Help with keeping baby cool in summer

[lanesra2]

We live in a townhouse with a big glass front over looking the water and facing the sun. The bedrooms at the top of the house become so hot in summer and the rest of the house is not much better. Baby due in June. Already use a big dyson fan in the bedroom but the room will still be far too hot. Checked in shop and adding a second dyson won't make much difference. Anyone else had this problem? Any solutions you can suggest?

Thank you

A blackout blind?

Air conditioning unit?

Long term I would move house, sounds annoying.
Medium term I would get external shutters which are probably expensive but effective at blocking out heat (and light).
Short term I would get an air con unit and thick thermal lined curtains.

Shutters are great.

Thank you - I will look at shutters/ black out blinds / air conditioning units!

Honestly babies are born in much hotter countries. Blinds/curtains when the sun is shining and upstairs windows open. Your baby can sleep in a nappy if it’s genuinely that hot but I’d be surprised if it’s something you need to worry about in the U.K. (south facing house with 10 windows in direct sun, plus no loft so our bedrooms are in the eaves here)

If you have a loft then open the hatch

I've tried opening my loft hatch and it just made the place hotter.

No point opening windows and loft hatch when the air outside is hotter than inside!

Open them when it's cooler outside and close them during heat of day.

"babies are born in much hotter countries."

Yes but most houses in hot countries are designed and built for the heat.

People in hot countries are used to the heat. Here in the UK we can cope with it (babies included) but it is still uncomfortable when you're not used it.

How hot does it actually get in the room? Definitely get something to block out the sunlight when it's directly facing the room and then open windows when the sun is not shining at the room. But how hot does it get in there? Baby can lie in its nappy if it's that hot.

Today the room has been 24 according to grow egg and that's with windows open and dyson on. Worried it'd going to get so much hotter ..

When I had my first our flat was mega hot all the time. We got one of those little egg temperature things and it was constantly red in our bedroom. But it was actually fine. We just didn’t dress him in as many clothes and when it hit summer and got even hotter he just slept in a short sleeved vest. Wasn’t a problem at all.

Sleep downstairs with windows open?

Put baby in a different room?

Shutters. Shutters. Shutters. I live in the south east and front of the house faces south - in summer the rooms at the front of the house used to reach 30 degrees! Even the nursery with black out blinds. We have shutters now and it’s so much better. Obviously it’s not got that hot yet this year but so far they’ve made a huge difference. I love my shutters!

Ds was born last June just before the heat wave so I sympathise! He basically lived in just a nappy for his first 5 weeks. The gro egg (known I our house over summer as "the angry red bastard") was up to 32 at times.

Keep windows closed and blinds down during the day. Once the evening cools down open blinds and windows to allow cooler air in.

We had a fan (not directed at ds) with a bottle of frozen water in front of it.

Once cord off, coolish (as in just above tepid, not cold) baths were useful when it was unbearable.

For out and about get a clip on parasol for your pram, never cover baby with anything over the pram hood, even a muslin or cellular blanket as this has been shown to drastically increase the temperature in the pram.

never cover baby with anything over the pram hood, even a muslin or cellular blanket as this has been shown to drastically increase the temperature in the pram

That is really important advice

Unfortunately I can't put shutters on the front of the house. It's one of several houses that look the same and we are not allowed to alter the front. Could sleep on a sofa with the baby in the lounge I guess but it's pretty hot there too. Thanks for the tips on the pushchair too

You can have shutters fitted internally I believe.

Blackout blinds with the window open behind. Obviously just put baby in a nappy in the cot if it's that hot. Cool bath before bed. Also take the waterproof sheet or plastic lining off the cot if possible.

But that's all advice for really hot weather/rooms. I mean, 30+ degrees. Babies where I'm from sleep in rooms that temp with the conditions I've given above.

We live in a similar house & have blackout blinds fitted on our velux windows which keeps the heat of the sun out- when especially hot, I keep them down all day and the windows ajar to let air circulate across the top floor.
Our GroEgg is 20.4 currently

I have the same issue. Last year our lounge was 28-32 degrees all the time. We have a 3.5 month old and I'm getting new blinds fitted as we speak - they are sun screen ones. Fingers crossed they help! If they are good I can let you know the style

A ceiling fan and aircon unit in addition to the dyson fan should do it.

You can get clear heat reflecting film for windows, it goes on the glass on the inside, and reflects heat and glare. We're putting it on our nursery room window as we're having a similar issue. We combine it with a blackout blind and a fan, and it makes the room comfortable. worth looking into?