Baby room temp 13'C the last two nights, what to do!?

[LadyLouOf2]

My 6 month old DS is in his cot in the room immediately next door to us. He shares this room with my DD (2.5years). She sleeps like a log and doesn't feel it but he has had a couple of terrible nights. According to the monitor, the room was at 13'C, despite having double glazed windows etc (it's an old Edwardian house and is draughty). He sleeps in a vest, baby grow, grow bag and 2 cellular blankets on top.
I know they say that babies' hands and feet are always colder but his hands have been like absolute ice blocks. His chest and the back of his neck have felt okay (not hot, not cold) but his hands and his forearms are just beyond cold. Last night I had to bring him in with us at 4am and I just rubbed his hands and arms until they were warm. He slept like a log as soon as he warmed up.

Other than leaving the heating on all night (it's a 5 bed house, too big to heat the whole thing every night)- do you have any suggestions of how to keep him a bit warmer? I've brought his cot into our room this evening as our room has less windows and feels warmer. He is appropriately dressed according to the guidelines. Any bright ideas please!

You don't have to heat your whole house every night but you can heat the room where your baby and toddler sleep. They can't regulate their temperature like you can!

My old house was like this - on really cold winter nights it would sometimes drop to 13 and it was way too cold in the baby's room. We just put the heating on overnight for those really cold spells - we don't have that many nights that are that cold, so the cost isn't that crazy. Or, if the money is a big worry, you could turn down the thermostats in all the other rooms so that the heating only comes on in the kids' room?

Yikes 13 is freezing for either child IMO, I'd put a heating boost on in the middle of the night to keep the temp higher through the night, it sounds like the reason he couldn't sleep was definitely the cold so you need to heat up the room?
I'd definitely say the 3.5 tog bags are good and cosy, but I still wouldn't have been happy letting the temp in my DD's room get below 16 before I put the heating on for a boost.

Winter sleeping bag (3.5 tog), jumper, joggers and socks instead of a babygro.

Can you put a thermostat in their room set to a few degrees higher?

Put the heating on. You don't have to have it on high. My house is old, cold and draughty. I turn mine down to 16 overnight and turn it up again in the morning. If I leave it off all night it would take all day to reach a bearable temperature the next day.

That's great thanks everyone. Just ordered an oil filled radiator and he's in our room tonight. They have 2 big bay windows in their room so that doesn't help.

I used to live in absolutely arctic Edwardian flat with huge 6ft windows. We got a Dyson hot and cool to keep DS warm when he was teeny and it worked like a charm to keep him toasty.

These were great for my baby:

www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/striped-sleep-snuggler-d9292.html

Yikes, my house went down to 15°C last night (inadvertently) and my 4 month old's hands were like ice blocks. My nose was frozen it was that cold, so I don't know how you're managing to sleep in 13/14°C! I ended up bringing him into bed with me to keep him warm.
Would definitely not keep adding blankets and instead keep the heating on low throughout the night.

Turn the radiators off In the rooms you don't want to heat. 13 is really bloody cold for both of them.

Not short term, but are you planning to downsize? I'd hate living in a house to big to heat and freezing in winter.

Other than leaving the heating on all night (it's a 5 bed house, too big to heat the whole thing every night)- do you have any suggestions of how to keep him a bit warmer? I've brought his cot into our room this evening as our room has less windows and feels warmer. He is appropriately dressed according to the guidelines. Any bright ideas please

leave the thermostat on a pleasant setting but turn off all radiators apart from the bedrooms?

Way too cold. You need to put the heating on

DS used to sleep in a fleecy all in one rather than a cotton sleep suit in the winter .

We also used to leave heating on very low .

A 6 month old in most countries would be in same room as adult. probable safer .IMO

@Chattercino

Seems strange that you can afford to live in a 5 bed Edwardian house but you can't afford to heat it to keep your baby in warm...

Tend to agree with this. Put an oil filled radiator in there for goodness sake. It's far too cold for any child.

We live in a freezing country cottage but a fan or oil radiator in a room makes a huge difference without heating the rest of the house. Oil is probably better as fan radiators can easily make a room too hot quite quickly...

Put some of your socks on babies hands and arms, we have a fleece sleepsuits from Next that we put our baby in with a grow bag on top, mittens and 1 cellular blanket folded over on top. My babies hands are also like ice blocks even with mittens on and if they come off while I'm breastfeeding her, she gives me a shock touching my belly!!

@Chattercino

Seems strange that you can afford to live in a 5 bed Edwardian house but you can't afford to heat it to keep your baby in warm...

🙄

Long sleeved vest & long sleeved babygrow, look at getting a 3.5tog sleeping bag, Amazon and ergopouch both sell them. Ergopouch is pricey but I've found them very roomy so will last a while, they have arm covers that fold over the hands on them too!
I also pop a knitted blanket over my little one (16 months) when his room has been around 15. I've always found he's been cold when following the guidelines strictly, trust your instincts and go off touch and his body temperature to tell you if he needs an extra layer! Hope that helps. X

I'd seriously consider putting the 2.5 year old in your room too. Cold/damp often go hand in hand in old houses if you're refusing to use the central heating, and damp conditions are a breeding ground for chest infections.

If you can't afford to heat house all night can you not just turn all radiators off but leave that bedroom on.

Also if you've got 5 bedrooms and theirs has two windows, can you move your little ones into a better room with fewer windows? We blocked up our bedroom windows with cardboard in our last house and kept LO in with us (Victorian farmhouse and drafty AF).