The Ultimate Temperature Guide for Dressing Babies

We decided to make this TOG sleepwear calculator because as a first-time parent, you tend to feel a lot of uncertainty about whether your precious baby has been appropriately dressed for sleep. Whilst there are plenty of online guides and graphical tables, I struggled with computing them for weeks initially. Most aren't well designed for sleep-deprived parents wanting a straight answer, and many seemed "off" given the temperature.

It certainly doesn't help when you start going down the search rabbit hole, and realise that different guides were giving different recommendations. By the end of it, I felt defeated, even more anxious and frustrated. Sound familiar? Hence, this website and tool was born!

If you've arrived here for the first time, I hope we can help and you can entrust our calculator and this post to help you feel at ease on how to safely dress your baby for sleep.

Understanding TOG Ratings

The first thing to get straight is making sure you're aware of what TOG is, as you'll likely be seeing it everywhere! TOG, or Thermal Overall Grade, is a measure of the thermal insulation of sleepwear and bedding.

This rating system helps you determine the warmth provided by different baby sleepwear, allowing you to choose the right sleepwear based on the room temperature. The higher the TOG rating, the warmer the sleepwear.

Why Temperature Matters

Maintaining the ideal temperature for your baby's sleep environment is crucial. Babies are more sensitive to temperature changes than adults and can easily become too hot or too cold.

Overheating is linked to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), while being too cold can disrupt your baby's sleep and cause discomfort. By following a temperature guide and using TOG-rated sleepwear, you can ensure your baby sleeps safely and comfortably.

Temperature Guide for Dressing Babies

Here’s a detailed guide on how to dress your baby based on the room temperature, using TOG-rated sleepwear to ensure they are neither too hot nor too cold:

• 26°C & Above (78°F): use a 0.2 TOG layer or less, like simply a diaper. This is high summer and extremely hot weather, so your little one will be fine without too much on.
• 25°C (77°F): we recommend 0.2-0.4 TOG, it's still very warm so something like a singlet or thin layer should do.
• 24°C (75-76°F): we recommend 0.4-1.0 TOG, to provide a bit of warmth but not too much to avoid overheating.
• 23°C (73-74°F): opt for 1.0-1.5 TOG, as the weather is milder.
• 22°C (71-72°F): similar, we recommend 1.2-1.5 to keep things moderate.
• 21°C (69-70°F): this is starting to get cooler, so we suggest 2.0-2.5 TOG to provide warmth, particularly if your baby runs a little cold.
• 20°C (67-68°F): same as above, keeping to 2.0-2.5 TOG.
• 19°C (66°F): getting colder still, we recommend adding more layers so a TOG of 2.7-3.5.
• 18°C (64-65°F): opt for higher TOG values like 3.5-4.0 sleep sacks.
• 17°C (62-63°F): as above, TOG 3.5-4.0 to help keep baby snug as this is getting chilly.
• 16°C (61°F): we recommend TOG 4.0-5.0, with multiple layers of sleep suits and rompers to help build warmth!
• 15°C (59-60°F): as above, TOG 4.0-5.0 and it would help if you can turn the heater on for at least an hour or two to help warm the room!
• 14°C & Below (58°F): we suggest at the very least 4.5 TOG and realistically, it would be more than that, and/or with the heater running for part of the night as this is very chilly indoor room temperature.

Using Our TOG Sleepwear Calculator

Our TOG sleepwear calculator is a handy tool designed to simplify the process of dressing your baby for sleep. The manual way would be figuring out the total TOG value above with the room temperature, and then determining what sleepwear items combined will total the TOG you need. Who needs extra mental maths when you're exhausted with a crying baby?! I certainly didn't.

This is where our calculator comes in and helps you figure it out! By inputting the room temperature, the calculator provides recommendations for the ideal TOG rating and popular sleepwear combinations. This ensures your baby is always dressed appropriately, no matter the season.

How to Use the TOG Sleepwear Calculator:

1. Measure the Room Temperature: Use a room thermometer to determine the current temperature of your baby's sleep environment.

2. Input the Temperature: Enter the room temperature into our TOG sleepwear calculator.

3. Receive Recommendations: Receive tailored suggestions for the ideal TOG rating and corresponding sleepwear to dress your baby comfortably.

Magic! We hope this calculator helps you make daily decisions about sleep with your baby. If you have any further questions, check out our FAQ.