Childbirth class number five last night, but no gory birth video I had to ignore OR irritating mandated breathing that I had to pretend to do. YAY! I guess maybe now they figure we can be trusted to breathe on our own.
Instead, we got to play with some creepy-looking baby dolls, putting on diapers and learning how to swaddle. While I was taking my turn dressing the dead-eyed plastic child on the table, I asked the nurse about temperature while the baby is sleeping. As in, does it really need to be all that warm in the room? She, having no idea where this was leading, told me that if it's comfortable for me, then it's comfortable for the baby. Whereupon I had to break it to her that my bedroom is 45 degrees, and that IS comfortable for me, but I don't think a newborn is going to really enjoy that so much. Since I'm not allowed to put him under flannel sheets, two wool blankets, and a down comforter. That might just be a slight risk of suffocation there.
Then she said that most people's bedrooms are around 60-65 degrees, and that's about right for a baby. And some people in the class chimed in to say their bedrooms are more like 70-75 degrees. I was amazed that anyone would choose to sleep in a room that warm. That would be a risk of suffocation for me.
So let's take a poll: What temperature is your bedroom while you're sleeping?
37 comments:
62 degrees. We could go colder happily but have a toddler who kicks blankets off then wakes up cold in the middle of the night. 62 maintains my sleep schedule - and sanity.
I've been wondering what exactly you'll do once baby appears and needs a warmer bedroom. :o)
62-64. Any warmer and I wake up hot.
Cold houses are why babies get to wear furry, footy pjs.
I turn the temp down to 62 at night to save money, but if I could afford it, it'd be set at 75. I'm always cold.
The thermostat goes to 58 at night but the upstairs is always 3-4 degrees cooler. But I too have been wondering how you'll increase the temperature...
Our thermostat gets turned down to 62/63 at night. I can't imagine sleeping in a sauna like bedroom...
we heat with wood ....so it fluctuates some...about 60 - 65 feels comfortable...but , I always sleep with warm covers.
Some of the new lightweight fleece blankies are really warm.
Man-cub is in a 98.6 degree water bath right now. They keep it pretty cool in the hospital rooms. But, I don't know about the nursery at a hospital. Maybe call and ask them.
I , too, was wondering what you were going to do about keeping him warm at home. :)
I have seen a sort of all body blankie deal on line that has a neck and arms on it but is closed on the bottom , but, not tight on the bottom
Beth
Anything above 62 is too hot. We have a wonderful down comforter and could keep it even cooler but that seems extreme. Could the baby sleep under down? It's light weight but warm.
All these people with fancy thermostats. The temp in my room is whatever it drops to over night because there is no heating on in our house at night. The coldest it got this winter was -8c and there was no heat on that night, as per every other night. Warm clothes and duvets. I have no idea what I would do about a baby though - my daughter is 4.
prebaby and prepregnancy it was probably 70-75 during the winter and 70 during the summer. but prenancy made me hot blooded, so now i wake up sweating to anything hotter than 67 lol. so lately i turn the heat down to 62 at night but keep it between 66-69 during the day.
60-65 range. Anything after that and I am suffocating.
65-67 - i'm always freezing. And our room might be a little colder starting out -we keep the bedroom door shut when the woodburner is going which is all the time, so no heat gets in there. I always dressed the kids in footed sleepers and then sacques that pulled down over their hands so they would be warm - their bedrooms get all the wind in the winter.
I'm sorry to ignore your question, but I just have to celebrate the fact that no one made you watch a gory birth video last night. WOO!
Like you, we have heat issues and no thermometer so instead of offering a degree I would say it ranges from horribly, back bendingly freezing to, when our wonderful landlord does decide to turn on the heat, tropical steam bath hot.
If I had my choice it would probably be about 55 year round. I like it chilly. I like a breeze. Living in NY I haven't slept with a breeze on a regular basis in years and I miss it like a drug.
We like it cold, too. And our house in CT was old and poorly zoned which meant that at bedtime either the new baby was going to freeze to death or we were going to fry.
Then, we got one of these which heated the baby's room to a perfect 62 degrees and amazingly didn't cost us a fortune in electric bills.
http://www.vornado.com/
Just a thought...
65 degrees. I can't go any colder.
Check out fleece sleepers, they really keep a baby warm. The Children's Place has nice ones. And they're usually on clearance this time of year :)
Right around 60-62 at night, but my 20-year-old cat, who is always cold, would prefer it to be 80 to 85.
Definately in the 60s
Oh my, we sleep in seperate bedrooms over this issue. I turn the heat off before going to bed. My husband keeps his room about 75. We've had a mild winter so I've used very little heat this winter. The electric bill is the cost of heating Bob's room.
Fleece, you can't beat it. It's light weight and warm as toast.
63 ish - in the winter. I wish I could afford to sleep that cool in the summer, but it's 74 (AC in Tucson in the summer can be a killer financially...)
Moi
I'd say about 65, although I wouldn't mind it a little cooler. I like to snuggle under the covers and not wake up all sweaty.
You know, I'd have to get a thermostat to know that.
Somewhere between 45-55 I'd imagine.
Though warmer when Bubba's there. He's his own furnace.
Well, mine too.
68-70 is ideal for sleeping, but I want to wake up to at least 72 to get out of bed.
I love it cold. I was lucky to have a baby who felt the same way. When I dressed him "appropriately" he was miserable. Same with sleeping. He did best with long sleeve, long pants pj's and a blanket in a cool room. You'll figure out what works best for you guys. Maybe even having him sleep in bed with you.
60-65° degrees works for me at night.
I once had neighbors from Norway who put their baby out on the porch for fresh-air naps at what I recall were below freezing temperatures. The baby was enclosed in a very warm hooded bunting/sleeping bag arrangement with just his little face peeking out. There may have been an additional layer or two of blankets wrapped around him in his carrier. The baby slept quite peacefully in his snug cocoon.
Our house has a fancy programable thermostat that ensures that it's a specific temp for about 4 square feet of the living room. It's set for 55 at night and work time and 64-66 when people are home. This sounds low, but house heats so unevenly that 64 in the living room is 70ish up in the bedrooms.
I'm with you. Cold. The main rooms are 55 by night and about 62 by day. But I have no children.. hehehehe... I block the heaters and keep the bedroom door shut. cuz really.. what the heck good is sleeping on down if you're gonna have it too warm to appreciate????
Although I have to say, I do warm it up a little when it's time for the shower :)
Those electric heaters with the oil are incredibly efficient. You might get one and play with the settings to see if you can get just the baby's part of the room to warm up but not the rest of it. Worked wonders in my friend's 450 year old farmhouse. They had those heaters in every spot the baby hung out in: by the crib, by the excersaucer, in the bathroom, and by the highchair.
Clever tenting and hot water bottles are always an option.
Now I'm thinking of a portable baby yurt. *snort*
I'm in the middle: 65 works for me. I like being cozy in my blankets, but having cool air around us.
We're whatever it is outside, but live in a warm climate.
On the practical matter of how to dress the baby, sleeping bags will be your best (and safest) bet. It comes with a chart to guide you in terms of how well to dress the baby under the sleep sack according to room temperature. Link below (I have no affilation, but used them with my yongest).
http://www.amazon.com/Grobag-Tutti-Frutti-Sleeping-Months/dp/B002KFYTAK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1265428077&sr=8-2
around 60 here
Fleece and wool is what you need. I believe I mentioned that before.
Sleep sacks
hat
wool socks with fleece slippers (that's what I made for my grandson)
I would guess it's just about impossible to find tiny baby wool socks. That's why I knit them. Would you like me to send you a pair?
Sheila: I think the MiL has it covered, but thank you for the thought. It's nice to have knitters in the family.
yahoo for knitting grannies!
You can also make sweater pants. These work really great and are basically free if you have an old sweater or a local Salvation Army store nearby. Here's a link showing how to make baby pants from an old sweater.
http://www.cafepress.com/thatskindacool/864331
Here's the pattern (see link below)I used to make the fleece slippers. I'm going to try making a pair out of felted material next. Going to get an old sweater and run it through the washer and dryer to make the wool felt. The nice thing about these slippers is the elastic is sized to the babies ankle and they can't kick them off.
http://baremaked.blogspot.com/2007/11/reversible-fabric-baby-shoes-tutorial.html
I love making baby stuff out of recycled material. Appeals to the woodchuck in me.
Anyway, with wool and fleece Man Cub will never get sick in those temps. Too cold for a virus or bacteria to survive.
I'm picturing your baby in a box/crib with a heat lamp. I'm stopping just short of wood shavings.
In winter? The bedroom is at 68 at bedtime, but then we turn it down to 60-62. By morning it is between 60-65 depending on how cold and windy it is outside.
But in the summer it can easily be in the 80s in the bedroom. It would be way too expensive to keep it cooler in the Texas heat.
57 winter. AC season 70. In between seasons whatever.
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