Tips for Staying Warm... - Page 6

[BMG580]

I haven't read every single reply so I am sorry if this is a repeat.

When I was at the end of my pregnancy with both children I slipped one of those crib flat waterproof thick sheet things under the sheet on my side of the bed in case my water broke while sleeping (I got lucky and it happened in my garage, but I digress!). I have NEVER been so hot sleeping in my entire life. There must be something about the material and its absorbency that traps heat. If you are looking to warm up a bed without using an electric blanket or buying new sheets, try putting those water proof pads in under the fitted sheet.

[ctdoula]

Originally Posted by Hebaume39

Okay, so this won't work if your body doesn't adjust to the cold but its a crazy trick my siblings and I discovered while growing up in a 55 degree house with no heat till November in Northern Indiana (there was usually snow on the ground before the heat was on). If you don't cover your hands and feet for the first month or so of cold weather your body adjusts and you stay warm with less clothing and less heat. We have alot of pictures of us racking leaves with frost in leotards. We're crazy I know but it could be worse.

The temperature adjustment really does happen. Give it a week or two and you'll see a big difference.
Addie

So true!!!!!!!! I was freezing a few weeks ago, and now I'm totally comfortable at 64-65 degrees. As long as it's not raining (that puts a chill in the air like nothing else).


We have an old house & used an outdoor wood stove for the past 3 years. We're not using it this year (we're selling our house & the stove is already in VT). We've been turning the heat on once in the morning for one cycle (we have steam radiators). Then we turn the furnace off for the day. The house goes up to 68 degrees, and the stays fine all day. Tonight I just turned it on for a half hour, which brought it from 64 to 70 degrees (I turned it off when it hit 68, but because of the radiators, it went up further). Now it's off again for the night. We all sleep together under 2 down comforters & stay plenty warm.

Another tip is to keep your bedroom door closed. It will keep the heat in the room. Also, a hot shower really heats you up when nothing else takes the chill off.

I have a pair of fleece slippers that I wear 12 hours a day all winter. They keep my feet SO warm & have leather bottoms that I can take outside if I have to. They're several years old and I hope they last many more years.

Couch blankets... keep you toasty when lounging.

If you can, try silk long johns. My husband has a pair and uses them when working outside in the winter. He'll be sweating out there when it's freezing. They REALLY keep you warm!!

[Amylcd]

I'm sitting here with it 72 degree's and freezing! I can't imagine going down to 60 or below. I recommend having a lot of throws around the house ... Before bed, put them in the dryer and then totally wrap each child up in one, then put a heavy blanket on top of them to trap the heat.

[daekini]

The coldest my fam lets me set the thermostat is 70 - BUT is it possible that the ACTUAL temp is much lower? It is soooo cold even when my therm says it is 70. I need to find an air thermometer somewhere, I'm a pretty good judge of temp and I'd say in the mornings it is more like 62 in here.

My last house was a poorly insulated 1930's era home, you could see your breath in there. My new house was built in 2001 and the whole back of the house faces south. In the summer it sucks - there are 8 huge windows all along the length of the house and the sun keeps it hot. So in the summer I pull the curtains and plant sunflowers for shade. In the winter, the curtains stay open and my house becomes (almost) passive solar! It gets too hot in late afternoon, but it keeps the house pretty warm til midnight.

Kudos to those of you who have learned to adjust to low temps!

[Yooper]

Originally Posted by Hebaume39

Okay, so this won't work if your body doesn't adjust to the cold but its a crazy trick my siblings and I discovered while growing up in a 55 degree house with no heat till November in Northern Indiana (there was usually snow on the ground before the heat was on). If you don't cover your hands and feet for the first month or so of cold weather your body adjusts and you stay warm with less clothing and less heat. We have alot of pictures of us racking leaves with frost in leotards. We're crazy I know but it could be worse. My husband refused to wear shoes until there was at least two inches of snow (he's from minnesota). My dad, who doesn't adjust to temperatures the way the rest of us do used to sit on the heating register and use it to keep warm while he worked on the computer. He also never took his parka off for the entirety of winter (he had two so it did occassionally get washed). Wow this turned out long. The temperature adjustment really does happen. Give it a week or two and you'll see a big difference.
Addie

This is similar to what we do. We try to keep the heat off until November so we are used to being cold. When we do turn it on to 62 day/55 night, it feels like heaven.

However, that did not work this time. The house got down to 50 and we had a babysitter, so I caved. It has snowed and been in the low 30's at night. My 120 yo house is not keeping the heat. So we are on normal cycle early this year. I will bump the day temp up to 65 (day) around February as a treat.

[NicaG]

Does anyone have tips for living in a chilly house with a newborn? We like to keep the heat low, but I feel like it's hard to bundle her enough. I have her in a couple layers of fleece footie pajamas, but I feel like I can't set the thermostat really low at night (we don't cosleep due to dh's prescriptions/sleepy side effects).

[daekini]

Originally Posted by NicaG

Does anyone have tips for living in a chilly house with a newborn? We like to keep the heat low, but I feel like it's hard to bundle her enough. I have her in a couple layers of fleece footie pajamas, but I feel like I can't set the thermostat really low at night (we don't cosleep due to dh's prescriptions/sleepy side effects).

Wear baby all the time during the day -- and I'd recommend a sleep sack over the fleece footie; also you might consider sleeping with baby and putting dh on the couch

[karne]

When my kids were babies they wore either soft little woolen caps or Hanna andersson pilot caps all winter.