How does your toddler sleep in the winter months?

[Maggieinnh]

I could post this question in the normal toddler forum, but I prefer to have some more replies in regards to natural clothing, like woolens and cotton sleepwear for the winter months. Maybe you could give me some advice?

Here is the momentary scenario, which obviously does not seem to work: I put ds in winter in a warm grobag/sleep sack, basically a warm blanket, which works great. The problem are his arms, they are constantly cold during the night. I do not like to keep the house too warm (setting the heater on high in the winter) as it results in a warm/dry air environment, which makes us sick, coughing, dry throat etc.
Dh and I can pull our arms under the blanket, but ds is not able to do that yet, so I thought of putting a fleece sleeper or warm underwear shirt (mostly made of synthetics - that's all I could find so far) on him during the night, which resulted in him sweating like mad. Now I am thinking of using a wool/silk mixture type underwear shirt like this: http://www.novanatural.com/s.nl/it.A/id.681/.f

What do you all think, would this work in helping him to stay warm but still not too warm, as the wool/silk mixture would permit air flow?
The normal cotton pajamas that I found are just too thin.
Any ideas please!

[ozhenya]

i was thinking of getting my ds one of those wool or wool/silk footie sleepers, he does not really like the sleep sacks, so i need to find something that will be like normal pj's but will not leave his tummy and feet cold. I really hope that this will be enough, maybe with silk or cotton undershirt too.
A wool/silk shirt will definitely keep him warmer, we use those all the time during winter and they work great.
Hope it works great.
another things is maybe you could come in and cover him with another blanket at night? A wool one should not be too hot. The down ones can bee too stuffy but the wool ones in my experience don't make you sweat. We use a wool blanket with a cotton duvet cover for it. It seems to work, i just have to make sure to come in and check on him, so that he stays covered. I will get the wool sleeper too, so he is definitely warm...
hope it works for you!

[karne]

Hello Mag,
I would definitely try an all wool long underwear shirt-they are softer than some might think! I generally found that once my kids got these on they didn't want to take them off, as they almost "molded" to their bodies and held the warmth so well. I always thoght my super sensitive kids couldn't wear wool, but I was wrong.

[Attached Mama]

Last year I bought my dd 2 wool long underwear shirts. One from www.novanatural.com and another from a waldorf fair - not sure the brand. She wore them *every day* (almost). They were totally worth the investment!!

She wore them to bed at night under jammies or just as a pj top. She wore them under her shirts during the day or even as a shirt. Since it was usually under something I would use the same shirt for a few days at a time. (no B.O. in little ones and being underneath it didn't get food etc on it). Then I would throw it in the wash on cold and hang it to dry. I would recommend buying a bit big as the one shirt shrunk up a bit. The other did not shrink. I stretch it out a bit after it comes out of the wash.

DD also had a pair of the pants from Nova. She wore them to bed, under clothing, under dresses etc.

HTH!

[Maggieinnh]

Thanks very much for all the great info, that's pretty much what I thought...just wanted to make sure before I buy them, as DH thinks ds will still be sweating underneath that shirt as well. Let's cross our fingers and hope he will not! Now I really want to prove him wrong...hehehe

In regards to blankets,....right now it is unthinkable, although he is getting better with them. DS moves during the night just way too much, he always turns and tosses, so in the morning he is stiff cold or just keeps waking up every time he uncovers himself and gets too cold, that's when he screams for me until I put the covers back on him.
Thank you again!

[fluttermama]

Check out the wool undergarments at A Toy Garden, too. They are cheaper than Nova.

[Maggieinnh]

Thanks fluttermama!
Are those 100% wool undergarments also pretty soft, as I am a bit worried with Mr. Sensitive around here!

[royaloakmi]

We just use thick cotton sweatshirts/sweatpants, or thin cotton layer with a synthetic fleece over. The natural sleepwear is lovely, just not practical for our budget.

[captivatedlife]

I make my dd sleepers out of slightly felted (hot washed) mens wool sweaters. She's only 7 mos so right now, one makes her a warm nightgown, but I'm going to be busy sewing longer ones for this coming winter. If you have a sewing machine, it's pretty easy.

I couldn't find any warm wear not in man made materials for a decent price.

Good luck