Not giving baby a blanket or quilt to sleep under

BTW, lots of growbags do have sort-of legs.
Not all are just "bags" with shoulder fastenings.

i think it is partly to avoid the risks of babies tunnelling down, under the blanket, with their heads covered, and not getting enough air.
but OP you could have looked this up with 2 clicks; so the problem seems to be your attitude rather than DIL's practice.

As long as the child is warm enough then covers shouldn't be necessary. They are more likely to wake up because they have thrown them off and got too cold if they are what is being used to keep the baby warm.

Not your child, not your choice. Say nothing.

Thomas67 I think you need to take into account that many (but not all) homes are very well heated plus so many are driven around now too so they don’t get as cold.It may seem unthinkable, because -for example the horrid little housing association house I lived in when my first child was born was cold and damp with one fire in the main living room. I find myself flinging off clothing now in my cosy flat and often think back with a ? shiver and wish we had started off in somewhere warmer, and just nicer but our situation wasn’t unusual and the kids don’t remember, we survived. Being healthy and young. However I still have this ancient desire to wrap newborns up in blankets it just seems natural if unnecessary. The clothing and fabrics are so much improved as well.

All my grandchildren slept in GroBags. DD added an extra cardigan or sweater if she thought their little arms would be cold. They went into regular sheets and duvets when they got theirs first big girl/boy bed.

Welcome to the new recommendations for sleeping - your dil is following the most updated guidelines.

Your dil may not want anybody's (unsolicited) advice and she shuts it down.

All my DGS had grobags and they’re much cosier than just a pair of pyjamas.

Blankets are fine as well if used correctly. The main thing for a young child is that they’re not allowed to get too hot….or too cold.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/reduce-the-risk-of-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/

All four of my GC slept in Grobags too. I would never interfere with what my DIL or DD do with their children. As others have said times change.

It's not your child and not your place to say anything if the child is obviously well cared for and is thriving.

You have it right when you say you have made no comment, that is always best practise unless you are asked for your opinion on your DIL's parenting decisions and even then, there is a way to say things and a way not to.

You will enjoy a much better relationship with this couple and their child if you stay in your own lane and keep your opinions to yourself. Say something and it'll only lead to trouble.

Praise your DIL sincerely as to what a great job she's doing and your son, be a source of support, non judgement and good sense and don't interfere because Thomas 67, that is what commenting on how they choose to raise their child is.

It is all very different now my new DGD will sleep all swaddled up and no blanket. As soon as she is a bit bigger she will go into a Grobag. DGS who is in a big bed has a quilt but was brought up the same. Don’t question your DIL and DS parenting it will end badly.

This thread just highlights the fact that baby care evolves and changes over the generations.
We used to keep our babies tucked up and snug usually on their tummies (our mothers laid US on our sides, turning our heads to discourage uneven or sticking out ears ) but our daughters’ generation puts them on their backs and are very careful not to let the temperature of the room and cot get above a certain level, because cot deaths are linked to overheating more than anything else it seems. Cot bumpers are also now seen as hazardous and even the odd soft toy should not be left in the cot.
Our role is not to comment or attempt to interfere. Maybe Mum does know best- not Grandma!

Never heard of grow bags but they sound lovely, I might get one or would that be a sleeping bag?

Yes - a grow bag for the winter sounds great - but I have visions of me hopping to the loo at night - like a sack race!

GCs both had grobags, mine had onesies, but bedding too as we didn’t have any heating, so Winters were nippy.

Each generation reinvents the wheel so to speak because when we know better, we do better.

Having excess soft items in cots can lead to suffocation or strangulation and increased the risk of SIDS. Your DIL isn't just making stuff up. In fact, she will have heard this from the moment she got pregnant.

www.nct.org.uk/baby-toddler/sleep/cot-safety-bedding-and-bumpers-your-questions-answered

You may do well to accept the fact that mothers and fathers today do things differently as advised by their doctors (and many years of scientific research) and hide your disdain (which clearly comes across in your post) and let them be the parents they are.

If your DIL shuts down when you mention things, it may be that you are mentioning to many things of which you do not know best, as in this case.

In winter some sort is sleeping bag is ideal . Infants wriggle quite a lot so blankets and quilts don't stay over the baby anyway. A bag , preferably that leaves arms uncovered is the answer and the safest option . My children, well and truely adult now all slept in bags of some sort - the safest option I think .

My dc have used grobags, too. I like them, much easier than sheets and blankets and less laundry to do! It’s a win all round.

Though things do change all the time. My son was told to swaddle his first because it helps the baby feel secure and drift off to sleep. By the time the second one was born a couple of years later swaddling was frowned upon in case it damaged the baby’s joints. I’ve no idea what current advice is on that - I expect I’ll find out in the autumn when my latest GC is born.

DD1 would never actually stay under any type of bedding so I used to put her into a fleece jumpsuit that went over her sleepsuit so that she was wearing a blanket.

We also had special sleeping bags that went inside the pram - handy as they used to sleep outside in minus 20C at her Swedish nursery,

As all the pps have said, this is current guidelines and has been for a fair while now. Most people use grobags/sleeping bags (grobags are just a popular brand of them) all come with tog ratings and guidance on what to wear for the temperature of the room. The grobag brand even come with a room thermometer so you can check the temp of the room against the ‘what to wear’ chart.

It’s for two reasons, to reduce risk of suffocation from blankets and to reduce the SIDS risk, babies can easily overheat which is a contributory factor to SIDS so this maintains the correct body temperature.

My mum and gran found it bizarre at first and both had an instinct to throw blankets over her but we’ve had a baby lost to SIDS in the family so I’m really cautious.

Warmer months DD is either is shorts and t-shirt pyjamas with a 1 tog sleeping bag or just slightly thicker pyjamas. So the same as your grandchild really.

My DC are in their 30s and 40s.
They never kept the covers on anyway so I put them in zip up sleep bags with sleeves in the winter. Mothercare used to sell them, I think.
When they were older and could stand up I put them into ones with legs and grippy soles to the feet.

Grobags are good but check with Which the ones that are recommended as not all are; often they are sold on craft sites and may not have had a safety check.

A paediatrician told me that babies are often kept too warm anyway.

All my grandchildren have had them and been fine. DGS2 wouldn't give his up until he was almost 3 and in a cot bed. They all have summer/winter duvets now. DGD kicks everything off, wriggles about, goes upside down then wakens the family screaming "My covers have gone!!!"

My DS was put to bed in pyjamas and a zip up onesie with feet, we used to call it his Teddy bear suit. He never kept the blankets over him so it was the best solution. He will be 50 in December.

Harrigran, yes, they were like cuddly little teddy bears when they were zipped up in those suits!

Mine had the sleep suits with grippy feet, too! I’d forgotten about them until your mention, Callistemon. They were so squishy, dressed in those. ❤️

I once checked on my baby, not a baby now, to find the cot bumper had come away from the cot. It was covering her face and she was fighting to breathe. Nearly lost her that day. Also, one day she was clammy, red and soaking wet. I rang doc, and he said how many blankets does she have. 7 , I replied, he said theres your answer. Clearly thought I was neurotic first time mum. Wearing warm pjs now is much better for kids in heated houses