How do you keep a crib-sleeping baby warm at night?

[escher]

Our four week old sleeps most of the night in his crib in our room, and in most ways that is working beautifully for all of us. However, we're struggling with how to keep him warm enough at night. We had been swaddling him, which seemed to keep him decently warm, but we're trying to move away from that now that he is getting more active and more interested in having access to his arms. He is wearing a fleece sleep sack on top of a cotton gown, and last night we also put him in a cotton hat, but his cheeks and hands and ears still end up feeling quite cold when we check on him. From what we've read it seems like turning up the heat in our bedroom or using blankets without swaddling him would increase his risk of SIDS. I assume there has to be a way to keep him warm safely. What am I missing?

Thank you!

[wehrli]

just a couple of ideas (since you already know our son has never slept in his crib, lol)...

mittens? we had some gowns with fold over sleeves... that should help keep his li'l hands warm.

a hat might be good but then again if he gets too warm at some point during the night it may be too much.

keep in mind that they have poor circulation at such a young age and the best way to tell how warm/cool they are is by checking their belly/back. you don't want to bundle them up too much because extremities are cool because they might get too warm overall, even if hands/ears/feet are cool.
also, they may feel warmer/cooler at different points in their sleep cycle, be careful you don't over dress because he feels cool sometimes... DS frequently gets really sweaty and hot but then cools and dries within 10-15 min.

it sound to me like you have him dressed appropriately... I'd maybe just add mittens or fold over sleeves. good luck!

[eabbmom]

I read about this today- room temp should be between 65 and 70 degrees. There is a correlation between babies being too hot and sids. The article I read said to check the baby on the back of the neck for temp.The sleeping gowns should work just fine

[Phycologia]

I worried about this EVERY NIGHT! Wondering if he's too cold or too warm. DS sleeps in cotton footed PJ's and a fleece sleep sack, and it's about 68 degrees in the house. 

I've found that even if his hands and ears are cold, the rest of him likely still warm enough. My DS is a tummy sleeper so in night feedings/changings I judge his temp like this: If his back is sweaty and his hands are warm, he's probably too warm. If his legs are cold I put on another layer.

Any dampness means its too hot, but it's kind of hard to judge too cold...definitely try to check the belly to make sure its warm and think about how many layers YOU are wearing.

I wish someone could invent a baby temp monitor that goes on the skin so we wouldn't have to guess so much :D

[escher]

Thanks--this is very useful advice!