Air Conditioner??

JennaRaek · May 2014

This might seem like a stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyways. We finally had our first hot day of the year yesterday here in PA. Today is supposed to be just as warm and last night we had a hell of a time getting DS to go to sleep. He never fights me at bedtime. Naps, yes. Bedtime, never. It was 80 degrees in his room and I think he was just way too warm. We had him stripped down to his diaper and had his windows open but after a few minutes, he'd wake up and start crying. So I guess my question is: do I go after work and buy a small air conditioner for his window? A portable one? Just a window fan? This probably seems common sense but we never had air conditioners when I grew up. My parents house is in the woods and surrounded by trees. There was no need for them. The house stayed cool. Now that DH and I live in town and get a lot more direct sunlight, we need them. We have one in our bedroom and one on the main floor. Obviously if we got one for him we wouldn't put it on high, but this is kind of all new to me as stupid as that is. Any advice/input would be great. Thanks! Sorry to start Friday off with a dumb question!

moosebaby2011 · May 2014

I don't know if I'd rush out today to get one, but I'd probably get a window a/c unit for LO's room eventually. I wouldn't want to waste the floor space on a portable unit (the only ones I've seen are HUGE), plus the portable units will be easier for LO to grab once he is mobile.

JennaRaek · May 2014

@moosebaby2011 I don't know why, but I never thought about the portable unit and DS getting into it. Makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

peanutmuse · May 2014

We put in a window unit yesterday. We get a lot of traffic noise during the day, so he'd never be able to nap with the windows open. Which would mean it would be 90 degrees in there. It was 78 in his room when I got home last night at 8:30 (and it was only 65ish outside).

sugarland726 · May 2014

We have window units in every bedroom (also known as redneck air conditioning). A 5,000 BTU unit is about $100.

bensmommy518 · May 2014

We also have window units in all the bedrooms and in the living room. I would just make sure that you get one with a digital thermostat for LO's room. That way you set the temp you want and it wont get too hot or too cold. In our room we have an old dial one and we crank it all the way up when we first go in and then during the night we usually wind up turning it down because its too cold now. I didn't want to have that problem with the ones in the kids rooms. For the winter (becasue we have an old house) we have a portable heater that does the same thing - set a temp and forget it.

JennaRaek · May 2014

sugarland726 said:

We have window units in every bedroom (also known as redneck air conditioning). A 5,000 BTU unit is about $100.

Haha! Our house is 100+ years old. No central air here. Redneck air conditioning it is! What's really redneck... the people who we bought our house from actually removed a window and put a huge air conditioner in. To cover the other part of the "window"... plywood. And then spray foamed around it. So classy! We have no idea how to go about fixing it (odd shaped "window" and can't find a replacement) and it does keep the whole main floor cool. We just cleaned it up, insulated, and put the blind down to hit the top of the ac unit. Thank goodness it's the side of the house that faces our neighbor and no one walks there! You'd never know by looking at it inside the house, but it's so embarrassing.

CopperT0p · May 2014

I agree with a window unit, and if you can find one with a thermostat on it so you can set the temperature rather than high/med/low that would give you the piece of mind that his room won't get too cool or too warm overnight.

amt0312 · May 2014

Window unit is ready to be put in LO's window this weekend. Supposed to be 75 degrees here in MA this weekend, but our house is old and it gets SO hot upstairs and her room faces the evening sun, so it bakes in the afternoon. She's still swaddled, so I don't want her to overheat.

JennaRaek · May 2014

kellydew09 said:

I've always had central a/c, so I can't advise on a window unit. But do you have the option of installing a ceiling fan for him? Or would that not get it cool enough?

His room isn't that big, so I think a ceiling fan might look ridiculous and be too much. But that's something to run by DH! Thank you!

And thanks everyone else for their input! I appreciate it!

pinkyxboo · May 2014

We just put a window unit in last night. Ours is similar to what some pp's posted.. you can set the temperature you want it to maintain. It has the option of an "auto" setting where it will adjust the fan speed and coolness according to the temp you want, but air constantly blows out, or it has an "econ" setting where once the desired temp is reached the unit stops blowing air and goes into a standby mode until the room temp starts to rise again. I really like the econ setting for baby girls room because it's not running when it's not necessary. I'm sure a lot of the newer models have this type of setting as well.. I would definitely recommend it.

worleygirl · May 2014

Nothing to add but it never occurred to me that people might not have central AC. Lol. I assumed everyone had it and people just didn't use it. I feel like an idiot.

JennaRaek · May 2014

worleygirl said:

Nothing to add but it never occurred to me that people might not have central AC. Lol. I assumed everyone had it and people just didn't use it. I feel like an idiot.

This made me giggle!

Our house was built in 1900. No central air. I don't think it's even an option to put in. Even if it was, we wouldn't invest that much into this house. We don't plan on being there more than 5 years or so. I tell DH all the time that our house has a 10 year plan and it's half way through it!

sugarland726 · May 2014

worleygirl said:

Nothing to add but it never occurred to me that people might not have central AC. Lol. I assumed everyone had it and people just didn't use it. I feel like an idiot.

It's not super common up here to have whole house central air. It's just not needed for a long period of time. Conversely, when I went to Florida recently and heard my cousin talk about the "emergency heat" system they have, that was the craziest concept I could imagine. We could never live without a central heating!

SJSLA · May 2014

Our house was built in the 20's so no central air and terrible insulation, so we bake in the 100+ weather in the summers. We have window units all over and in DD's room. It's a bit tricky getting the temp right (no thermostat unit) but I'd rather use a blanket in the cool room than having her overheat. For hot nights we sometimes use the low cool setting and she sleeps comfortably, or on nights where it's warm, we leave a window open and put the ac on 'fan' to pump in cool outside air.

JennaRaek · May 2014

@esd and @allyern Very true! We have to make a trip to Lowes this weekend anyways. We'll take a look. Thank you!

sugarland726 · May 2014

ovenrack said:

charmingthemoon said:

@ovenrack‌ even in this area I am planning on getting AC for the baby's room.

I guess what I mean is, is anyone else not getting AC? We don't have it anywhere else in our house.
I'm not trying to be cruel, but actually assess if this is a "back in my day..." issue of safety (like seatbelts and stranger-danger, which were not addressed long ago, but are real concerns) or and issue of popularity (everyone's doing it).

IE, will I really not be able to keep my baby comfortable and safe with fans alone?

EDIT for clarity

It's harder for babies to regulate temperatures than adults. Plus you can't reason or explain things to them. At least if it's 90 degrees out you can tell your H why he's so hot and miserable. But that doesn't work for a baby and meanwhile, they aren't sleeping because they are so uncomfortable. So for my house, yes, I think an air conditioner is important for some days to keep everyone happy. Sometimes a fan just doesn't cut it.

amt0312 · May 2014

@ovenrack - I think you will be able to keep your baby safe with fans and no window units in Massachusetts, but for me its more about convenience and having the baby sleep comfortably rather than risk her waking up because she's hot or uncomfortable. While I do worry about overheating, I know that I could reduce that risk if I unswaddled her but I don't want to just yet.

I also grew up with no AC in Buffalo NY and survived no problem; however, after living in NC for awhile where EVERYTHING has AC, I simply don't want to live without it anymore. Love me some window units!

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