Keeping 9month old warm at night-no cosleeping

[Sonjuanja]

What do you mommas do to keep LO warm in the winter months? LO's bedroom windows leak air and we've already put plastic up on the windows to block the draft. He sleeps in a short sleeve onsie, long sleeve onsie, fleece sleeper, and sleep blanket. If we didn't have a heater in the bedroom, he would be super cold because we turn the heat down at night. 

What do you dress LO in to sleep? Do you turn your heat down at night? If so, how low?

[goldenwillow]

DS sleeps in a t shirt and usually socks.  We keep our heat around 62 at night... we tend to wake less stuffy when it is cooler.  DS sleeps with us so the skin to skin contacts keeps us pretty warm. 

[PatioGardener]

Like Xantho, my little guys stays pretty warm at night.  I have had to stop putting him in sleepers because he was too hot.  We cosleep, and he wears a long sleeved onesie and a diaper.  It gets pretty chilly at night (not sure how cold) but under the duvet we are both warm.

[SeattleRain]

We don't cosleep and we put Daniel in a longsleeved onesie, long sleeved cotton stretchie, and a fleece sleep sack when its cold. When it's not as cold, I put him in a short sleeved onesie or maybe no onesie at all. If its VERY cold, I'll do a fleece stretchie. I would look into a sleep sack to keep baby warm and safe. They have some like arms like this: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=122417&RN=0 but they're somewhat difficult to find after 6 months. If you put your baby in a fleece sleeper and a fleece sleepsack and a hat, they should be QUITE warm. We lose most of our heat through our head and feet so just make sure the head is covered and the feet are covered and you should be good. If you're really worried about warmth, look into these: http://snuggledownbaby.com/  which are made by a WAHM and look very warm.

[Buzzer Beater]

We have DD in a cosleeper next to the bed for most of the night. We also use sleep sacks and love them. If you know how to put in a zipper they are easy enough to make. Halo makes great ones, they zip from the top down for easy changing. They stink stink stink though like chemicals since they are flame retardant. 

[Sonjuanja]

I have a used halo sleep sack.  He was in a long sleeve sleep sack and then the sleeveless halo sack.  But, he's too long for the long sleeve sleep sack, so I need to either layer him more, get a new (thicker) sleep sack, or adjust the heater in his room.  I'd prefer not to use the heater, but we bought it for his room and we can adjust the temperature.  I'm not a sewer, which could benefit me in many ways if I could!  ;)

[Lillitu]

My child co-sleeps, but he will not be covered, no matter what- he hates it, even when he is cold. So we use feety PJs that are fleecy, and if it is still too cold, a sleep sack on top of that.

[americajane]

11 mo DS sleeps in cotton pjs, socks and a fleecy sleeper (an 18 mo size) and stays warm.  I have a sleep sack but he gets upset b/c he can't move around the crib as well.  His room is about 65 degrees as we live in an old building with exposed brick so to get this place toasty warm our heating bill would be through the roof. 

[SeattleRain]

I always follow the mantra that you should dress a baby the way you dress yourself. It's so tempting to bundle up baby in a million layers but the reality is that they're not as fragile as we think. A cozy sleeper and a cozy sleepsack should be perfect. Overdressing can lead to overheating which is a risk factor for SIDS, so try to keep baby warm without being overly warm.

No problem SnuggleDown! Your product is amazing and I always like to put a shoutout to WAHM's making awesome products.

[NevadaMama]

We also live where it is very cold, and have had to put the plastic wrap crap on DD's bedroom windows too We tried the fleecy PJs, but DD would wake up with diaper rash since the polyester fleece doesn't really let her skin breathe. She hated sleep sacks and would wake up in the middle of the night if she kicked her covers off.

What really works great for us is good old fashioned wool pajamas. Wool is a great insulator but still lets her skin breathe. We got her some Ruskovilla long nappy pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and she never wakes up anymore. They are pricey, but since wool is naturally antibacterial, I don't have to wash them very often at all so we only have one shirt and two pairs of pants. We just rotate the pants if they get wet, which doesn't happen often. They are totally worth the money IMO for the peaceful nights!

http://www.novanatural.com/woolens

She just wears woolies to bed every night with a knit blanket over her, and that's it. They have also been great as long johns under her snow suit. We've had nights lately that were below zero and she didn't wake up cold at all.

[newmamalizzy]

We actually went the space heater route for the bedroom and turn the heat down to 60 in the rest of the house at night.  It's my issue more than DD's - I feel cold at night if the air I'm breathing is cold, even if my body is warm.  Anyway, DD has issues with polyester and always kicks of the blankets, so with the space heater and a warm vapor humidified I feel comfortable dressing her in just cotton PJs and socks at night. 

A note on the plastic wrap for windows:  We use this, too, and while it does make a difference, I really recommend weather-stripping gaps in your windows before putting up the plastic.

[goldenwillow]

Forgot to mention.... DS sleeps on one of these and it is fantastic for keeping him warm, even when he tosses his blanket off. 

http://www.kiwi-sheepskins.com/sheepskin-rugs.asp

[Sonjuanja]

Huh!  :)  You just lay it in the crib?  I bet it's uber soft!!  :D

[Adaline'sMama]

We heat with wood, and the stove is in the other room. Alot of times we wake up to our bedroom at 50 degrees. I keep DD in a sleep sack. We've woken up to her having a cold nose a couple of times, but usually she is fine. While Id prefer for it to be in the sixties every morning, I really think she is more okay with it being chilly than I am. Im a huge wuss when it comes to the cold. If its a particularly cold night, I put a long sleeved onesie underneath her fleece sleep sack.

We also have a sleep sack from Cloud B. Its made of bamboo, but it is way too big for DD, so Im not sure how well it works.

[happysmileylady]

I am so glad someone posted this thread because we are having a similar problem.  Ours isn't so much the windows as the fact that our ceiling is vaulted in our bedroom.  All the heat goes right to the top leaving us freezing. 

 

Originally Posted by SeattleRain 

We don't cosleep and we put Daniel in a longsleeved onesie, long sleeved cotton stretchie, and a fleece sleep sack when its cold. When it's not as cold, I put him in a short sleeved onesie or maybe no onesie at all. If its VERY cold, I'll do a fleece stretchie. I would look into a sleep sack to keep baby warm and safe. They have some like arms like this: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=122417&RN=0 but they're somewhat difficult to find after 6 months. If you put your baby in a fleece sleeper and a fleece sleepsack and a hat, they should be QUITE warm. We lose most of our heat through our head and feet so just make sure the head is covered and the feet are covered and you should be good. If you're really worried about warmth, look into these: http://snuggledownbaby.com/  which are made by a WAHM and look very warm.

How do you keep a hat on a rolly baby?  My little one is always rolling her head back and forth in her sleep and before you know it the hat has popped off.

 

Originally Posted by Buzzer Beater 

We have DD in a cosleeper next to the bed for most of the night. We also use sleep sacks and love them. If you know how to put in a zipper they are easy enough to make. Halo makes great ones, they zip from the top down for easy changing. They stink stink stink though like chemicals since they are flame retardant. 

I had a sleep sack for my 2 year old and when she would roll around, it would get all twisted.  Do you have a pattern for one that maybe is a little more snug or something?

 

Originally Posted by SeattleRain 

I always follow the mantra that you should dress a baby the way you dress yourself. It's so tempting to bundle up baby in a million layers but the reality is that they're not as fragile as we think. A cozy sleeper and a cozy sleepsack should be perfect. Overdressing can lead to overheating which is a risk factor for SIDS, so try to keep baby warm without being overly warm.

No problem SnuggleDown! Your product is amazing and I always like to put a shoutout to WAHM's making awesome products.

The thing is though, at least with me, I am in millions of layers myself.  Sweatpants and sweatshirt, two pairs of socks, then I use 2 heavy pile blankets and third heavy crocheted blanket. 

One of my biggest issues with my little one is her hands and feet.  They always seem to be ice cold, regardless of the temp in the house. 

 

[honeybunmom]

I second the sheepskin.  It's pretty cold in our room where we do co-sleep, but our son won't stay under the blanket.  We keep it at 62 degrees at night, plus, our unfinished bathroom was letting in a lot of cold air until my husband put up plastic about 2 weeks ago and, so, he was about 9 mos old last winter dealing with this.  I had knit him a sleep sack and that kept him pretty toasty, too.  Lastly, I'd opt for a hat with a chin strap that snaps; that way, the strap is short enough so as not to present a choking hazard and the snap can help keep it on when rolling around.  Keeping the head covered is essential to avoiding/minimizing the loss of body heat.

ETA:  I also knit him a vest out of an alpaca/wool blend and would put that on him over his pj's.

[sugahbee]

I just started using a warm-mist humidifier which actually makes the room feel a bit warmer.  Oliver sleeps in long-sleeved pajamas, a muslin blanket swaddled under his arms, and a blanket on top.  He runs warm, though, like his Daddy.

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by Sonjuanja 

Huh!  :)  You just lay it in the crib?  I bet it's uber soft!!  :D

It is in our bed but I suppose you could easily lay it in a crib as well.  We have one in the car too for diaper changes and if he needs a place to sleep on the road, if not sleeping on me. 

[LaydieBugs]

DS (7 months old) likes our room to be SUPER warm.  They have that "one more layer than you are wearing" rule, and he likes to triple it ...

So he wears two layers (onesie, socks, PJs).  He sleeps with me, often snuggled close, under a down comforter that I pull up to his armpits, and I give him an extra blanket under his part of the comforter (actually, his favorite is a thick towel folded in half). 

THEN we have an oil heater in our bedroom.  The house heat is at 68 during the night, but it's hard to say what the exact temp is in the room.

I keep trying to pull it down to a cooler temp -- I prefer a cool room -- but he just doesn't sleep well.  (even with the warmth, I still get no more than 3 hour stretches from him ... sigh ...)