Good Idea or bad idea??

[NaeNae]

Looking at Shae in her cot last night with a mountain of blankets on her got me thinking ..... what do you think of the idea of converting a single bed goose down doona into 2 cot/toddler bed doonas?

they are warm and light weight, you can add an extra layer of blanket if need be ? Is it a good idea or not?

what warmth factor should i go for if I do.

Our house is an ice box in the winter and the last few nights the nursery has got down to 12 degrees I know come winter it will be very very cold. she already sleeps in a long sleeve undersuit plus winter pj's with feet or a coverall body suit. She gets wrapped sleeps under a top sheet, 2 doubled up celular cotton blankets, 1 doubled over polyester blanky which is warm in itself AND 1 minky type blanky .... the weight is incredible she does sleep very soundly but I worry about the weight and the only way I can make it warmer for much colder night that are on the way is to add more layers.

We don't have the option of a heater running all night though I do turn it on to warm up the room before she goes to bed, also I turn it on during her night feed so the chill is off the air at least ...

I dunno - is it a bad idea to convert a single doona, I can make 2 out of one so the other could go onto the other cot for the next baby when it comes. I figured Shae will be in the cot for a few years as it converts to a toddler bed so not a waste in that respect but do you think it weould be over kill ???

Any feedback welcomed

Nae x x

[Cocolove]

I think thats a fantastic idea, go for it, wish I was that talented.
Now that JB is older we just have his doona folded in 2 he isnt long out of a bed though now.

Great Idea

[skybie]

have u thought about a high tog grobag? theyre fairly exxy BUT they wear them for ages! and super toasty and u can put blankets ontop aswell.
i dont know the rules about doona's and babies, so cant help much there, but in theory it would work. i always have 2 extra blankets under my doona in winter though!

[NaeNae]

Skybie - Shae still likes to be wrapped (both arms) so the grow bags at this stage aren't an option .. in fact she has decided she will not sleep during the day unless she is wrapped tight either

I figured the rules would just be the same as a blanket but the advantage is less weight itms?

R-D - its not so clever really the doonas are done in square pockets rather than strips itms so reall all I would be doing is chopping along a seam line then running a zig zag stitch over the cut section just to neaten it off, doona covers are really nothing more than two bits of material sewn together and you can hand stitch snaps on to close one end. The thing I like most about goose down (I believe) its allergy and dust mite free so it has some benefits over blankets etc, the just need a good airing.

[MantaRay]

Nae, that sounds like a good idea. I think SIDS recommend that you don't use doonas until a certain age - I can't remember if it's 6 or 12 months, so maybe don't use it yet. After that though, it's a great idea.

[nic]

Sorry to thread hi-jack, but MantaRay, is the doona info on the SIDS website?? I've been looking and can't find anything?

[MantaRay]

I'm not sure nic, it's just a memory that I have from when the boys were small. Maybe it's changed?

[Miss E]

My DS also like to be wrapped to sleep, but he would wiggle around so much that by the time he got to around 10 weeks he was ending up sideways and partly under the blankets. I bought a couple of sleeping bags. I'd wrap him and then put him in the sleeping bag, it worked fine... anyway just a thought...

[Lolli]

grea idea nae but i think mr is right- no doonas until twelve months, say sids and kids. They still say that, i have it on a brochure from when dd

[Lolli]

Sorry, I was typing on my phone before. What I was trying to say was- recently as six months ago, sids and kids say no doonas,partly because of worries about them overheating, partly because they are too heavy and thick if they get them over their face. But they same the same apllies to thick blankets too.

Having said that Nae, awesome idea... I may just pinch it for ds

[NaeNae]

Thanks all ..... I was wondering what the whole sids and kids thing was too but couldn't find info on their website regarding blankets and over heating just doonas but then if you went for a summer weight doona (2-4 blanket warmth) just how different is that to loading up her cot with 3+ blankets

In my search I also discovered a website that sells silk doonas for cots they are exxy at around $165 ish but are breathable, allergen free, and light weight (3 blanket warmth) ... I have emailed Sids and kids to find out about blankets etc as well.

Miss E - thanks so much for that idea, if you don't mind me asking, how did you go dressing for warmth considering he was wrapped as well? did you ever do an additional cover over top JIC he got cold?

I have to admit I do check on Shae alot when I know she has 4 blankies on her because I worry she might bury herself under the blankies and not cry out and get too hot ... we also have the monitor turned way up for sensitivity but haven't put the cot pads under her matress yet ... might be a job to do tomorrow...

Nae x x

[Miss E]

T
Miss E - thanks so much for that idea, if you don't mind me asking, how did you go dressing for warmth considering he was wrapped as well? did you ever do an additional cover over top JIC he got cold?

My place doesn't get nearly as cold as yours by the sounds of things Nae, and I also had a heater that I would leave on in DS's room which meant that the coldest it got was 16 degrees. But, I got given some of the Merino kids newborn sleep gear and invested in more because it was so good. I would put DS in one of their merino sleeping gowns with a singlet underneath, then I swaddled him in one of their wraps and would then put him into the sleeping bag. The great thing about merino wool is it breathes really well so there are no worries about them overheating. The bags I got from them are great, they're newborn to 2 years and are suitable for 18 to 30 degrees so I can use them all year round. All through summer he's been sleeping in them in just a t-shirt. But they do also do a winter one which I think (I could be wrong) is suitable for really low degrees like 10 or something. They also have a range of merino pj's, I must admit I've been thinking that I might have to look at investing in some of them for winter.

They have a website if you google Merino Kids you can check out there stuff, it is a bit more expensive than the grow bags (mind you I shopped around and got the bags for about $125 from memory), but I've found them to be extremely good quality and also cos it suits them for a couple of years I tend to think in the long-run they work out to be really good value.

HTH

[elyshacharles]

I have worked within the bedding industry for over ten years and we do not recommend doonas for children younger than one - this is because of the risk of cot death and the fact that children cannot regulate their temperatures. I currently sell duvets online and so am advising people every day.

Children must be much older( 5+) before they should be allowed a tog higher than a summer weight doona which is 2.5 - 6 tog.(UK Rating)

I have three children under five and think that the sleeping bags are excellent - we have never worried about our children and they have always been warm enough - in the winter I have just added two cellular blankets if need be.

I know that your room is cold but do remember that the ideal temperature for a baby is 18 anyway and that is for just a sleeping bag so the extra blankets would be sufficient.

Once your little one is old enough for a doona then please do buy a goose down one as this will help to keep your little one at the correct temperature - again do not go for a high tog duvet - you can always add blankets if need be.

I do have a very useful tip for once your toddler is in their toddler bed.

My little boy was waking up every night cold because his doona (cot bed sized) was coming off and he was obviously waking me every night too.

I bought him a single doona but put it length ways across the bed - it doesn't look great as the doona touches the floor at the front and is bunched up against the wall at the back.

It just allows a lot more doona for toddlers to move around - I don't know about you but we find him in allsort of positions throughout the night - the cot bed sized doona was just slipping off.

He is sleeping through though as the doona is harder for him to kick off and there is much more of it to keep him covered and so he is warm enough.

I only bought this new doona a few weeks ago and I can't believe the difference that it has made.

[deletedit]

It would get down to below 10 inside our old house sometimes (and ten or more below outside), and we had a wriggler that needed wrapping or she'd whack herself in the face and scream the house down. If we ever got her to sleep at all. And if she came unwrapped she'd get cold, wake up and scream. And I know it was cold in that house because we'd have an electric blanket, heavy wool doona, flanellette sheets AND sometimes a blanket or two on top of that to stay warm.

I got my mother to hem up (you don't *need* to hem them though) a long piece of polar fleece - about 60cm x 1.5m and we wrapped her up in that. Worked a treat.

Now its winter again and she's older and prone to throwing out all her blankets and taking off all her clothes at night she sleeps in a full arms-and-legs polar fleece onesie with the zip safety pinned shut, although she got out of a cheaper onesie simply by ripping the zip apart.

Maybe by the time she's 3 we'll convince her to actually sleep UNDER blankets *eyeroll*

[Floweryfields]

Great idea - my parent's Jack Russell has two doonas made exactly as you describe spoilt - just a bit.

[Arcadia]

Just wanted to add that the bedding under bub is just as important as what's on top. We us a lambswool underlay and then a full sleep suit and then one extra blanket on cold nights.

We also use a doona because dd is in our bed most of the night...but she rarely stays under the covers.