How did you keep babies warm years ago?

[GarlicCrackers]

Posting here for traffic and visibility.

Also maybe a slight AIBU for being totally ignorant and naive!!

I am due my second child in Feb, due to recent events with my dearest wanker of a half - I am now single and my first thought was, well I better reduce the energy bill if I want to financially survive.

I am 33 so have never lived without central heating and modern amenities.

Sat down, looked at electrics, you know vampire devices, plugs that get left on. Moved on to heating. I like being cool, I dislike the heat so I think well hot water bottle at night and wear my oodie during the day. Heating off at night and we will all be fine. Will have the dogs upstairs and we can all share heat.

and then I remember….I’m pregnant, I’m due a baby in cold cold February. Babies can’t regulate heat they are tiny.

How did we keep babies warm before CH? I have grobags and blankets. Can they have hot water bottles? I can’t afford heating on all night but dear god will I get into energy debt if that’s my only choice

I know this sounds stupid, I just realised I have no idea. I see people talk about how no heating = constant chest infections etc

Does it ever get cold enough to freeze pipes overnight? I’d have thought you’d need to leave a house unheated for weeks for that to happen.

Occasionally temperatures will drop to zero. Very rarely.

I was going to say similar. DM was born in the 1950s. They grew up with ice on the inside of windows etc. When she was a baby she had an awful bout (I guess we’d name it bronchiolitis now) and was very very ill to the point that her parents thought they’d lose her. Her dad slept with her on his bare chest every night to keep her warm. That wasn’t the done thing then, pure parental instinct. She says he saved her life.

Sorry meant to say her dad sat up so she could sleep on his bare chest. Wouldn’t advocate anyone sleeping with a baby on their chest!

Fgs put the heating on in winter. The last thing you want is a poorly baby prone to asthma and bronchitis or a poorly mum.

They absolutely should not be sleeping in a hat

We never have heating on overnight, even when we had our babies. A couple of loose weave woollen blankets were fine.
If it was really cold then a close weave woollen blanket would go on but I'd remove one of the loose weaves.

What in God's good name is a loose weave woollen blanket or indeed a close weave woollen blanket? What are we talking about here?

Does no one swaddle their babies? My youngest is only 8 (so I’m not old!) and I swaddled all of mine. Kept them cosy.

Loose weave woollen blanket.

www.thewoolroom.com/product/ribblesdale-cellular-wool-bed-blanket-mocha/?sku=10699mo&gclid=CjwKCAjwgaeYBhBAEiwAvMgp2mA8I3nzuCLZk9fjt0fKVhltaOWUpSPBqW6qFlluLd0a01VL185r5BoCc30QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

We often go away around Christmas for a week or so and always turn the heating off. The coldest we have come back to (indoor temperature) is about 6C, and we've never had frozen pipes. I guess it depends where your pipes run though, the in-laws used to get frozen pipes in the winter sometimes.

@Oldcottoneye I'm not clear on what you're saying.

I'm talking about guidance for professionals.

Lullaby Trust guidance definitely is not bollocks!

It’s taken me DAYS to read through all of these!!! Thank you for all the suggestions I’ve made a list!

There's cool and there's cold. Babies shouldn't have wee cold hands any more than they should have hot ones.

If you to go about 4 minutes 30 on this old footage of days gone by (inuit 1926) there is certainly a baby or two with no problems with the cold. I was looking for a different one where there is snow and the baby is shown but could not find it, but people will get the gist.

On frozen pipes I have never had the heating on at night and never in nearly 40 years of owning a house had a frozen pipe.

Pipes are insulated now when they are put in to stop them freezing. So it depends if this has been done. If it has then freezing is unlikely.

Have the heating on a timer - not through the night as that might overheat a baby anyway.

Can you afford the heating to come on from 6-7am, 12-1pm (if you’re at home in the day?) and 6-7.30pm? You really don’t want a totally cold house with a baby. The house can get damp and child can get respiratory issues.

Make sure you’re claiming all benefits you’re entitled to, and read the heating sections of Money Saving Expert online.

Years ago rich people had fires in all inhabited rooms, poor people basically all lived in the kitchen (when not at work), all sitting round the range which was kept burning all day as it took so long to heat up to cook anything. People didn’t all sit in separate rooms.

Any time of year a baby needs a nappy, vest and baby gro (unless it really hot). If you’re going to have very little heating increase this to nappy, vest, baby gro, trousers or leggings over that then a jumper and thin hat (only latter if very cold). Both snuggle under a blanket. Absolutely no hot water bottle for baby - massive scald/burns risk and it’s too hard for a baby to regulate their temperature. You could always put baby in a snowsuit indoors if needed. Remember you’ll be doing frequent happy changes, so you don’t want lots of layers with fiddly buttons.

Tell your health visitor about this/ask for help, and contact Home Start. If you struggle financially ring your energy company and tell them you’ve just had a baby and can’t pay, they’ll put you on a very low repayment plan.

Lastly, remember SIDS risk - keep an eye on baby’s temperature, check back of its neck for heat level, always on their back to sleep, no cigarette smoke/drinking around them or unsafe co sleeping.

All the best for your future.

@Xenia I have seen that footage before and I find it fascinating.
But I grew up in poverty with very cold houses and what I remember were some young children with an almost constant cough and chilblains amongst a few children in every class at school. Some kids were fine though.

Sorry, meant to also say - take baby to your local library in the day and baby/toddler groups. They’ll be in heated venues and the latter are usually very cheap to go to.

Aim for one/two a day for a warm place to go to meet new Mum’s too.