How to Change a Baby's Sleep Sack

Last Updated: April 8, 2021

Have you ever been in the stores and wondered how a sleep sack for a baby works? Well, to change one on a child, this article can explain how.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:
Placing Baby's Arms Through the Armholes

Removing their Old Sleep Sack

1
Find a safe and sturdy, firm but padded changing surface to use for the sleepsack-change if one is available. If not, you can change your child on the floor. Things that can be used include things you'd use to change their diaper that can be used for their sleepsack-changes.
2
Gather all the items you'll need, including the child who needs their sleepsack changed, the sleep sack, and whatever else may need to be changed at the same time, such as a diaper or additional clothes. This will differ depending on the situation. Lay them down on a flat surface where they can't roll off and hurt themselves.

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3
Open the zipper tab flap that should be currently covering the child's zipper (if one is included, which most should have).
4
Use the zipper to open up the garment. Most sleepsack zippers zip from bottom to top. But some are top to bottom, so it may differ on where you will find the zipper.
5
Reach one of your hands into their sleeves to grab their arm.
6
Pull their arm gently out from their arm-holes using a firm but gentle motion towards their face and body.
7
Take the other arm out by repeating the process.
8
Grab your baby for a moment. You will need to switch sleepsacks, and due to their overall style, you need to grab and hold the baby a moment or two.
- Make any other clothing adjustments on your baby before taking them off the old garment - change their diaper, if necessary.
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Replacing with a New Sleep Sack

1
Switch the sleepsacks on the changing surface. Most parents hold their baby on their shoulder - as if to burp them, but that can be your pick - as long as it gets the baby off the old sleepsack while you switch them around.
- Keep the zippers to the garment-facing in the same direction, completely open - to make for a fuss-free and super-easy change. Unzip the zipper to the new garment and place this one in approximately the same position as the old one was, flat open with the neck area above the base.
2
Place the baby back down onto this new sleepsack. Watch out for the neckline so the arms can get put into the armholes, not the reverse way around. Keep only their feet lying on the sleepsack.
3
Bring your baby's first arm into the sleeve. Grab one of your baby's arms, gently place it into the sleeve, and bring it out until you see the hand coming out of the cuff-hole.
- If it has attached mittens, you may end up having to keep your hand on the kids until the glove starts moving around - having your child make a fist going down the sleeve - relaxing the fist as it is believed to have entered the mitten.
4
Use this same style of replacing for the other hand.
5
Zipper up the garment. Again, it all depends on the direction of the garment's zipper. Some zipper up, others zipper down.
6
Close the zipper tab-flap if customized with one. Most snap shut with snap closings. The zipper-tab flap won't allow your baby to play with the zipper if they move their hand close enough to the zipper and need your help to get past, to get into the zipper's movement - making it tricky for baby to accomplish by themselves.

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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:
Placing Your Baby's Arms At their Side and Into the Sleep Sack

Parents often forget that when they place the baby in a sleepsack this way, the baby has no chance to reach their zipper since the baby would have to move their arms out the armholes, and that can make maneuvering a bit trickier for little hands, and therefore a little safer.

Removing the Old Sleep Sack

1
Gather all the items you'll need. Lay the child down onto the surface, along with a new sleepsack nearby.
2
Open up the zipper tab flap on the baby's used sleep sack. Sometimes it's at the top, and other times it's at the bottom, and it all just depends on how the manufacturer set them up with their zipper.
3
Use the zipper to open up the garment. Again, it all depends on the manufacturer, whether it's zip-up or zip-down.
- Realize that the baby won't be clothed once exposed and that you must work quickly to re-clothe them in a new garment.
4
Flare back both sides of the sleepsack - starting at the baby's zipper, making for easy removal of the garment. You must ensure you can easily see their hands.
5
Pick up the child from the sleepsack and bring them up to your shoulder for a few seconds so you can switch their sleepsacks.

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Replacing with a New Sleep Sack

1
Switch the sleepsacks on the changing surface. Most parents hold their baby on their shoulder - as if to burp them, but that can be your pick - as long as it gets the baby off the old sleepsack while you switch them around.
- Keep the zippers to the garment-facing in the same direction, completely open - to make for a fuss-free and super-easy change. Unzip the zipper to the new garment and place this one in approximately the same position as the old one was, flat open with the neck area above the base.
2
Place the baby back down onto the new garment - watching out to match the baby's neck with the garment's neckline. You won't have to worry as much about the armholes as you would have had you been using the above method.
3
Use your hands to keep your baby's arms inside the sleepsack. Hold your hands on your baby's arms (at least one hand holding their one arm is necessary).
4
Zipper up the garment. As it is zippered, move the location of your arm-holds, and keep eyes on the other arm/hand so little fingers don't get in the way at the same time the zipper is being zippered.
- Sometimes, it is easier to grab the baby's left hand with your left hand and drape the same arm over and up to the baby's right shoulder, keeping their right hand from pinching, as it is being zippered by your right hand. This may also be done with your left hand, and everything is done vice-versa.
- When you notice the zipper getting closer to the child's hands, you may need to use your free pinky or ring finger to push down any oppositional methods from your baby.
5
Remove your arm from the baby's exterior portion of the sleepsack once you can be assured that the zippers are at least 6 inches above the height of the tips of their hands, and the zipper can continue up the garment.
6
Continue zipping until the zipper stops, and you don't see any additional zipper-lines in eyesight.
7
Close the zipper tab-flap. Zipper flaps of sleep-sacks encasing the hands are less needed. But to make things more comfortable when the baby rolls around, close up and snap-shut the zipper tab flaps.

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Warnings

During zippering, watch for catching baby's fingers inside the zipper. Your arm is there for some protection but isn't foolproof.

Thanks!
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Sleepsacks may be great for diaper-wearing babies. But when it comes time for them to move around, it can make things too hard. Sleepsacks are presented on tags as being for babies newborn to about nine-months. However, many parents elongate the time these are worn. If the child doesn't fit in the garment, you may want to switch to using blanket sleepers or onesies or swaddle them in a blanket instead.

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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 9 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 21,650 times.

3 votes - 67%

Co-authors: 9

Updated: April 8, 2021

Views: 21,650

Categories: Babies and Infants

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