Am I being thick? How do you avoid adjusting layers in the night??

[hellosailor]

Am I missing a glaringly obvious solution or does everyone have this problem?!

My almost 8 month old baby is having a few night wakings at the mo, and I'm sure some off them are down to the temperature having dropped over the course of the night and her waking up cold.

I have not been comfortable with the idea of preemptively dressing her 'too warmly' when she goes to bed at 7, so that she is the right temperature in the colder early hours, as obv we are all mindful of the risks of overheating.

Last night I went against this instinct and put her in a vest, sleepsuit and grobag for the first time in months as I knew it was going to get a lot colder during the night, but she woke an hour and a half later and was hot and sweaty, so I had to strip her completely to get the vest off (she needs to be wearing a grobag to inhibit crawling round her cot endlessly so has to get the vest off!) which of course woke her fully and had her wailing.

At 4 in the morning she was awake again and wouldn't re-settle, and by now she felt cold, so I imagine it was that! This time I put a warmer grobag on her and she went back to sleep.

Is there anything I can do to avoid adjusting clothes several times a night??

I think the reason that this has not been an issue before is that our room has always been on the hot side, so over spring and summer it's been very warm when she goes to bed and...just slightly less warm in the early hours, so it's only now that this is a problem...zzzzz

[Pickle]

I've been lucky and never really had that problem (generally all year round I would put them in long sleeved/legged sleepsuit and grobag - 2.5 tog at this time of year) - but could you try reducing the layers she's wearing and then popping a blanket over her as you're going to bed?

[hellosailor]

Hi Pickle,

thanks for replying,

We've had her in all sorts of different layers (or lack of!) over the months - our gro egg regularly read 32 degs in our room in the summer!

But she wriggles around so much in her sleep that a blanket does not stay on, so that's not really an option which is a bugger. I might put her in a warmer grobag tonight (technically she was in 2.5 tog last night but it is very old and not puffy anymore so prob not anything like what a new 2.5 feels like) and see if that makes her less hot at bedtime than vest/sleepsuit/grobag combo that was too hot!

There's always some conundrum isn't there?!

[jennyh]

how cold does the temperature get in the middle of the night? Mine pretty much always sleeps in a vest and sleepsuit and then either a 1 tog or a 2.5 tog. Room starts evening around 22 degrees and then drops to 19 degrees at the moment. She seems to sleep better when a bit warmer but doesnt get to the sweaty stage! I am thinking about when it gets colder, perhaps it is an idea to set the heating to come on in the night but turn the radiators down a bit so it doesnt roast her?

[Susan]

its soo tricky, woke up to monitor flashing 'room too cold 17oC' at me today!!! have ordered the 2.5 grobags and will have to fgure out how to set the heating to come on in the morning. Do people think a vest is required with a 2.5 bag (think these are ok for rooms 16-20oc?)

[Pickle]

17 degrees isn't too cold, that's a really good temperature for a bedroom. When I had my first baby I stressed a lot about temperature - too hot/too cold etc., but with my 2nd I relaxed a lot. If a baby is too hot or too cold they will let you know, so try not to worry too much.

I pretty much used 2.5 tog bags all year round (apart from really hot weather where I dropped to a 1 tog), with sleepsuit, and a vest added in the winter months. Our heating was on until 10pm, off all night, then came on again around 6am.

[KatsuQueen]

hellosailor, we got an oil-filled heater with a thermometer which comes on when the temp drops during the night. It meant that MiniKatsu's room was toasty and warm all night, even when the heating went off at 10.

[The Nappy Lady]

Yes, oil filled rad with a thermostat from Argos. Can be on a timer switch so only operational at night.

That's how I kept my babies rooms at an ambient temp all night in winter.

[snowboarder]

And remember their little hands always feel ICY but doesn't mean they're cold - I think you feel their neck? My 7m old had cold hands this morning for the first time but didn't seem bothered.

Baby had a vest, sleepsuit and 2.5 grobag last night. Mr snowboarder put the 2.5yr old to be so I found him in summer pj's and a 1 grobag....he is a little radiator though so I think he was fine!!

[Susan]

Thanks ladies, which one did you get from Argos,,,they seem to have a lot of diff types!

[shaunag]

Hi hellosailor

There are also Merino wool grobags you can get - they are pretty pricey but apparently you dont need to wash them as often and as they are more breathable they should help prevent your LO getting so sweaty. Ive had my LO in one my sis gave me for the last few nights (as still cant get my head around the drop in temperature to move to the 2.5 tog ones!) and she has been sleeping well in that (and her vest and babygro) - she doesnt like to get too hot either. I also have a plug in radiator to try to keep the temp a bit more constant in the room. Good luck!

[hellosailor]

thank you everyone - the oil filled radiator is a genius idea!! Like Susan, would be interested in which one people got from Argos

And snowboarder, thanks, yes I do check the back of the neck and chest rather than hands as they are little ice blocks all year round aren't they?!

[The Nappy Lady]

The one I bought was about ?30. It's only little. As long as it has a thermostat I dont think it matters much.

Actually mine was from B&Q model no NY10EN-5L

1000 watt

Hope they helps.

[hellosailor]

thanks Molly, that's great. And thanks for the tip about the merino wool grobags Shaunag - they sound lovely!

[radnrach]

What I've been doing recently (because I have the same problem!) is putting a vest/babygro and light blanket on him. And then before I go to bed, I sneak in and re-cover (he always throws/kicks it off) and then put a heavier blanket on, too. I do always worry he's going to kick them off again, but he seems to be nice and toasty in the mornings.

[Hesmall1]

I'm doing the same for my 7 month old. 7PM bedtime in long sleeve vest or sleepsuit and a 2.0 tog grobag (have 2.5 on hand for when the colder nights arrive). I put a small cellular over her around 10PM and even though she moves around a lot at night, she stays pretty well covered. Because its a cellular blanket, I'm less worried about overheating or suffocation.

Per Pickle's post, mine definitely lets me know if too hot / cold. She generally sleeps straight through the night, so if I hear a wake up these days, its generally because she's hot or cold. Good luck with the radiator.