Keeping baby warm at night

preggoandglowing · January 2016

Based on all that we're told about SIDS risks, my baby sleeps in the bassinet portion of pack n play with no blankets. I dress her in a long sleeve onesie, socks, fleece sleeper and put her in the fleece Halo sleepsack. We keep the temp at 73. Her head and face usually feel cold but if I put a cap on her it won't stay put because she stretches and moves her head all night. Lately she does not like the sleep sack or swaddling of any kind.

My mom thinks doctors are too overly cautious nowadays and is always telling me the baby is cold. She slept over to give us a break and when I got up to use the restroom found that she had DD sleeping all bundled with blankets even one around her head which made me upset. HOWEVER, DD slept for a 5 hour stretch when she is usually up every 2 hours so now I'm thinking my mom might be right about the baby being cold. But how can I keep her warm without blankets? Could using two sleepers work? Don't know how I would get the second one on though.. And how can I keep DD's head warm? Any tips or suggestions?

esscapelle · January 2016

My ped & nurse from the class we took actually said babies prefer the room temp to be between 68-70, and not as hot as everyone says. I'm surprised your LO isn't sweating with all those clothes on!

We keep our house at 68, and for nighttime my LO sleeps in a long sleeved onesie and his halo sleep sack, that's it. Sometimes his hands feel cool, but it's not to the point where I'm worried and it's not disrupting his sleep. Every LO is different though, try reading the signs of yours on whether it's too hot/cold.

hmjb86 · January 2016

We keep most of our house at 70 but have a space heater in ds's room and with te humidifier on, it's down right balmy in there through the night. He sleeps in a Long sleeve, footed onesie or a long sleeve sleep sack and is typically swaddled in a flannel receiving blanket. He'll break his arms free through the night and his hands are chilly but it doesn't seem to bother him. Maybe try a space heater if you can fit one in the room safely?

neanerbeaner4 · January 2016

We swaddled and blanketed our son like no ones business for the first few weeks but he has seemed to of grown out of it. Plus, he had a cold all last week. Now, however, he spends most of his days in a onesie with scratch mittens and socks on, and still runs warm. At night we put a blanket over his legs, but he kicks it off anyway. Currently he is in a sleeper in his swing with no blankets on, but there is also like 17 inches of snow outside and our house is drafty so I'm surprised he's comfortable. He wakes up if he's too hot.

teachmegs817 · January 2016

DS sleeps in a onsie with the little fold over mittens, sleeper, and then swaddled. We put a hat on him for the first week home, because he was coming out of the NICU and our house is under such a big remodel that it's been drafty. We keep the temp at 69-70 at all times. The only thing that ever feels cold and not really cold, more just cool are his hands, but we have the little mittens over them.

dec15mum · January 2016

This is the first time I've heard not to use blankets. My midwives said a thin soft blanket and a onesie but play it by ear on how he feels

sarahjulypsu · January 2016

Wow at that temp I'm amazed your LO isn't overheated. Go by how the back of there neck feels not there hands. Dressing them too warm does increase the risk of sids because they can sleep too deeply, at least that is what I have heard. We keep our house around 66-67. LO typically wears a long sleeve onsie, cotton sleeper and halo fleece sleep sack. If she wears a fleece sleeper I use a cotton sleep sack.

JackJacktheCat · January 2016

Hooded fleece pjs & halo sleep swaddle, like this:

Alyssaerin996 · January 2016

Ok, now I feel like a bad mom! Our heat is a little wonky (old house) so our room is always warm- probably ~72. DD sleeps in a long sleeve onesie and then swaddled in a muslin blanket and that's it. She never keeps a hat or socks on, ever, and she always seems comfortable. Maybe I should rethink...!?

FWIW, our pedi said its normal for newborn extremities to feel cold because their bodies aren't yet efficient enough to pump blood to all their parts uniformly.

laurabwalker · January 2016

Overheating a baby is as much a risk for Sids as loose blankets are, hands and feet will be cool feeling due to immature circulation. A sleeper and a swaddle should do the trick, hats are not advised as they can come off and cover baby's face.

ammnam14 · January 2016

We keep our house at 70 and it is always freezing. The windows aren't up to date (?lol) and let all of the air out. After bathtime I put DD in a fleece onesie and mittens then swaddle her with a swaddle blanket and regular blanket. Once she gets up for her first feeding I take the blanket off and end up just tucking her in with it. She's only swaddled from the chest down because she sleeps better when her arms are free. Like you, I was too concerned about SIDS and DD was only sleeping for 2 hours at a time, sometimes even less. My mom came to give us one nights break and had her swaddled like this and she ended up sleeping sooo good. We also don't put hats on her while she's sleeping..I woke up one night to her screaming because it was covering her face. So terrifying...never again!

angelicac06 · January 2016

Lol it's so something my mom would do! At the hospital she kept rolling blankets and putting LO on his side! It really bugged the nurses. As soon as she left, I placed LO on his back.

Yes over dressing(too hot) babies is also a sids risk. We keep the house at 69-70 at most. I dress him in a short sleeve onesie and a long sleeve fleece footed pj over it OR a long sleeve onesie and a sleeveless fleece sleep sack. Socks and mittens (mainly because he still goes at his face) no hat. No blankets or sheets as they also pose sids risk.

I know it seems like baby may be cold, if the back of his or her neck seems damp like sweating he or she is too hot. Also I think it depends on the age of the house due to insulation and windows of how efficient the heat will be. A person can have it at 70 but in an 80s built house with no renovations, a room will feel like 67. Just somthing to keep in mind.

Edited to add my baby has a 3-5 hour stretch of sleep every night.

LaceyH13 · January 2016

I have a hot-bodied baby. He sleeps in a cotton footie sleeper with a cotton swaddle sack - nothing else. Our house stays around 67 degrees and I think it is pretty good at staying there. We put fleece on him a couple nights and he ended up with a wicked heat rash all over his body.

neanerbeaner4 · January 2016

Our thermostat says it's 75 in here, but the house is from the 70's and every window is drafty, plus it's all hardwood floors. I am constantly cold, but DS always seems overly warm.

kdoak2015 · January 2016

My DD sleeps in bed with me, she's in a footed sleeper and I put a blanket on her just below her waist and tuck it in well. If she moves I'll feel her so I'm not worried about the blanket

colsen4 · January 2016

I was told by the nurses that baby should dress similar to mom and add a layer. We keep the house at 70 so I wear leggings and a tee most of the time. Lo gets fleece pjs and a swaddle blanket. I have had him too warm once and a little cool once but mostly that works for him. You should feel the neck or chest not hands or feet as pp have said.

JLS12JSP · January 2016

The nurses in the hospital told me that my LO was a warm one and having him naked in a halo sleep sack was perfect for him. He seemed fine with that at first but since moving him to his own room (which is a few degrees colder for whatever reason and drives me insane!) He now has a sleeper underneath the halo. I wrap him up in a big fluffy blanket during naps in his mamaroo (with constant supervision) and he completely passes out. I think he just really likes being warm and wakes himself up if he feels even a tad bit cold.

beccabeeee · January 2016

Wow that's a lot of clothing! My LO just sleeps in sleepers or onesies (sometimes long sleeved or short sleeved). Our heater is strange and doesn't always stay on so when it gets chilly I have a space heater on my night stand that I turn on and off throughout the night to keep it at a good temp. She sleeps in bed with us or sometimes in her crib in a co-sleeper with a blanket over the top of her - but we never go past her shoulders. She also hates being swaddled, did it the first night at the hospital and hasn't since lol

Mizuiro007 · January 2016

I've always heard the rule of thumb that baby should wear what you do plus one light layer. It still depends some on the baby. I tend to run cold but DS has always run hot. The most we could ever put on him was light cotton sleepers/pjs or he'd be drenched in sweat and have heat rash.

DD seems to run cold like me. We try to keep the apartment around 70 degrees and have a space heater in our bedroom since it's cooler (DS is happy with his room being cooler). DD either sleeps in a cotton footed sleeper, or gown with socks, and a muslin blanket swaddled around her with arms out. Her hands and face feel cool but she seems quite comfortable and tends to average 2 four hour stretches this way in a bare crib through the night and obviously wakes up because she needs a diaper and a feed.

raq_2020 · January 2016

Oh wow... I have the opposite worry!! I'm much more worried about overheating. I kind of obsess over it (checking his neck to see if sweaty & constantly touching legs to see how warm he is throughout the night). I keep his nighttime clothing very light. Overheating is a SIDs risk whereas being being a little chilly is just uncomfortable, right? Please correct me if I'm wrong!

preggoandglowing · January 2016

Interesting reading all your answers. Maybe because we're Cali we don't have as thick of skin because what I posted above for DD is one more layer than me lol! And sometimes I'm still cold so I use an extra blanket. The funny thing is she seems cool at night but during the day always seems hot. She sweats when I bf her so end up undressing her down to her onesie. Maybe she heats & cools easily but glad to hear she can survive with a fewer layers

groovylocks · January 2016

So we live in Michigan and here is our system. I dress Olive in footed fleece jammies and swaddle her in a muslin blanket - muslin is almost tissue thin but strong.

Our room is set to 70. By the door of her nursery the temp is 73 because the heating vent in her nursery is right on the other side of the door. She sleeps between my side of the bed and the window and it's about 69 over there. She seems comfy enough. Nighttime changes I feel her little feet and tummy and they're warm but not too.

I often feel she's either too warm or not enough. I feel like I can't tell. I chill easily because I have low BP. So I never know.

katy4128 · January 2016

Our house is set to 69/70 and we put my ds in a sleeper and a muslin swaddle. I was told not to do a fleece sleeper and a swaddle blanket so we save the fleece sleepers for the daytime when I don't swaddle him.

mhg54 · January 2016

My LO would be dripping sweat if I put him in all that! We use a footed onsie and an Ollie swaddle (thicker than muslin, but not fleece.) the first few nights home I was so worried about him being cold, we used a fleece onsie and fleece sleep sack and he woke up drenched. I was also told one more layer than what we would wear. Sometimes I think he's not warm enough, but also worry about too hits and SIDS. He's been sleeping 6.5 hours a night so he must be comfortable!

Taylovesbrad · January 2016

Long sleeve onsie, sleep sack, and a cotton blanket (double layer one) When we first came home I was layering way to much! I've chilled out a bit

AJo32 · January 2016

I started off putting DD in a fleece sleeper and then swaddling her in a receiving blanket, but then I felt like the fleece wasn't breathable and didn't want her to overheat. Now I put her in a footed cotton sleeper and a cotton Woombie. If it's extra chilly (it was single digits a few nights ago) I'll put a short sleeve onesie under her sleeper or swaddle her bottom half with a muslin blanket on top of the Woombie. She sleeps between my side of the bed and the window so it can get drafty. I check her neck if I wake up during the night and adjust her layers as needed. Based on what I've been told it's better for her to be on the chilly side than too hot.

ETA: DD generally sleeps 3-5 hour stretches.

groovylocks · January 2016

I actually took some of this seriously and put her in a onesie and then a lighter sleeper. Not cotton but a kind of terry cloth material. Then I swaddled her in her muslin swaddle as per usual. She is sleeping soundly right now. And interestingly enough, there was far less snorting when she first went to bed than we typically tend to hear.

oregonmommy-2 · January 2016

LaceyH13 said:
I have a hot-bodied baby. He sleeps in a cotton footie sleeper with a cotton swaddle sack - nothing else. Our house stays around 67 degrees and I think it is pretty good at staying there. We put fleece on him a couple nights and he ended up with a wicked heat rash all over his body.

This is exactly what we do. My baby is always warm to And I don't want him to over heat so he goes in a light cotton sleeper with a cotton swaddleme and he keeps warm. I was told to check the back of his neck to see if he feels cold not his hands. We keep our house at 67. During the day he only usually wears a short sleeved onsie, pants and socks. He gets so hot I can't even put a sweater on him in his car seat or his whole back with be sweaty when I pull him out.

laurabwalker · January 2016

My girl Ellie only wants a diaper to sleep in and I swaddle her. She's very particular

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