I know I am lucky and shouldn't complain but how can I make sure DS isn't too hot at night?

[BlameItOnTheBogey]

Before I start, I know that I am very fortunate and lots of people are having to make do with very little heating at the moment. But here goes;

I live in an apartment block where the heating is centrally controlled. It is permanently set to sauna. So much so that we live with the windows and balcony doors open 24/7 and all the radiators in our flat turned off. We've asked them to turn it down but they won't (apparently other people like it and to hell with the environment). Last night the temp in DS' room was 25 degrees at 3am and the monitor kept flashing up that it was dangerously hot. He sleeps stripped down in a vest. But he's still quite young and I know that overheating is a SIDS risk.

Can anyone tell me what age the sids risk for overheating drops off and also if just a vest sounds right for 25 degrees?

That's appalling - can you approach the owner (or management co.?) again? I definitely would, in writing, pointing out all the reasons why this is bad (health, environment etc).

How old is your ds? I think the risk of SIDS is reduced by 6 months, then again (massively) by 12 months.

When you say a vest, do you mean just a vest and no blanket/grobag? If he's comfortable like that I'd say that was fine - and if the temp is consistent all night (ie doesn't drop), at least you won't have to worry about him getting too cold!

My sympathies, we have the same problem. I have to turn off the radiators in both my and DD's bedrooms and DD still kicks her bedclothes off from being too hot (which isn't much fun when it suddenly gets cold at 4am).

I'd still use a light blanket/slightly heavy sheet at 25° tbh. I'd also not worry too much about overheating, I think it's more dangerous overdressing or over-covering in bedclothes than room temp IYSWIM. DD was born in July with average temps of 35° yet it wasn't a problem.

I've tried approaching the administrator but ur block is full of little old ladies and delicate people who suffer from the cold. They, of course, can't put another jumper on, instead we have to strip down to short sleeves.

Thanks for the reply. I feel so bad complaining but I am sick of it now; sick of the waste of energy, sick of always being too hot, sick of dressing as if it is the middle of summer.

DS is 7 months and the temp remains constant at night so no drop at any point. I guess we have to go on dressing him in a vest (no grobag - we used a 0.5 tog one during the recent cold snap as we have the windows open).

We've complained until we are blue in the face. The answer we get is; i) you are on the top floor and heat rises, is nowhere near as hot for those who live on the ground floor(although if they use their radiators I imagine it must be pretty warm) and ii) lots of old people live here and they feel the cold and need to be warm.

X posts with Brangelina. Maybe we live in the same building!

Thanks for the advice on sheets etc, will try that and see how we get on. I'm just worried because he is too young to tell me if he's too hot etc...

In which case you must be the little old lady on the top floor who dances in clicky heels and sings to 50s classics.

Do you live abroad? I've tried the environmental approach but it hasn't been appreciated in the land of "car engines left running for hours when parked". One thing that has been proposed is individual meter things you can attach to the boiler, so that those who feel the cold pay more and those of us who turn down radiators pay less. I'm not sure how feasible this is (it might mean changing the boiler, which would be madness) but maybe you could do some research on it?

Yes, that's me. Sorry about my awful singing....

Nah I'm in London but in an apartment block which is clearly modeled on the US ones (we lived somewhere similar when we lived over there). In fact, I suspect that this is why DH gravitated towards it. I think it's an odd place to live in London but so be it.

We're only here for another year and then back to the US so I'm maybe too lazy to go for a long term solution (so should stop complaining). But thanks for the suggestion.

Hope your solution works out for you though - it really is a nightmare.