# How to keep baby warm at night...?



## germin8 (Jul 20, 2010)

Our DD's crib is in our room right by our bed. She is ~4 months now.

With winter coming, I am wondering how to keep her warm.

We sleep with a sheet & down comforter... much too warm for us to notice how cold it really is in the room. Our DD only wears her PJ and one receiving blanket tucked around her. I would think she gets cold before we would notice, so we adjusted (raised) our temperature to 73F/23C.

I'm not sure what we will do when winter actually arrives. It was only a low of 55F/13C last night. Do we buy her warmer clothes? Do I put a long-sleeve onesie under her PJ? I don't think blankets are recommended at such a young age. Should we use our space heater at night? Should we just keep the heat on at 73F/23C (or whatever temp) all night?

Am I concerned for _nothing_?


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## Hannah32 (Dec 23, 2009)

I gave in and bought the sleep sacks, even though I think they are ridiculous on many levels. They have fleecy ones. We also keep the heat higher than before the baby. He seems comfy.


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## Friday13th (Jun 13, 2006)

Well I'll start by saying 73 is way warmer than we keep it during the day. We run about 65-68 during the day and around 60 at night. We all cosleep so it's pretty toasty but I think for a baby in a crib you could do a fleece footie and/or a sleep sack with a onesie under the whole thing and they'll be fine. I think layers are the key.


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## Jend1002 (Feb 2, 2010)

We used sleep sacks that have full sleeves (that made more sense to me) with a cotton sleeper underneath. It worked perfectly.


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## germin8 (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks for the tips.

Yes, I thought 73F was too warm. I wasn't sure what would be best for baby.

I'll look into the sleep sacks & fleece footies... and layers. Thanks.


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## Super~Single~Mama (Sep 23, 2008)

I co-sleep, but I would be careful about the fleece pj's. They were WAY to warm for my hot sleeper. Even in winter my ds wears thick cotton pants and a long sleeve cotton shirt to bed. Socks too on the really cold nights. He just sweated like CRAZY in the fleece stuff - which just made him cold, ironically.

So, I would try to get a few things, cotton, and one fleece thing, and see how it works for your babe before buying a whole bunch of things that might not work.


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## nukuspot (May 10, 2007)

I don't think sleep sacks are ridiculous, as a matter of fact they have been our saving grace. DD cosleeps but HATES having our comforter on top of her. So even still at 18 mo we have 3 sleepsacks sleepsacks in 3 different weights and use one of them with long sleeved footie Pjs under it. If it's really cold we will put a onsie underneath the Pjs too. We use wood heat so it's almost impossible to set a temperature at night and keep it that way all night so it's nice to have options as far as thickness of the sleepsacks.


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## MamitaM (Sep 10, 2010)

My son and I co-sleep. He sleeps in a sleeper and sometimes in his swaddle blanket and I do pull my covers up to his waste. In Winter when it gets colder I have a nice fleece long sleeved sleep sac for him if he needs it.


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## Hannah32 (Dec 23, 2009)

I don't find sleep sacks themselves ridiculous, but I find the whole "NO BLANKETS" thing ridiculous. However, since we've moved our baby to his own room, I erred on the side of paranoia and just bought the darn things.


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## LZP (May 28, 2009)

DD is 3 months, and she sleeps in our bed, with our covers.







we have a sheet and a comforter. I am hyper-aware while sleeping now, and the blankets are never near going over her head anyway. she wears long-sleeved footie PJs if I feel cold enough to wear L/S and pants. Our night time heat temp is set to 62-64deg F, depending on how cold it is outside. On our coldest night so far, I did put a little hat on her, since even my head was cold being outside the covers.
co-sleeping is so nice, not wondering if baby is too cold or too warm- just lean over and feel!!

as she gets older, we will probably start her in her crib then bring her into bed when we go to sleep, and then we'll do PJs and a sleepsack, since she is a squirmy sleeper, and kicks off her blanket even during a short nap.


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

Last winter, my guy wore wool and we used a space heater to keep the room at 65.

This winter thats not an option. And at a year, he refuses to stay under blankets. Its just started getting cold here. So he's wearing a wool layer (shirt, longies, socks) under a footed fleece pj. The wool breaths and absorbs any sweat... But i cant imagine not putting him in layers, it can get down into the 40s at night.


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## confustication (Mar 18, 2006)

Hm, my little guys both climb into my bed now... My 2yo burrows under the covers beside me on my left, and my 1 yo kicks off the covers on my right as he sprawls across 75% of a king size bed. (How does that work, anyway?)

I tend to dress them based on the weather- while it has been getting a little cooler here at night, my bedroom is the warmest room in the house. Cotton pjs seem to be enough for us most of the time, and when it gets really cold (well below zero) fleece sleepers are great.

I don't worry about comforters anymore with mine as they are big enough that they pretty well deal with it themselves but when they were smaller, I made sure it stayed below their faces.

As for the sleep sacks- I've tried them, I'm not a huge fan because I felt that they actually interfered with the natural rhythm of skin to skin contact my kids often sought while nursing and cosleeping.

Personally, i don't think *I* could sleep well in a room over 70 degrees... I like ours somewhere between 60 and 70. I drive my husband batty by crackin window in the winter.







The kids have always been warm enough.


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## Ruthie's momma (May 2, 2008)

I am not sure what is so ridiculous about a sleep sack...







. It is nothing more that a bunting of sorts. And, those have been used as a means of keeping babies warm for years.

We have always slept in a _much_ cooler temperature (mid 60's, at the most). That being said, if DD isn't in bed with us, she has always slept in a sleep sack. If it is particularly cold, I add a t-shirt under her cotton pajamas and layer a sleep sack on top.


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## mkksmom (Mar 24, 2008)

We do cotton pj's under fleece PJ's. She doesn't sleep well with just fleece for some reason, but this combo works. I feel her back before I go to bed and check to make sure she isn't seating. We keep the temp at about 68, but it's probably cooler upstairs by a degree or 2.


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## aumismommy (Jun 3, 2010)

We hosted a camping yoga retreat with our son only being 6 weeks at the time (no, we weren't thinking when we planned it) and our midwives suggested getting a lambie (lambskin that we got from overland.com) to keep him away from a chill. It was awesome. He just sleeps right on top of it (it's low pile wool so he can't smother his face deep). It's machine washable which rocks. Oh and they said to use for tummy time too which we do and he seems to like that plus it keeps me from having to keep the edges of blankets down.


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## colsxjack (Dec 9, 2009)

We do a sleep sack and either onesie, or cotton jammies or fleece jammies...depending on temp.

Our DD hates a blanlet because she likes to move around and cant with a blanket. She gets all tangled up in it. We do a short sleeve sleep sack so she doesn't get too hot but her little feet stay covered. She tends on the hotter side.


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Fleece footie works well, even layered with a onsie or pants if needed. Sleep bags works well too I wouldn't use a blanket at that age. We also like knit sheets.


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## Learning_Mum (Jan 5, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Hannah32* 
I don't find sleep sacks themselves ridiculous, but I find the whole "NO BLANKETS" thing ridiculous. However, since we've moved our baby to his own room, I erred on the side of paranoia and just bought the darn things.

We did sleep sacks because both boys would kick their blankets off and get could because they obviously weren't able to pull the blankets back up. They were awesome. We had ones that were like duvets and they were so warm and comfy.


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## gemasita (Jul 1, 2005)

Quote:

I gave in and bought the sleep sacks, even though I think they are ridiculous on many levels.
As a childbirth educator, I got some literature from the sleep sack company and all of it is "don't co-sleep!" so I couldn't, in good conscience, hand that stuff out. The sleep sack itself seems ok but I don't like the company spreading the "no co-sleeping" message.


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## mckittre (Jan 15, 2009)

We have more trouble now that we've stopped co-sleeping. My 20 month old is perfectly safe with blankets, but won't stay under them, so we put him in a one-piece fleece suit for nighttime. We heat with wood, and it can get quite cold by morning sometimes.


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## Cutie Patootie (Feb 29, 2004)

We do heavy cotton pj's and socks, then wool one piece footie pj's over the top. When they are under a year, we used wool long johns (top and bottom) cotton pj's over that and a heavy og cotton sleep sack. We use the spring/fall weight grembo bags.
I have found with all my 3 that they just don't sleep well in fleece.


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## Marsupialmom (Sep 28, 2003)

I think you are concern for nothing. Babies are often over dress. I think if she is cold she will let you know, verses hot and sleep to long.

This year if the room drops and she gets to cold, I would raise the heat a little.

Next year, Give her a blanket. Kids by then figure out cold pull a blanket over. At least mine did and they knew how to strip because they were to hot also.


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

Nadia's almost 9 months and sleeps in her sidecarred crib on my side of the bed. On cold nights I put her in a onsie, socks, and a fleece sleeper. She stays nice and toasty except for her hands. If I don't dress her warmly enough she wakes up a lot. As it gets coldler I'll add an armless sleep sack if necessary (our room doesn't get much heat).


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## treeoflife3 (Nov 14, 2008)

wool pajamas and a wool sleep sack


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## Adaline'sMama (Apr 16, 2010)

We went camping two nights ago and it got down to 38 degrees. She had a short sleeved onesie, socks, and a fleece sleep sack on. She was sleeping on a flannel sheet and was swaddled in a fleece blanket. When she woke up at three to nurse, she was so warm against my skin that I kept her next to me for the rest of the night b/c I was cold. We will use the fleece sleep sack throughout the winter, as we heat with wood and sometimes it gets pretty cold in the bedroom if the fire goes out. I will look in the product review section as well, but I thought Id ask here. Has anyone used a lullabag to keep their baby warm? I love Cloud B stuff, and I wonder if this actually works...
http://www.cloudb.com/ourproducts/sleepproducts.asp


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## P.J. (May 18, 2010)

For now ~and it's already pretty cold at night here~ DS is dressed in cotton footie PJs and I share my blanket with him. I know that's supposed to be unsafe but I am sure not to cover his head with them and it just does not set off my inner safety alarm. We also keep the heat a few degrees higher than we did before baby.
In the dead of winter when it gets really frigid, we may use a sleep sack or fleece PJs on him, we'll see.


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## meemee (Mar 30, 2005)

how would you guess she was too cold?

her skin felt cold to the touch?

my dd even now overheats easily. even today she sleeps naked. cant stand anything on her skin.

i check the back of the neck. my dd's skin will be cold but she will be ok. for a child who had gone thru moderate winters with hardly any warm clothes on her as i shiver she has never had any blue lips ever. i let her choose her stuff since she was a baby.

your baby's preference is key. even at 3 months dd HATED socks or anything covering her feet. footed pjs gave her nightmares. some nights she would tolerate a blanket on her feet. some nights no.

actually i was glad for that reason that i could cosleep with her.

just like usual she started the night with less and needed more in the morning.

she also always always wanted her arms out. never under the blanket. even now.

so bunting and sleep sack did not work for us.

so what i am saying is you will have to figure out the asnwer as you go along.


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## germin8 (Jul 20, 2010)

Meemee: I am guessing, because I am cold when I get up to pump at night. Her hands are always cold, but that's b/c of her drool.







Thanks for the tip to check "back of neck". Yes, my DD seems to be much more comfortable than I am... it seems I like it warmer than she does.

Thank you everyone for all the great tips!


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## mommariffic (Mar 18, 2009)

I'll third, fourth and fifth sleep sacks!

DD is 3 and she is a hot sleeper, even in winter if I leave her in feet jammies she's sweaty so most of the time she wears long sleeved cotton pants + shirt + a down comforter she kicks off.

DS wears sleep sacks on VERY cold nights, or cotton onesies [like tonight]


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## mommy68 (Mar 13, 2006)

germin8 said:


> Our DD's crib is in our room right by our bed. She is ~4 months now.
> 
> With winter coming, I am wondering how to keep her warm.
> 
> ...


when my children were that age I would use swaddling blankets that fastened around them and baby gowns.


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