If you read my review on the Grobag line of sleep sacks, you know I’m a big fan of the whole idea. I think sleeping bags help promote an ideal, safe environment in which your baby can get some ZZZs.
We used the Grobag brand almost exclusively with The K Man, until the day he went into a toddler bed (well past the age of three). It didn’t matter whether there were snaps at the shoulders or not with him – he never tried to take the thing off.
Fast forward a couple of years and enter my daughter. She falls into that “spirited” category, which I’m convinced is really just a nice way of saying “crazy.”
We’d been using her brother’s hand-me-down Grobags successfully until one morning, about four months ago, when I wandered into her room in the middle of the night to see what she was upset about. Reaching down into her crib in the darkness, I was met with…skin. A lot of smooth, cool baby skin.
Bleary-eyed and confused, I turned on her night-light to find that she’d managed to unsnap the shoulders of the Grobag – which was now around her waist – and get one of her arms out the neck of her pyjama top.
I bundled her back up, turned off the light, sang a little lullaby and went back to sleep myself.
I already happened to be preparing for this safe sleep series, and that weekend I did some Googling to find a solution: a sleep sack without shoulder snaps. I wanted an organic sleep sack, too, and I came across a new brand to Canada called ergoPouch. I was taken with both the design and the fabric, and was delighted when the company’s distributor, Kid Central, agreed to send me the organic cotton and bamboo sleep sack to test.
THE GOOD
I’m glad I chose the “mild” sleeping bag to test. At only 1 tog, it’s rated lower than the Grobag’s I’ve typically used in cooler weather, but it’s far thicker than its 1-tog Grobag cousin. Like any sleep sack, you can help create an ideal temperature for your baby by choosing the right PJs. We have very successfully used the ergoPouch mild sleeping bag in two very distinct temperatures – summer and fall – by using short-sleeved jammies with shorts under the sleep sack in
the warm weather and long-sleeved jammies when it’s been cooler. Miss Q is wearing this sleep sack in bed as I write this and it’s pretty chilly outside. We keep our house at about 20 degrees overnight.
The main body of the ergoPouch 1 tog sleeping bag is primarily high-quality organic cotton (in fact, it’s two layers of 400-thread-count cotton), but there are strips down each side and at the shoulders that are a stretchy bamboo, which creates a really nice movement and means that no matter how spirited your child gets in his sleep, his sleep sack will move with him effortlessly.
If you’re used to Grobags, you’ll find the shape of the ergoPouch a bit different. It reminds me a bit of those mummy-shaped sleeping bags that serious outdoor enthusiasts use when they do silly things like winter camping. It’s certainly not restrictive enough to cause your baby any discomfort whatsoever (we’ve had zero complaints out of Miss Q, and I assure you – if she doesn’t like something, we hear about it), but I think the shape offers one huge bonus if you have a nighttime adventure-seeker: it should limit your child’s mobility just enough that she can’t hoist a leg over the side of her crib and escape. Much more so than with any Grobag-branded sleep sack. The ergoPouch sleeping bag is the only one of its kind that I’ve ever seen.
At $65.99, I think the price – by comparison to other brands who offer an organic sleep sack option – is really fair. I recall paying upwards of $90 for The K Man’s first organic sleeping bag.
THE GAFFE
Because the ergoPouch’s organic cotton is quite thick, it makes it more challenging for Miss Q to walk around in her room when we’re just about to get ready to cozy up in her story time chair for the bedtime routine. This isn’t really a problem, but I thought it was worth noting.
When comparing the organic cotton and bamboo sleep sack to ergoPouch’s 2-tog natural merino wool and bamboo sleep sack, the zipper isn’t as well-thought out. On the merino version, you can’t actually fully unzip the zipper. I prefer this. There’s no reason you would ever need to completely disassemble the zipper – what the heck are you going to do with the extra three millimetres you gain, exactly? The organic cotton and bamboo version, on the other hand, has to be re-done if you accidentally unzip too quickly or if it gets mangled in a particularly zany load of laundry.
The 12 to 36-month size will not last us until Miss Q is three; it’s shorter than a Grobag of the same size. The good news is that ergoPouch offers a 3 to 6 year old size.
THE GEARS
4.5/5
Ingrid L says
I’ve got my littlest one sleeping in her no-snaps-at the-shoulder GroBag as I write this. One feature that I love about it is the fact that is has a little flap at the bum part that makes it car seat compatible. Perfect if you’re out somewhere and anticipate your little one falling asleep in the car. Makes for a very easy transition!
I love that that ergoPouch is available in the next size up and will definitely invest in this. There were many sleepless nights after my son grew out of his 18-36 month size and I struggled for an equivalent bedding solution!
Mommy Gearest says
We had a travel Grobag at one point, too – so convenient. But never worked for The K Man because he would NOT sleep in a car. Ever.
Ingrid L says
I’ve got my littlest one sleeping in her no-snaps-at the-shoulder GroBag as I write this. One feature that I love about it is the fact that is has a little flap at the bum part that makes it car seat compatible. Perfect if you’re out somewhere and anticipate your little one falling asleep in the car. Makes for a very easy transition!
I love that that ergoPouch is available in the next size up and will definitely invest in this. There were many sleepless nights after my son grew out of his 18-36 month size and I struggled for an equivalent bedding solution!
Mommy Gearest says
We had a travel Grobag at one point, too – so convenient. But never worked for The K Man because he would NOT sleep in a car. Ever.