Keeping baby cosy at night??

[becomingfall]

My little one is 11 weeks old and a great sleeper (touch wood!)- normally down at 10pm, feed at 5-6am and down for another 3 hours.

The past few nights as it’s got colder he’s been waking a lot more and is feeling cool to the touch (back of neck and tummy/chest). I’ve always kept our bedroom cooler as I hate a hot bedroom, I’m not sure what temp it is but I’ve just heard the boiler kick in and the thermostat is set to come on at 15 degrees so the house is definitely chilly!

At the min he’s in a short sleeve vest, baby grow, socks and a 2.5 tog sleeping bag, I’ve just ordered him a 3.5 tog bag. I really struggle with PPA, I’ve considered changing his baby grow to a fleecy one but I’m worried about us going the other way and him over heating 😩
what do your little ones wear to bed to stay cosy?

15 degrees is far too cold. Can you set the thermostat to come on at 18?

you can do a long sleeved vest, baby grow, socks and 3.5 tog bag. I wouldn’t add anything further though

We followed the guidance that came with the Gro Bag.

Personally I think he is not wearing enough for that cold temperature. I would raise the temperature to around 18C or at least put warmer clothes on him.

You don't need to crank the heat up but if it's that chilly he probably needs to wear more. I'd go for long sleeve vest, sleepsuit, sleeping bag and a cardigan. Our room sometimes dropped to 15/16 overnight. We don't have the heating set to come on at all between 9.30 and 5.30.

I did too to start with but we found our daughter needed a lot more than recommended for the temperature

Gosh that's not a lot for that temp!! F you're keeping that cold you need to layer him up!

We love the fleecy sleep suits and my little one always sleeps really well in them without getting sweaty. He likes it quite warm though and struggles if the temp goes below about 18 when he's sleeping. 😂

Yea, agreed. My daughter always needed a bit more than gro company suggested. I think they’re covering themselves and overly cautious, as debs consequences of overheating are far worse than under heating (baby will wake up crying before it gets seriously cold, the same is not true of too hot).

What's the guidance these days on putting a cellular blanket over the sleeping bag? Is that still permitted?

Can't you put the heating on? That's probably far too cold for him. I aim for at least 18 degrees all night. Currently we only have the heating on from about 4:30am until 8am and then I do a boost in the evening if we need to.

The room temperature is fine, where is your thermostat? Ours hits 15 but that’s on the hall, when it’s 15 in the hall it’s generally still 17ish in our bedroom according to the room thermometer, I’d put him in a long sleeved vest and a thin hat. Agree the gro bag advice is overly cautious, mine always needed at least one more layer than what was suggested.

Please have a look at the Lullaby Trust website for guidance. Never put a hat on a baby sleeping - prevents them regulating temperature. If you think they are cold use the highest tog sleeping bag and use a long sleeved sleepsuit. Is it possible baby is waking for reasons other than cold as it really isnt that cold yet?

Its perfectly normal to have a cool room at night and in fact its healthy. I have never had the heating on at night in my entire life and I've lived mostly in the north and in cold countries where there is snow all winter. I do generally think there is tendency to keep babies too warm!

Next do some fleece lined sleepsuits and a fluffy sleeping bag which is 2.5 tog which has kept our babs lovely and cosy.
Mines 11 months now so we’ve probably got a bit more wiggle room with the whole over heating a baby stuff but I’ve found he likes to be on the cosier side for bed.

Not sure about that...I think it depends on the child. My eldest is ok when it drops at night. I followed guidance religiously with her. My youngest is terrible when she's cold at night- she's just awake for hours on end. We never used to heat the house at night/early morning until she arrived then k realised she wasn't sleeping because she was too cold. As soon as we started keeping her warm she slept through again.

I suppose you could just layer her up with a 3.5 tog and hope that has the same effect.

Fleecy sleepsuits definitely. You get sort of standard thickness fleece ones in loads of places and Next do proper fluffy ones which are next level. My daughter slept so much better in one of those over her first winter. She was Sep baby so similar age to yours for winter.

I would use a long sleeve vest under the sleepsuit plus sleeping bag. When my baby was little we had some of the 3.5 tog ones which were handy. Lullaby trust recommend a room between 16-20 degrees (ours is probably around 15/16 at night when it's really cold outside). I tend to have the heating on quite high before bed so the room is fairly warm at the start of the night.

You can also buy the 2.5 tog sleepsuits (Sainsbury's sell them) and they are good as they keep the whole body warm and not just torso and legs.

Gosh I'm surprised at these responses. Overheating is more dangerous than your baby getting too cold. I'd never use a fleece sleepsuit for sleeping unless out in the pram (and I'm awake to react to signs of overheating). They're not breathable and your baby can't escape if they get too hot.

Our house regularly drops far below 15 indoors (although not usually in the bedrooms, but sometimes). It's fine with the 3.5tog.

Our kitchen goes down to 11/12 degrees even in the day in winter (terribly insulated house and knackered radiators but that's a project for another time) and dd napped in cotton vest and sleepsuit then 3.5tog sleeping bag, in her moses basket. Sometimes I'd put her in a hat.

I woukd never use a fleece sleepsuit either and they are not recommended. I would only ever use natural fibres for a baby.

Also surprised at some of these responses. I'd boil in a 18 room at night and certainly ours goes below 15 at times, my DD survived just fine.

I'd focus on natural fibre thermal layers and sleeping bags. We loved merino stuff when DD was little (still do, though it's pricey to keep getting it as they grow). If your budget can stretch look at Superlove Merino, they do amazing sleeping bags which work for a range of temps (DD wore hers year-round save the summer heatwaves, and was always comfortable).

Definitely put him in a long sleeve vest and a long sleeve sleeping bag if you’re not already.

I feel chilly just thinking about it 🤣

Having said that I'm always chilly!

11.4C this morning!

You get used to it, I'm bare legged in a dressing gown but with thick socks on. We do have a hot fan we sometimes turn on in whichever room we're in.

Dd is literally never too cold now at 3yo. She's always romping around without a jumper etc. She also has only had two days off sick at nursery in 2023 (the nursery app keeps a tally).

I'm a big believer in not overheating! (Also dh and I cba to sort out the heating in the kitchen).

Dress in merino wool (Cambridge baby). Cosilana sleep suit is so nice. Wool helps body regulate temp and keep them warm/cool as needed. Cotton can over heat and then chill. They do sleep bags etc. Expensive but worth it.

Thanks for the replies everyone! So general consensus seems to be more layers/thicker sleep bag for baby. I’ve ordered a 3.5 tog one from LaRedoute and in the meantime I’ll get some more long sleeve vests. He has some lovely bamboo sleepsuits that he’s just about grown into so they should be cosy

we have the heating on all day until we go to bed so I’m reluctant to have it come on through the night, and with that said I have the upstairs radiators switched off anyway to save £ as we’re not up there in the day. I normally leave the window open pretty much 24/7 but I’ll shut it a few hrs before bed to keep the heat in a bit.

I wouldn’t use a hat in the house and especially not for sleeping. I definitely think the Gro Bag etc recommendations err on the side of caution so just need to work out what works for my little one. Really appreciate all the ideas, thank you!!