Room temp for bubba and duvet/sheet question...

[Steelgoddess]

I have a couple of questions, sorry if they sound a bit thick...

OK first one, I have one of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grobag-Egg/dp/B000DZF1WE i have tested it out and it normally says warm or too hot... If this is the case what can i do short of opening a window and stripping baby down to a vest??? Or is it more an awareness thing??

Second question is as adults we sleep under a duvet/sheet, im assuming I would just lie baby down on top of their cot/basket matress or should I cover them??

I think thats it for now ladies, thanks again for helping me!

 

[claire2711]

Hey! 8)

We have Riley in a moses basket at night, he wears a sleepsuit, and we swaddle him in a cellular blanket. We were planning to use really cosy fleecy blanket for colder nights, but MWs in hosp said not to - just in case it went over his face, they need to have blankets that are breathable.

if it's colder we tuck him in with an extra blanket.

We have a temperature thingy too, but tbh I think it's just better to judge it yourself. You'll get to know your LO, and will sense if the room temp is OK.

hope that ramble helps!!

 

[Sylvie]

Hi
I also have the Grobag egg, quite useful to know at a glance if the room temperature is OK. Try not to use it too close too a lit lamp because it alters the reading. Most often in our room the egg is orange (warm), which is ok to me as I think the recommended yellow is much too cold! When it gets red (hot) as yesterday evening I just leave the window open and use the lightest tog for the sleeping bag. Sometimes I have tried letting Louis sleep in his bodysuit/vest without the sleeping bag but in the morning his feet are frozen and he doesn't sleep so well compared to when he is in the sleeping bag.
As for the use of sheets and blankets it depends if you decide to use a sleeping bag or not, that's a personal choice (which also depends on your baby's preferences!). Louis loves his sleeping bags and whenever I have used a blanket instead because the sleeping bags were all in the wash he cried and cried until he managed to kick the blanket away. To solve the problem I have just invested in more sleeping bags (the Grobags are great and can be used from birth, which is not always the case with other brands)

 

[Suzie and Faith]

I was really worried about this too. Have you got any grobags? The baby sleeping bag things? Our came with a room thermometer that on the back listed different temps and what tog grobag you should use and with what clothing, i used it at first but i tend to make it up now!

If you can keep the room cool then that's good - maybe keeping curtains closed and windows open but if not then just reduce what baby is wearing. You check their temp by touching their neck or belly - there hand and feet are ok to be cool.

Tonight Fi is wearing a sleepsuit (no vest underneath) and a blanket folded in 2.

Matt's just found the temp list, i'll type out what it says:

26 deg cel - 0.5 tog grobag, short sleeved bodysuit
24 deg cel - 1 tog grobag, short sleeved bodysuit
22 deg cel - 1 tog grobag long sleeved bodysuit
20 deg cel - 2.5 tog grobag long sleeved bodysuit OR 1 tog grobag, short sleeved bodysuit and pj top
18 deg cel - 2.5 tog grobag long sleeved bodysuit plus pj top
16 deg cel - 2.5 tog grobag long sleeved bodysuit and sleepsuit

hope this is of some use!

But don't worry, you will know roughly what to do by how the room feels to you and how your baby feels to the touch, i no longer test the room temp or worry, i make it up as i go along! we do have grobags but even the .5 tog was too warm for her recently so she is under blankets for now.

xxxxxx

 

[Sherlock]

18C is the ideal but if its warmer don't panic overly. You can always get a fan, put baby in less clothing etc. Keep windows open in the day and curtains/blinds closed mostly. Also leave it to air in the evening when the temp drops and a through breeze might happen.

If you use a baby sleeping bag (correct tog and check the weight a baby needs to be before they go in one, most start from 10lb, some from 7lb or so - I know Mothercare do these) you won't need to worry about feet to foot in the moses basket or cot.

If you use sheet and blanket then you need to do feet to foot. You don't use a duvet for a baby at all. Only use cellular blankets etc. Duvet from 1 year plus. A folded blanket counts as 2 layers.

Sleeping bags - cannot be kicked off so saving on having to cover baby up. Snug. Can vary clothing needed underneath as needed. Last night our LO was in a long sleeved body suit and his 2.5 tog sleeping bag (its much cooler by the coast here). Other times he wears a sleepsuit and is in the 1 tog. Depends on the temp.

In first month a newborn baby needs an extra layer because of maintaining body heat. My rule of thumb is what I am wearing plus one layer. Autumn baby I'd say a couple of 2.5 tog sleeping bag would be fine if you go that route. We put Galen in a short sleeved bodysuit, sleepsuit and sleeping bag in the early weeks as it was around 18C. Sometimes dropped down to 16C at night so I made sure he was warm enough. Once he got to 4 weeks I was able to drop the extra layer and just go with sleepsuit and sleeping bag.

 

[Mik]

With my first I used the guide on the back of the baby sheets/blankets packaging that advises how much covering to use depending on room temp. After a while you do get a feeling for what your baby needs and I would agree with Sherlock what you are wearing + a little extra.

 

[Jollypops]

Calum goes to bed with a vest and a sleepsuit on, then he has a small cellular blanklet folded in half and then a fleece blanket folded in half so technical 4 layers (all tucked under his matress and not to tight, we have a temp on our baby monitor and is normally 22-24 which flashes high but it isnt to high for him or us.
To check babes temp just put your fingers on the back of the neck just under their clothing and you should be able to tell quite easy if your still worried and have a digital thermometor then place this right in under the armpit and close babes arm down again and then see what the reading is, then you will get used to what you can feel and what the actual temp is and will build in confidence as they days pass.

 

[kalia]

For the first few months we put her to bed in a vest and sleepsuit and but 2 or 3 cellular blankets on top. Around 2 months old she started kicking the blankets off so we started using gro bags.

Consider using sleeping bags for the beginning if you are not co sleeping. That way when you take baby out to feed they stay the same temperature and when you put baby back to bed they aren't going in to a cold bed - after all, no one likes that! TK Maxx always seems to have grobags. The grobags come with a temperature guide card saying what they should wear in different temperatures and we check that every night.

 

[maybebaby]

Our house is always warm & the temperature in Austin's room is usually about 24 degrees. It's too hot according to most thermometers but I can't leave the window open because we're on the ground floor & I'm terrified of someone breaking in so I NEVER open the windows at the front of the house unless I'm sitting in the room.

Austin usually sleeps in short sleeved pyjamas, he used to go in a sleeping bag but hasn't all summer, I just put a sheet over him when I go to bed.

When he was tiny I used to either swaddle him, cover him with a blanket or co-sleep (him on top of the covers), then when he got a buit bigger it was sleeping bag all the way.