 18 degrees, and what should I wear underneath?

There's actually no one-size-fits-all answer to these questions, as the perception of warmth is very individual. However, as a parent, you can easily "feel your way" with a few tricks.

The most important thing here is your own intuition. Parents usually naturally develop a good sense of their child's warmth sensitivity, so it's best to listen to your gut feeling. Other helpful tips include:  Is the baby's back wet? Yes? Then it was too warm.

Are your neck and feet cold? Then it was too cold.

Especially when changing temperatures or switching to a new sleeping bag, the TOG rating of a sleeping bag provides a good indication of how warm a sleeping bag is. The higher the rating, the warmer it is. Since you can't have the right sleeping bag for every temperature, you'll need to adjust your clothing underneath.

Example: A sleeping bag has a TOG value of 2.5. This means it can cover temperatures of approximately 15-21 degrees.

So let’s start  For example, at 18 degrees Celsius, wear a bodysuit and pajamas. As the temperature rises, wear one layer less, so at 20 degrees Celsius, wear a long-sleeved bodysuit without pajamas, and at 21-22 degrees Celsius, wear short sleeves.

After this theory, please quickly return to the child and your intuition. No amount of math or charts will help if your little ones are sweating or freezing. This means you can initially base your decision on the TOG values, but ultimately, you should keep an eye on your children to make sure everything fits. After a short time, you usually know exactly what to wear at which temperature.

But what do I do when temperatures rise in the summer and the room can't be cooled down to 18-21 degrees? Or on vacation?! Last year, our caravan had a room temperature of at least 25 degrees at night.

In such cases, a suitable summer sleeping bag is needed.

It should be made of good quality fabric, be breathable and able to absorb moisture well.

The summer sleeping bag from Räuberella meets all the criteria for a good night's sleep in summer.

The sleeping bag is made of a fine, organic muslin fabric, making it exceptionally breathable and absorbent.

But of course, the question remains: What should I wear underneath? The same problem in winter and summer.

Räuberella's summer sleeping bag has a TOG value of 0.5. This means, theoretically, it can cover all temperatures from approximately 20-27 degrees Celsius with the same combination of bodysuit and pajamas. At 27 degrees Celsius and above, you might even be able to go without clothing altogether, and your child can sleep in just a diaper. At that point, a good fabric pays off twice as much when there's direct skin contact.

Try it out! Get to know your little one's sensitivity to warmth.

There are various tables with guidelines for what to wear underneath, but ultimately, you are the experts for your child. No one else.

For more helpful tips on baby sleep, please visit my Instagram channel and my blog.