Staying Warm for the Coming Winter

The blanket sleepers (heavy fleece with feet that zip up) are great. I know Carter makes them as well as others. Also layering with a t-shirt underneath keeps in body heat. Hopefully it won't get too cold in texas next winter.
Blessings, D.

I use 2 pairs of pajamas and we use the heat in the winter, I get one pair with no feet and then put a footed pajama over it, I also put their sheets and blanket in the dryer to warm them on those extra cooler nights right before they go to sleep and I use a crib comforter blanket. I am hoping we get a nice colder winter since we had such a hot summer.

You have gotten lots of great advice so far. My husband likes to keep the house pretty cool so I would put socks on my little man and then a footie pj over the socks. Now he will have nothing to do with anything on his feet! But when winter rolls around I plan to try my little sock under pjs trick again. Best wishes!

Maybe you and hubby are hot natured, but that doesn't mean that your baby is! I think that 60 degrees is unbearable! I lived in Massachusetts growing up and when I lived with my dad and his new wife I froze to death! They kept the thermostat on 64 and I couldn't fall asleep at night because my mattress was so cold, and my body couldn't warm it up. I wore all kinds of stuff to bed and had a lot of blankets but could not warm that ice cold mattress. Some body types can't stand the cold! for women (females) there are 4 body types and two of them have a hard time tolerating the cold. perhaps you have one of the two that can stand it, but what about your baby? don't be so cheap, spend a little money on heat, life is short, comfort is important. this is your baby we are talking about! To be honest I am not too sure that the department of social services would not think it abusive or neglectful to keep the house so cold for a small child. I was a foster parent to teenage girls for 4 yrs and I can tell you that sometimes what some people think of as "normal" their children get taken away, as the majority of the world doesn't think that it is normal. You live in Austin, It is generally warm there, but in the winter you have to have some heat! do you use any air conditioning in the summer? since you say that you like it so cold, I would expect that you do! Or maybe not because of the expense. We have children and are expected to take care of them properly, to meet all of their needs, that does cost some money. I am not trying to attack you, but I do question your motives for no heat, I believe that it is $$$ related, and if you just don't have it, there are agencys and ways of getting the help that you need. I really hope that you will take it to heart that your baby may be suffering from the cold come this winter. and that you will seek outside assistance if need be. I also hope that you only make wise decisions for your baby, and never suffer the heartache of having her removed from your care. Ask your pediatrician what would be safe and comfortable temp for your child during the day and at night. At 1yr she will be spending a lot of time down on the floor this winter, where it is even colder (heat rises) and floors can be very cold. I would suggest at least 66-68 dgrees at night and 68-70 during the day. I wish you the best, and hope you make smart choices.

Hi Jamie:

You do want take precautions in regard to hypothermia risks for infants/toddlers sleeping in chilly rooms for 8-10-12 hour increments. Keep in mind that most of your baby's body heat will escape through the head and a small child does not have the ability to generate much body heat, especially when sleeping. I've read some some studies that suggest SIDs cases may be a result of either nighttime hypothermia or overheating due to too many layers and blankets.

Ideally, you want the baby's room at 70-72 degrees. Below are some articles I found on the web. The one from minti.com provides some ideas on how you might better insulate the baby's room against cold air. However, being that I was (and still am!) a paranoid mama, I personally wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't put some heating device in my child's room during the winter.

http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4230/Beat-the-Winte...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/health/09brody.html?pag...

"And while the weather has been unusually warm thus far in much of the country, temperatures need not be at freezing, or even very low, for hypothermia to occur. Most cases occur in air temperatures of 30 to 50 degrees. But people can succumb to overexposure even at 60 or 70 degrees.... Babies are particularly vulnerable because they have a high ratio of body surface to mass and are unable to shiver to create more heat... If you are outdoors with a baby, make sure that the baby’s head, feet and hands are covered and that the baby is protected from wind, rain or snow. Indoors, never put a baby to sleep in a cold room."

Keep a thermometer in her room to be sure the room does stay up around 60. If so, there's no hypothermia danger. Long-sleeved PJs and a blanket sleeper should be fine.

Dress her warmly.
Don't rely on the blanket, that can be easily kicked off.

I can't imagine anyone liking it THAT cold...lol. Until my children were 2, I put those fleece, footed pjs on them. They were easy one zip style. That way, when they kicked their covers off (when old enough to have them), they wouldn't wake up during the night cold. They are now 4 & 6! I STILL have to put winter pjs on my youngest because he refuses to cover himself up in the middle of the night. SO, when he has kicked off the covers, and the a/c starts running, he wakes up. He'll try to climb in bed w/ mama & daddy or just yell out for help. Either way...I wake up! So, the fleece keeps us all sleeping soundly thru the night!

I'm from Indiana. This will be my first winter here, but I was always told to keep babies in one more layer then you are wearing as a general rule.

I was raised in Germany. Traditionally, they put the babies outside on the porch in the winter during their naptimes and swathe all but their faces in baby comforters made of goosedown. Helps their circulation and gives them rosie cheeks. Not saying to do that - simply making the point that your house is not too cold, you just need to wrap her up so she's snug as a bug.

Our son will be one in Jaunary. I have been thinking about this too. He is super hot natured, his feet sweat. I am planning to buy long sleeved p.j.'s with and with out footies. If his feet do get too cold I can always put socks on him. Good luck with your little girl. Also Old Navy has p.j.'s on sale now.

The way we used to stay warm when we didn't have space heaters was to biol water the steam of the heated water will keep it warm.
From B.

if it's just nighttime you're worried about, just have her wear a blanket sleeper with the feet and have her wear socks and a onesie or t-shirt underneath

All the advice sounded good to me, yet from the research (and visit to a neighborhood watch from a Fireman) the only "space heaters" that are considered safe are oil based. We use them all over the house. I used a regular space heater the first winter we had (and we had a 6 month old) and it's a miracle we are alive today! Most of them are not meant to be used for long periods of time. We not only live in an old house, but a small one, which means we rearrange furniture in the winter to make sure there is enough space around the heaters. What I do is turn on the oil based floor "heater" a while before bed time if it hadn't already been on with the door closed. Than, I put my child to bed. Before I went to sleep I'd go turn off the heater on those nights that weren't so cold. My child would get "up" at least once a night, so than I'd do the same process again if the room was too cold. I invested in footed PJ, but would never put a baby that couldn't move around well in a cap for fear of it coming off. I hope this helps.

You can get a large sleep sack or wearable blanket that is fleece for your daughter. My daughter is almost 2 and still sleeps in a sleep sack. That way you don't have to worry about her kicking off the blanket and waking up cold. Not to mention it's alot safer than a blanket. And you can always layer the sleep sack over fuzzy PJs. One Step Ahead (www.onestepahead.com) sells the larger sized sleep sacks from Halo. That's where we get ours.

hi,Jamie ,,
just put footie PJ's on her to make sure she doe'nt kick or get out from under the cover
enjoy,good luck L.

My kids always threw their blankets off. I would dress them in those pajamas that cover the feet too! I knew then that they wouldn't take off their socks and that if their blanket was kicked off, they would still be warm. You just don't want to dress her too warm as our body temp rises at night and could cause her to sweat too much and then get chilled. Just play it by ear.

Use a fleece "Halo Sleep Sack." They are GREAT!

See if you can get her to wear a stocking cap to keep her head warm. Blanket sleepers are great. We used to use them when camping with babies. Also if you are really worried about cold, what about a snowsuit.

Lond Pjs and a blanket or two will be fine.A trick you can do as well is to heat up the mattress with a heating pad or heating blanket that you use till you put her to bed and then move it out.

Also rememeber you actually sleep better in the cold rather then it being really warm.

Good Luck

Have you heard of baby-wearing? You could try that...???

My sister used a heated mattress pad for her crib. It's like an electric blanket, but it's a mattress cover. She also always used undershirts under EVERYTHING, including footie pjs.

Hi Jamie -

Warmer jammies for her too. There are lots to chose from.

a.

I would try using a blanket sleeper. They zip up the front and are big, cozy, and warm, and you don't have to worry about her kicking off her blanket. Plus most are sold with enclosed feet so those little toes don't get cold.

My kids were born in Iowa, and we also had an older, drafty house.

They slept in a onsie, lighter weight sleeper, (like a terry cloth sleep-n-play), and a blanket sleeper (footed pj's) over all. We also made sure to cover the windows in their bedrooms with the plastic to help keep out drafts. The older ones used footed pj's during the winter when they were older, too. (We moved to Texas when the oldest was 9.)

Although they did move when they slept, I would check them and cover them before I went to bed.

I have that kind of chill in my house, but we've got the central controls. will your baby sleep in socks? You'll want to keep the extremities and chest insulated. Maybe footie pajamas. As the weather changes, pay attention to how her body responds, and dress her accordingly. Remember that body temp will usualy drop when she's asleep, so check that out, too.

When you bathe and change her, you can use a heater with a fan. There's nothing hot to touch; it just blows out warm air. It can knock the chill off the room/area where your lovely will be uncovered. I know that you don't want a space heater, but I thought that this was worth mentioning.)

Stay warm!

sleep sacks... I have seen them here at Babies R us. They sell thicker ones, you may be able to find on the internet. Much more reliable than a blanket.

Jamie,
Would it work in your situation to just put footed sleeper pj's on your little one? They are available in different thicknesses so you would have a few different options according to the temperatures. We enjoyed these, especially when the floor was a little chilly on their little feet. They also have non-skid fabric on the bottom of the feet, so with all the hardwoods, they won't slip. With these, you also don't have to worry about them getting uncovered at night. When our children wore these, I found them especially huggable!
Good Luck!

I agree with the pp... when my daughter was that age, we lived in Minnesota. Talk about cold nights!! Our first apartment had those electric heaters on the bottom of the wall in each room, and we didn't trust those at night since they were old, so we bought a couple of heaters like these: http://www.target.com/Holmes-1Touch-Swirl-Grill-Heater/dp...

They put out a decent amount of heat, but don't have those big heating elements that can burn little fingers!

Also, make sure your house is humidified. Just placing a pie plate on the stove while you're using the oven does wonders! It helps make the house feel and stay warmer and more comfortable.

Good luck!

Sleep sacks by Halo are great options as well as footed pajamas. Www.halo.com and Babies R Us will have them as well.

We always sleep better in our family in colder rooms in the winter so I bundle my little ones up. Depending on how cold it is I'll put sweats on them and long sleeved undershirt underneath and socks as well because mine never keep the covers on! I've read that the polyester jammies with feet aren't so good because since it's not a natural fiber they can get really hot, so try to keep it 100% cotton so they don't wake up in a sweat!

Kids never stay covered up, either, so we put two pairs of pjs on our little kids at night. Nice tight-fitting long sleeved & long pants then either another pair of the same or a zip-up blanket sleeper on top, plus nice warm socks. Cozy warm all winter long! :)

P. (SAHM with three boys)

Fleece footed sleepers all the way. Put her in a onsie and then the fleece footed sleeper and with the layers she should stay warm and cozy. 60 is pretty chilly though. Is every room in the house that cold or can you insulate her bedroom a little better and keep it a little warmer?