how to keep bub warm (but not too warm) this winter

hi everyone... i was just wondering what's a good temperature to keep a baby warm during the winter time? ethan's been waking in the middle of the night lately (he's slept through since 3 months) and i thought maybe it had to do with the temperature of the room. we have a heater but it's one of those timed ones that turn off automatically... should we get one that stays on throughout the night and leave it on low? or would that be too much for a little bub?

how many layers of clothes do you put your baby into when they sleep? i've probably got ethan in too many layers.. but my SIL says it's better to have them too hot than too cold.. is that right? it sounds a bit weird.. and also how many blankets?

ethan's got a bit of a cough now so i thought it might have to do with the temperature as well... any advice or experiences?

I don't agree that it is better to have them too hot, because they can find it hard to regulate their body temps still. A general rule of thumb is whatever you are wearing plus one extra layer. In bed at night, do you have him in a sleeping bag as well or just under blankets? I always found that my three would get out from under the blankets and wake up because they were cold, so I got them a sleeping bag to wear too and it helped a lot. So they would wear a jumpsuit plus their sleeping bag and on their bed would be 1 sheet, 2 blankets and a light quilt.

I dont like having little heaters on at night because of the fire danger, because even though some have cut out switches, I don't want to take the risk, plus they can sometimes make the room too stuffy IYKWIM?

HTH

Great question Dana.

I'm always freaking out over the temperature thing!! You can never know whether you've got it right or not!

Great advice Sherie and I agree about the air heaters - very stuffy when left on for a while!

Dana - I don't have any advice - but I'm so glad you have asked!! It is SO hard to figure out! I have Emma in her jumpsuit (singlet underneath), sleeping bag, 2 flanellette wraps & one cotton wrap. I don't use a heater in the room either because I worry that the room will get too hot & I won't know about it.....it is such a hard call!

Emma also used to sleep through but no longer does....If nothing else lets hope that spring will bring relief!

I used to prefer that Kynan be a little on the cool side than too hot as I was paranoid about SIDS! Being in Tassie we need to have a heater on in the bedroom of a night or it gets waaaay too cold. I try to make sure that the room temp doesn't drop below 16 deg. I always leave the window open a bit so that there's still good airflow and the room doesn't get too hot. The ideal room temperature is said to be around 18 deg but I know Kynan tends to sleep better when it's more like 20.

I always thought that 16-18 degrees seemed to be too cold!!! 20 degrees seems more friendly LOL.

We dress Fergus in a singlet, long sleeve onsie and bonds wondersuit for sleep. Then put him in a 2.5tog sleeping bag. He's nice and toasty but not to warm. He's too wriggly to stay under his blanket and sheets overnight nowadays so the sleepingbag is a must. We don't leave his heater on overnight, but do warm up the room while he's in the bath before bed.

We don't have a heater on, she wears singlet, bonds suit, sheet and blanket wrapped around her, then under a blanket. i just worry about her bald head getting cold. She's got a cold and it isn't going, is there somehting else I should be doing?

Yep, we're Melbourniters in a cold house so warming the room up before I put WM to bed seems to help. He tends to overheat (like his Dad) so I just dress him in a light stretchy Bonds suit or pyjamas and put him in his sleeping bag. I then tuck him in with a flannelette sheet.

Meg it sounds like Coco is wrapped up warmly. I think they lose a lot of heat from their heads if outdoors but maybe not so much indoors. If you're worried though, maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a very light beanie or cap?

The MCHN told me that if unsure whether baby is too hot, place a hand on their tummy. If they are hot, that is where you will feel it.

Mel

Kaitlyns room gets so cold as one side of her room is all window...so hot in summer and cold in winter!. We dress her in a singlet , long sleeve top plus her winter jammies with little feet and then in a sleeping bag . She has covers but never stays under them!. She still wakes up with cold tooties but the one time I put socks under her jammies it left a mark like they had cut of the circulation so I am not doing that again!.

Just wish I could keep her nice and warm all night as well!.

sorry ...was going to ask if you girls thing the flannel sheets really do make a difference?.

I have put a woollen underlay on her bed and that seems to make a difference.

We are about the same as Kirsty, Jackson sleeps in a singlet, then flannelette PJ's and ankle socks a 2.1 tog sleeping bag and a cot blanket over the top of that. Lately our house has been dropping to under 10 degrees at night, so we leave the ducted heating on about 12 degrees. Jackson is a real sweaty baby, if he slept in an 18 degree room, I think he would melt!

m2k, I think that flannel sheets make a bed heaps more cosy and so does a wool underlay.

We leave our ducted heating on about 18/20 alnight... But Dh & I hate the cold!!! Indah & Maddy's ducted heating vents are almost shut off, so they arent blowing a lot of hot air in there!

Indah sleeps in singlet, a short sleved bodysuit, flanelette PJ's & a sleeping bag, but she throws her blanket (Cellular) out of the cot!?

She then wears on alternate nights her all in one snugtime thick, fluffy, warm Pj's!!! with a long sleeved bodysuit underneath... She has been waking up everynight from her eye teeth, so I have no idea if she is cold/hot as well! But she was fine last week, just these past days she is cutting her eye teeth!!!!

Kate - what type of heater do you use that is cheap to run? We have a small portable heater fan with a thermostat but have found it very expensive to run as dd's room is drafty and doesn't stay warm long once the heater shuts off, so it was running almost constantly! Nearly had a heart attack when we got the electricity bill!!

Thanks!
Stephanie

I am alarmed at how many of you are over dressing your children!. Be really careful about over heating ladies, its a leading factor in SIDS. The UK has a much higher SIDS rate because too many babies are over dressed in winter for bed, when they dont need to be.

The idea of using a sleeping bag is to replace blankets. Dont use a blanket over the top of one, its very dangerous. Its also perfectly normal for their hands to get cold in the night, as well as their faces. I wouldnt advice putting a beanie on them in bed either, they need to be able to regulate their temperature through their heads...

You can download the SIDS FAQ brochure here http://www.sidsandkids.org/documents/FAQSept2005.doc which will answer your questions on keeping your baby warm but safe in winter.

Edited to add these quotes from the SIDS FAQ:

17. How much clothing should a baby sleep in?

A useful guide is to dress baby as you would dress yourself – to be comfortably warm, not hot. Overheating is a risk factor for SIDS. Babies mainly keep themselves cool through their head, in particular the face. So make sure baby’s face and head remains uncovered and baby will be able to stay comfortably warm. Remove hats or bonnets from baby as soon as you come indoors or enter a warm car, bus or train, even if it means waking the baby.

18. In a very cold climate how much bedding does a baby need?

Current research suggests that if baby becomes either too hot or too cold the risk of SIDS increases. To prevent this you need to use your own judgment, depending on where you live, whether you have home heating and whether it is summer or winter. A useful guide is to dress baby as you would dress yourself – to be comfortably warm, not hot or cold.

Please dont put hats on your babies when they are sleeping. its the only way they can regulate their temperature if they overheat.
Best to leave little bald heads alone!

As for the warmth factor - everytime I put socks on jenna inside her sleeping bag, she doesn't sleep through. We have her in long sleeve top, flannel jammies, sleeping bag (2.5TOG) and I've started putting a light cellular blanket over the top. She never has cold feet when she wakes up - so I dont know why I put socks on her?

We've always gone on the side of caution with heat - I keep her colder rather than warmer, and I try to use natural materials in her bedding - wool and cotton preferably. I hate the idea of polarfleece in her bedding - I wouldn't want to sleep in it, so I wont make her.

i agree that some parents are majorly overdressing their babies. I shudder to think of how many blankets we first put on Jackson (he was a winter baby) was so dangerous, we just didnt know any better. But, there is nothing wrong whatsoever with using a light blanket over a sleeping bag, especially the cheaper lighter bags. We sleep under a sheet, a blanket and a doona, the bags are basically the same as a lightweight doona, so in cities like melbourne, they are just not enough on a cold night especially if the rooms aren't heated. Also if you go onto the living textiles website, they have a guide for what bedding should be used if any on top of the bags depending on what temp the room is.

More often than not, Maddy sleeps in a growsuit with a singlet & socks underneath, if not a long sleeved t-shirt underneath as well if it is extra cold. Then I put her sleeveless sleeping bag over the top. One night was particularly cold so I had her in a tracksuit (and tucked the hoodie part down her back if that makes sense?) and then the sleeping bag.

Now that she is in her own cot, she has a blanket doubled-over instead of the sleeping bag but we may need to add this back into the scenario if it gets much colder as winter progresses. It was 1 degree the other morning at 6:30am when my DH got up to go to work! :) Brrrrr.....