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2nd Trimester
missfire
member
Ladies, help me settle an argument with DH
missfire
member
Our former guest room is going to be a nursery for the babies. It's the coldest room in the house, though - about 60-65 degrees in the fall & winter. So I told DH I'm going to call either a heating company or someone who does insulation to see how we can warm it up.
DH said that's a waste of money, that the only solutions are to either leave the door open to help air circulate (which means the cats will get in there and sleep in the cribs) or to just dress the babies warmer at night. And he thinks I'm being silly to care whether there is cat hair in their cribs!
What do you think --
Would you let your babies sleep in a 60-degree room, or in a crib covered in cat hair?
Or even better, can you think of another option?
Thank you!
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Re: Ladies, help me settle an argument with DH
Our son's room is kind of cold and we ran into that issue last winter. I would recommend to try and seal your windows with plastic for the winter and insulated curtians. It helped a lot for us. I thought our cat was going to get into our son's crib at first but he stayed out... so maybe you might get lucky. I also tried a trick where we put foil in the crib with some sticky tape and heard that cats freak out from the sound and something on their paws. HTH
Our home was an old home that got very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. We remedied it with a space heater in the baby's room in the winter and a window A/C unit and fans in the summer.
Space heater worked like a charm
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We had the same issue at our house. Except instead of cats, we had to keep the door shut so our dogs wouldn't pee in her room.
We did get one of those black out/energy curtains, I think it did help a little.
There is also something we used called a sleep sack. It's like a wearable blanket. So there is no risk of SIDS, but it's kind of a pain in the butt for night time diaper changes, but I'd rather take an extra step than have baby cold.
https://www.halosleep.com/
We eventually did switch her room with my husbands office because it was warmer, once she grew out of using sleep sacks and was old enough for a blanket, the blankets would always get kicked off in the middle of the night.
Well... I can tell you that most newborns are pretty cold.. even in 74 degree temperatures. So keeping them warm is VERY imporant. My baby was born in July and would still cry when I changed her because room temperature (74 degrees) was too cold for her.
Newborns have very little fat, so they can't really keep themselves warm. 60-65 degress is certainly too cold. Insulate it somehow, or get a space heater. Good luck!
A 60 degree room is too cold for a newborn. Honestly, as a person with two cats, I would just leave the door open. Set the cribs up now, and use either a scat mat or aluminum foil in the cribs to teach the cats not to get in there. I think the chance of cat hair is less of a hazard than the low temp.
I would invest in some warmer insulation.
My crazy mother insists today that our cats are going to smother our baby in its sleep. Besides this being a ridiculous old wives' tale, are cats even interested in cribs? I think that my cats wouldn't jump in them. Do they? The fat tortie in my profile pic is a total wimp and I guarantee with hide from the baby's cries for the first year of its life. The orange tabby is pretty happy go lucky and loves snuggles. But I can't imagine he would love snuggle with someone that doesn't scratch/pet him though. I mean, cat snuggles are all for the benefit of the cat!
We don't have any problems with the cat in the crib- she's never made her way into it. We don't worry about the cat at all. If you are, perhaps you can keep a baby gate up to keep the cats out? Or just make it a point to change the bedding more often than usual if they do get in there?
DD's room is chilly but we have a little heater in there and a mini fan about 2 feet outside of the heater vent to help circulate the warm air better. Her new room doesn't even have heat at all- which worries me. I've been saying we should have one installed but my DH also thinks I'm nuts. We'll see.
Good luck!
Is is cold in there because it's on the end of the heat-line or is it because the room is poorly insulated with bad windows?
Dressing the baby warmer at night is not going to be enough if the temp truly gets down to 60 degrees in there. 60 is really cold for an infant, esp. a newborn. A space heater is probably your easiest option. There are plenty of heaters with timers, temperature settlings, safety-off features, etc. But, keep in mind that the space heater is probably not going to be a good idea in a year when the babies are walking around, so looking for a long-term solution now is not a bad idea.
I think it's at the end of the heat-line, and it's above the garage too.
I think you need to insulate that room. I know it can be spendy but its your best option.
EDD 1/31/13, MC May 17. EDD 3/31/13, MC July 26. I miss you so much already my angel loves
Re cold room: My DD did not sleep well when it was cold and we got a mattress cover, put warm blankets under the sheets. I am super freaked out about SIDS so for us no pillows and blankets for babies. I would call the heating company. 60F is cold.
Re cats: I would be scared that the cat would lie over the baby and suffocate it. It happened to someone I know and I scares the heck out of me.
I wouldn't worry about the cat hair. If anything, having a little cat hair in the crib would probably help prevent your LO from developing allergies (there are scientific studies that have shown that exposure to pet hair/dander prevents allergies in small children.) I'm more worried about the cats contributing to SIDS (mine like to sleep next to our heads). I've read that there are crib tents to keep kitty out of the crib. I'm planning on looking into these. Training kitty to stay out of the crib is a good idea as well.
Honestly, space heaters worry me more b/c of the fire risk, or depending on the type, possible carbon monoxide risk. Just make sure that the temperature raises enough with the door open, 65 is pretty cold.
BFP#2: EDD 2/11/14, MMC confirmed 7/15/13 (growth stopped at 6 weeks), D&C @ 12 weeks 7/25/13
I didn't read the suggestions, so someone may have suggested this, and I know it sounds weird, but if you want to leave the door open to get the heat in there, you could put a screen door on the doorway. I have a friend who did this (they have cats and their LO was very premature and in the hospital until she was 5 months old, is on oxygen still at almost 3 years, etc.) and it works for them.
I wouldn't let a baby or babies sleep in a 60 degree room, especially as newborns. And I wouldn't be thrilled about cat hair, but I don't have cats, so maybe I'm just more picky??
I agree that 60 is way too cold for a baby. I would reccommend starting off by weatherproofing the windows (I think the kits are about $10-15 each) and if that doesn't get the temp up then move to other options like heaters and calling the heating company.
As far as the cat, I do hear that tin foil works great. My thought is to actually put it in the doorway instead of just in the crib so that the cat doesn't go in that room at all. I can almost picture my cat curled up in the crib, so I think she would sneak in there if she didn't know she can't go in the room at all. If that doesn't work, I like the idea the PP had about the screen door. I never thought of that!
My room in my parents' house was the coldest too, by easily 10 degrees. My dad installed a booster in the duct work to my room and it was much, much better.
We have 2 spare rooms, and one is above the garage. I decided to make the other room the nursery because it's slightly warmer and only has one window (the other has 2.) Now that it's cold out, I am starting to realize how cold both rooms get. I am afraid of space heaters (we've all heard the stories) so we are looking into replacement windows, and will definitely be putting down a big rug (the hard wood floors just make it feel colder.)
Having a heating professional come in to take a look certainly won't hurt. Some companies even offer a free "energy audit" if you're considering new windows or new insulation.
Will your cats get in the room if you put up some sort of gate? I know cats climb, but I plan on keeping the nursery door open with a baby gate to keep the dogs out and let the warmer air in.
...and there's always warmer PJs! Good luck
i'd get an estimate from the insulation guy...and you may want one from a carpet guy too. If it's right over the garage, you might be able to get away with just upgrading the padding beneath your carpet and that would help with some of the heat escaping.