Keeping Children Warm at Night

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Questions Baby vs. the Cold Bedrooms of Berkeley 9-month-old waking at night because she's cold Does your 3-year-old's blanket stay on all night Bedroom too cold for 11 month old baby 11-month-old kicks off blankets 16-month-old kicks off blankets

Related Pages Blankets & Comforters Kids' Pajamas Space Heaters

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Baby vs. the Cold Bedrooms of Berkeley

Oct 2006

OK, this might be a silly question, but I guess I'm a worrywart new mother of a three-week-old, so bear with me. :-) We live in one of those Bay Area houses with no heat in the bedrooms, so it's been pretty cold and drafty at night. We wrap up our baby really well at night, but he doesn't like being swaddled and pulls his hands out of any wrap we put him in at night. That's fine with us, since he's a great sleeper, but by morning his hands are like little ice cubes. So far, we've tried putting socks over his hands and tucking his hands inside his sleeper arms, but he's pretty good at wiggling out of our solutions. Other ideas? Thanks! The future escape artist's mom

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We had a similar problem with our newborn last winter. She also came home with a low core temperature, so we had to really work on keeping her warm. When she was very tiny, we swaddled her in two blankets; she always wiggled her hands out, so we put booties over them to keep them toasty. When she outgrew swaddling, we moved on to sleep sacks, which work great. The only problem with the Halo sacks is that they're armless, so you have to layer them over another sleeper. For a long time, she slept in a snuggle nest between us in the bed, which also helped keep her warm. Now she's almost a year old, sleeps in her own crib and room, and I'm finding her hands are little icicles in the morning again. Thermal drapes over her windows have really helped, since we live in an old house with single-paned windows. A small space heater has also been indispensable, though it does ding your electricity bill a bit...however, it's better than a shivering blue baby! Good luck! lora

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I've been using the Halo Sleep Sack with my 11 month old in his cold bedroom. I put him in a cotton sleeper with feet and then an all-cotton sleep sack over that. He's nice and toasty all night. Halo also has a fleece sack that's warmer. Oakland mom

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Both our kids were born in winter when we lived in a very drafty SF Victorian. We always put hats on them at night to keep their heads warm, as heads and feet are the most important parts to keep warm. Cold hands don't necessarily mean the baby is cold, but if you think he would be more comfortable, I would double swaddle with a second blanket wrapped like a belt around the middle so the arms can't get loose. By the time he outgrows the swaddling, switch to a sleepsack with a longsleeved jammie underneath. Montclair Mommy

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Ha! I remember this, we had the exact same problem: cold bedroom, and an infant who insists (still) on having her arms hanging out. They seem impervious to the cold, but as new parents, we can't help but feel concerned (that CAN'T be good for them!). I don't have much in the way of advice, but I can tell you that my daughter is alive and well at 14 months, and seems to have survived having icicle paws. It didn't make her sick (she got her very first virus only a couple of weeks ago) and didn't seem to affect her sleep. The one thing that helped was having those gowns with the fold-over sleeves. The sleeves are extra long and they have a fold that you can fold over the end of the sleeve to keep they're little hands in. That seemed to work okay, thought sometimes she would still work her little hands free. To this day, she still kicks the covers off of herself, no matter what the temperature. Sigh. Best of luck, and congratulations on your newborn! Alesia

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You might want to think about getting one of those oil-filled space heaters and place it near enough to his crib that that portion of the room is comfortably warm. Our daughter slept much better and got ill much less once we started keeping her room warmer at night. Now she is old enough to manage her own cozy blankets, but the heater is still useful when it's chilly and we only want to heat a small space. We bought ours at Ace Hardware for about $60. I think it is a Lakewood brand - Mom with cold Oakland bedroom

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The curse of a fall baby -- we had the same issue. At 2 years I can look back at all these concerns and say ah, so what, the hands are a little cold, baby will be fine, but I think I even wrote into BPN myself about the same concern 2 years ago! Get a space heater. Get a swaddle blanket he can't work his way out of, at least for the next few months til it's warmer -- there are these velcro-type swaddles that keep 'em really snug. And remember, you might be one of the really really lucky ones, but a great sleeper at 3 weeks does not a great sleeper make. Good luck! anon

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We used a sleep sack--it was available online, called itself europenan-- i can't remember the grand name--anyway, it's like a big sleeping bag with armholes. We dressed our twins in close fitted footless pjs, then put on sleeper pjs with feet, and finally around 10PM when the temp fell, we added the sleep sack. on very cold nights we also used a space heater. they slept that way until they were about 30 pounds and 1.5 years old, when they were moving around more sarah Davis

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I have two words for you: Sleep sack! As soon as my daughter started breaking free of her swaddles, we switched her to a sleepsack (flannel in winter, cotton in summer). It has been great. Now that she is almost 2 years old, she doesn't wear them anymore, but her ''snuggle sack'' is still the comfort item she insists on holding while she falls asleep Meg's mom

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I don't have a good solution for the hands, but we swear by these sleep sacks for our baby's cold room: http://littlebigfoot.com/ Debbie

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Both my sister and I have the same issue. We live in the fog belt in Albany and almost never turn the heat on and my sister is on the Russian river, with no heating at all in their home. We can't recommend enough the sleep sacks you can find at www.LittleBigFoot.com. I found out about these sleep sacks on the Parents Network over 4 years ago. These have worked great for all of our kids, and I like them so much more than the polyester Halo brand that don't breathe. They come in two weights, summer and winter, and on really cold nights we'd put on more layers under the sleep sack. My son wore his until he was around 2 years old and while he could walk around the crib in. They're like wearable sleeping bags and become a comfort item, like a blankie, for them. anon

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Babies can have cold hands even when they aren't really cold. My doctor said to touch my baby's cheek - if the cheek is warm, he's fine.

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9-month-old waking at night because she's cold

Sept 2005

Our 9 month old is waking in the night in her crib because she is cold. Cosleeping is not an option for us. We have a small electric space heater we turn on to warm the room. We can't leave it on all the time because it gets too hot and is really expensive to run. She seems to need the room itself to be warm, so putting on warmer pj's hasn't seemed to solve the problem. Are there flannel crib sheets? Is there an ''economical'' space heater we could use? Our house does not have central heat, so we need creative solutions to this problem. Thanks.

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Here's what we did for our girl starting last winter (she was about 5 months).

1. Yes, there are flannel sheets for cribs. We got ours from the online outlets at Eddie Bauer, LL Bean, and Landsend.

2. We got a electric space heater, oil filled, from Target for less than $40. It has a thermostat and goes on and off automatically (though it is not very precise). It still raises an electric bill, but is cheaper than heating the whole house. We put it on a timer so it would shut off before the central heat came on in the morning.

3. Sleep sacks! I think they are the greatest thing. They stay on at all times without impeding the baby's movement. It comes in fleece and cotton. It is a regular part of her sleeping routine and I think it helps signal to her that it is time for bed.

Warm all winter

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You should look at what type of windows, window coverings, and floor coverings you have. If you have hardwood, thrown down a big rug. If you have single-pane windows, think about double- pane or thicker curtains. Also, we lose a lot of heat through our heads (I think around 80%), so how about a light hood or beanie? Good luck!

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We used an electric space heater (made by bionaire) that has a remote thermometer to put near baby's crib which turns off the heater when the room reaches a preprogramed temp (and back on when in drops below). Jessica

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I had the same issue when my children were babies. I bought flannel crib sheets from Lands End and placed my child in a bunting type of sleep gown. That seemed to help quite a bit. I hope this infor. is helpful to you. Cold Baby Hands on Bare Breast

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try a sleepsack. they work great, are inexpensive at around $20, and keep our now toddler warm and cozy all night. you can order them from babycenter.com. i like the halo fleece sleepsack. lower pg+e bills

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When our daughter was a newborn we would put a hot water bottle under her sleeping pad in her bassinet. Of course the water bottle will get cooler as the night goes on so maybe that wouldn't help in your situation. just a thought

I highly recommend you look into sleeping bags. They are wonderful for MANY reasons. They keep your child from escaping the crib, they keep your child warm, they reduce the incidence of SIDS, etc., etc. We used one year-round in the Bay Area. If it's a bit hot, we kept it open and zipped it when we went to bed. We like our house cold at night. During winter, my children wore little sweatshirts with hoods under the sleeping bags (which don't have sleeves).

Check out this website for a wonderful product: http://www.littlebigfoot.com/toddler.htm

They are VERY common in Europe. It may be tough to get a child into one who is not accustomed to it. I would start by slipping the bag on them and leaving their feet out until they are asleep. They'll be accustomed to it in not time.

Good luck! Mom with good sleepers

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There are flannel crib sheets! Rockridge kids stocks them. We used them almost exclusively. We used sleep sacks for sleeping. Ours were fleece. These would leave her hands and head cool, so she might still wake up, but at least it's an inexpensive experiment. And it definitely keeps in warmth around the baby.

Rockridge kids stock sleep sacs too. Our daughter used them until age 2. I was on the verge of making her one (it's all cut out) out of flannel b/c I got a little freaked about flame retardants and fleece, but at least there were jammies between the sack and her skin.

running a hot mist vaporizer warms a room nicely...not sure of price versus a heater.

rice bags might buy you some extra zzs. you can purchase or make. it's a cloth sack about the size of a 1lb. bag of rice. you microwave it for 1 minute and it stays warm along time. you could put her to bed with one and reheat it before you go to bed... anonymous

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Try the halo sack. It's a fleece blanket with a zipper that you put to the baby over his pj. With a long sleeve cotton pj and the halo sack, the baby is going to be o.k., not too warm, not too cold, just fine. Cristina

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you mentioned that the electric heater was ultimately too hot and too expensive to run . . . have you considered an oil filled heater? these are also electric but they are much more efficient and economical for heating small rooms. they are available at target, longs etc. and run about $50 (we have one by a company called Lakewood). they have a thermostat so they shut off when a certain temp is reached and in my experience don't cost much to use (unlike the coil or blower style electric heaters). best of luck! Vanessa

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Years ago, when I lived in an apartment that had a small gas heater in the living room and no other heat, I had a small electric radiator (DeLongh brand, but there are others) that I could wheel from room to room. It had its own thermostat so whatever room it was in never got too warm. Took a while to heat up, but once it was going, it was a very ''gentle'' heat. I actually had it on a timer plugged into the wall outlet, so my apartment would be warm when I got home on cold winter evenings.

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When my children were small, I bought one piece fleece sleepers with feet attached. They wore thermal ''underwear'' and socks beneath the sleepers so that they didn't need to rely on the blankets to keep them warm. If it was really cold, we would put a turtle neck underneath too. Our house is old and we didn't want to have space heaters on during the night due to safety reasons.

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My husband and I love using sleep sacks for our son. He loves them and they keep him quite warm. There are lighter cotton styles for the summer and fleece ones for the cooler months. Some brands have sleeves and some do not. Basically it is wearable blanket and you don't have to worry about your child being caught up in regular blankets. Angela

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I found that my daughter stays toasty at night by wearing warm footed jammies while sleeping on top of sheep skin. There lots of different quality throws from $20 (IKEA) to $200 elsewhere. Good luck! chele

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Hi there. I just recently read about a study (in an article, can't remember where) regarding the perfect temperature for sleeping. It was found that kids/adults sleep better when the room temp is around 65 degrees. Something about the cooler air inducing deeper and quicker sleep. Of course, if you get too cold then that tends to wake you up. We don't use heat at night in our home, and my son has been too active for a ''Halo'' type zip-up blanket, although those work well. What has worked for him is to dress him in a onesie and socks, and then put a heavy fleece zip-up sleeper on top of that. His room is around 63 degrees in the morning on the coldest nights, but he is toasty warm under his p.j.s in the morning and sleeps at least 13 hours at night. I have found that the jersey knit sheets stay warmest at night, but also are cool in summer, too. He has been very healthy and has not had many colds, I sometimes wonder if not using stuffy forced heat at night has helped him. Hope that helps. Like the room cold when sleeping

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Does your 3-year-old's blanket stay on all night

June 2005

Our almost 3-year-old stopped using a zip-up sleeping sack -- which has worked great -- because ''I not a baby anymore.'' He's not used to a regular blanket, though, plus he moves around a lot, so the blanket is often not on him. We're wondering whether to keep his room warm enough so he doesn't really need a blanket, or leave it cool to see whether he can learn to use it. Anyone know whether almost 3-year-olds are ready for blankets? Angelica

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My almost 5 year old still wears 2 pair of pjs...one regular and one fleece. We do not keep our heat on at night (live in Danville...never gets below 50 degrees, even in winter). She just started using blankets about a year ago but does not keep them on all night. My 2 year old hates having blankets on at all. In the summer, when it is hot at night, then she does not use the fleece anymore. Some in between nights (not too cool but not too warm), I might have her wear just the fleece. Anyway, you can get great fleece 2 piece pjs from Lands End (www.www.www.landsend.com)...I always get my daughter's a size too big so she can wear them for 2 years. Anon

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my almost-3 yr old's blanket NEVER stays on all night, and in the last few months she'll flip if I even attempt to give her a blanket (other than the one she hugs occasionally). I just try to give her jammies that will keep her warm enough, which is not as much as I'd need. In the summer, w/ windows open, she wears light fleece footies on cool nights, and she's had long sleeved, long pants cotton for most of the nights. On the hottest nights she's had short sleeved. Little kids sleep warm. janet

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All 3 of my kids barely ''ever'' slept with a blanket on all night, no matter how I tucked it in at night, covered them , etc. Come to find out, kids especially little ones, run alot warmer than grown-ups naturally. When I did manage to keep mine covered half the night, they would wake up sweating, and just wake up because they were too warm. I have a 2 yr old and 3 yr old that still constantly kick off the blankets. I just put a light blanket on and they seem to wrap up half way in it and stay perfectly fine. Luckily the weather is not too cold right now. When it does get really cold at night, I just put them in warmer PJ's. If they get cold in the middle of the night, dont worry, they will pick up the blanket they've kicked off numerous times and pull it up....Hope this helps...

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We've never used a sleeping sack with our daughter, who is almost 2-1/2. We've always used crib-size blankets. And they don't stay on. She cries when it's too cold, and then one of us goes in and puts the blankets back on. We keep the house relatively cool at night, because I run hot and the house gets pretty stuffy if it's too hot. Your child will survive. If your child can't figure out how to put the blankets back on, he'll let you know. And before you know it, he'll be in a big boy bed. Based on my experience with my 5-year-old son, at first he might have trouble putting the blankets back up, and later, he'll figure it out. Gwynne

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We ditched the sleepsack a while ago in favor of fleece PJs - you know, the full-body zip-up PJs with little feet and knit cuffs? Those have worked well. Anand

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Bedroom too cold for 11 month old baby

Jan 2005

The weather has gotten extremely cold and we have no heating in our bedroom that we share with our 11 Month Old son. We also have hardwood floors and old, drafty windows. My concern is that our son is to cold at night and waking constantly. I have him in a onsie, then a thermal body suit, socks and I put a thick, fleece pajamas over everything. I would put a blanket on him, but he moves all over the crib at night. I have a small space heater that I would never want to leave running at night(does not work well anyways). What should I do to keep him warm? It was so cold last night I put him into bed with us and he slept all night. Thanks for any advice. D

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Don't know if you are the owner or renter. All habitable rooms (i.e. bedrooms) must be heated. You should see an attorney or go to the rent board. In the meantime, move your beds into a heated room.

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We couldn't live without this item: http://www.littlebigfoot.com/ It's a crib sleeping bag--like a comforter that he can't push away. A little expensive but totally worth it.
Debbie

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Why is it that you won't run the space heater at night? Have you tried one with a thermostat? I have a Vornado (electric heater) which has a built in thermostat, is not hot to the touch, and my son can not get his fingers in it. We were recently without he! at and it was about 52 degrees in our house in the mornings. At night, we would turn the heater on and adjust the thermostat to a still cool but not freezing temperature. That kept the room from getting too hot or too cold and minimized our electric bills (although they did go up). I've slept in freezing rooms and regardless of what I had on, my face and head would get cold and I slept miserably. Maybe your child is experiencing the same thing. I purchased my heater at Costco for about $50 but I'm sure there are plenty out there.

Until you figure it out, maybe try keeping your child with you in your bed so they are not so cold. Good luck. Karen

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We had a similar issue. We layered (cotton zip sleeper with Carter footed zip sleeper over that), we bought a floor rug (Tradeways in Richmond was a good deal) and we bought a DeLonghi oil/electric heater. We left that on all night; there was no other way to keep the room warm. I felt completely comfortable leaving it on. When the air felt particularly dry, I'd run the humidifier. Short of central heat, it has been a doable solution. Good Luck

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Hi - we had a similar issue, our son kept thrashing out of his covers, so I finally bought a toddler sleeping bag. I just zip him into it and he generally stays in it all night. We love it. I also have friends who use a sleepsack (a fleece sack with armholes that you zip the baby into), which is another option. I agree, being! cold is not conducive to sleeping through the night! Good luck.
Star

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If your baby slept dramatically better the one night he was really warm, then I think you have your answer. I would suggest you buy a new space heater, and consider cutting down on the draft by covering the inside of your windows with that plastic insulation (like Saran wrap). We have our 9-month-old in a room without central heat, and I bought a good (and safe) space heater at Target for $70. It's what's called a ceramic coil heater and has an internal thermostat, so it cycles on and off automatically. We keep the baby's room at 68-70 degrees; our utility bill definitely reflects the electricity usage, but we keep the door to the room closed so as not to heat anything but the space itself.
Rebecca

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You already know the room is too cold for your baby, so now you have to spend some m! oney (assuming this is an option) to fix that. The best bang for your buck is to replace the window(s) with new, double-pane windows. They'll be sealed tight, and will keep in heat in winter, and keep the room cool in summer. (We had the same problem and this solution worked great.) V Windows on 7th St. in Berkeley sold and installed the new windows in a few hours. You'll improve your house value too!
Warmer Now!

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You could get a new, safer space heater. We got a medium-sized one with various safety features for around $30. (It's great for warming the room when giving the baby a bath.)
David

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We're in the same boat. I found a really great space heater at Costco that looks like a radiator. It has a remote control feature, a programable thermostat and the outside stays cool to the touch. It's totally s! afe and we love it. It keeps the room at a comfortable temp and we're all sleeping much better now. It's well worth the money if you can swing it.
Happy with Heater

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Money magazine just rated some heaters based on Heat, Design, Safety and Value. The top choice was the Holmes Trasformable Tower Heater HCT460 ($70) and second place was the Vornado Digital Vortex Heater ($100).
Liz B.

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One thing you might try is covering your windows with plastic. You can buy a kit at your local hardware for about $5 that you can cut to size and stick to your window with double-stick tape (included). You then use a hair dryer to stretch the plastic and get a good seal. It takes 5 minutes and it works wonders!!
Jean

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11-month-old kicks off blankets

Dec 2000

My 11 month old always kicks her blankets off during the night and ends up with icy hands and feet, and sleeps in a ball, presumably because she's cold in our drafty old house. As much as we've tried different blankets with varying weights, a down comforter, and even safety pinning them to her, she ends up wrestling out of them. We're freezing and always sleep under a down comforter, so we can't believe she's hot, even with a single poly/cotton blanket loosely placed over her. Any advice out there? Thanks!

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As I'm sure other people will mention, there was a discussion of this recently (see 16-month-old kicks off blankets below). The suggested solutions were polarfleece jammies (available from Land's End) and a European thingy that looks like a quilted vest on top and a sleeping bag on the bottom (gathered at the waist, zips down the front). This is what we used for our daughter, and were very happy with it. I've seen them at Baby World on Piedmont Ave (for about $60; I've seen them in France for $40). I only know the name in French; it's called a gigoteuse or a dors bien.

Layering is good too. We used to put our daughter to sleep in footie pajamas with cotton one-piece pj's AND a turtleneck onesie under that. Another possibility: a gigoteuse wouldn't be hard to make if you're handy with a sewing machine; maybe you could take a look at the Baby World model and then make your own with $15 worth of fleece or quilted fabric. To give you an idea of the challenge involved, the hardest part would be installing the zipper. Jennifer

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our second daughter used to kick the blanket off all the time. it was a futile battle to try to keep one on her. so we just dress her in warm footed pajamas (she would also lose her socks at night). sometimes we pull the sleeves over her hands. this allows her sleep sans blanket. she may or not be cold. my blanket-hating daughter tends to be cold-natured. but my eldest girl we jokingly call the nuclear reacter plant; this girl doesn't get cold even when the rest of us are freezing. Carrie

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Our baby is a very active sleeper also. To keep her warm, we dress her in a blanket sleeper (fuzzy pajamas with feet) and put a space heater near her crib. Or we let her sleep with us. Good luck! Evan

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My son kicks off his blankets so I put him in blanket sleepers. They keep him nice and toasty. Because it is so cool in Berkeley, buy various sizes now in winter for they are very hard to find in the spring and summer and you'll still need them. -Rebecca

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This is in response to the parent who's child kicks the covers off every night. Our daughter has a disability and even the lightest covers are two heavy on her to allow her to move. We have found two great solutions. One is to bundle her way up with a lot of clothes. We like the feetie pjs with socks and t-shirts underneath. Another great choice is satin sheets and pjs. Your child probably just tosses and turns, which causes the covers to be thrown off. By dressing our daughter in satin pjs and having a satin top and fitted sheet she can turn as much as she needs to because the pjs and sheets are slippery and glide very easily over each other! Good Luck! michelle

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We have discovered something that Carter's makes, which is essentially a zip-up blanket. It has sleeves, but then the rest of the garment doesn't have legs or anything, it's sort of like a big bag made out of blanket, so that the baby can wear pj's on underneath it. This way, no matter how much the little one kicks, the blanket is zipped up around him/her, so it can't go anywhere. Ours is for age 3-6 months, but I assume they make it for older babies as well. Good luck! Lael

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my daughter isn't a blanket person either. so i got rid of it a long time ago. she is 2 now. she just sleeps in polartec jammies with feet. i've never had a problem with her being too cold. i put the blanket in with her and sometimes she curls up with it. i'm not sure how I'll tranisition her into a bed one of these days, but I'll worry about that later. Landsend has really nice warm polartec jammies, both with feet, without, onesies or two piece. hilary

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The best thing we've found are those commercial blanket suits, and then I put a layer of cotton pjs under them-- it keeps babies/kids warm without constricting their movements. It can be dangerous to wrap blankets tightly around a baby or young child, they could get tangled and be unable to extricate themselves. The blanket suits are available new at department stores and Costco and used at Darla's(San Pablo in El Cerrito), or Tiddlywinks (Gilman, a block east of Masonic). Carol

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Why not get one of these great blanket sleepers? A garment with armholes and collar to put on your baby that is actually a roomy sleeping bag with a top to bottom zipper. Toddler sizes get bottom to top zipper. I got the ones I needed from Germany - they are very common there. No SIDS worries, because it is a garment they can't slide under, and no matter how much babies move around, they can't get out of this roomy bag. A very nice side result: they also can't climb out of the crib. My daughter was so used to her sleeping bag garment that she never attempted to climb out of her crib even when she was way past the age (22 months?) when all babies try. This year, for the first time, I have seen these sleeping bags in a mail order catalog. I'm not sure if it was The Right Start or One Step Ahead. They feature them in fleece and possibly other material. Mine are cotton and I usually dressed my daughter in a regular sleeper underneath. Heike

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16-month-old kicks off blankets

Nov 2000

So the little guy is 16 months old now, sleeping in his own crib, but during the night he kicks and squirms his way out from under his blankets, and our drafty Berkeley bungalow being kind of chilly, wakes up cold at 4:30 or 5:00. Maybe we should get a topsheet and try tucking it in really securely? Anybody else had this problem? Kevin

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I, too, would have my baby wake up with little cold hands and face from kicking off the blankets. Locally, Baby World has sleepers (apparently quite popular in Europe) that you can zip him up in. If you're an internet/catalog shopper, you can get a bunting suit made of polartec from the Lands' End catalog. (I went with the latter.) Both cost around $50... we bought ours big so our baby can grow into it and it's been working great. No more frozen babysicle in the middle of the night... she seems to sleep better for it. Ilana

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Sounds like our daughter, who kicked off her blankets at 3 months and now still does at 3 1/2 years! I think she just hates feeling constrained. Even now, we put her to sleep under the covers and within 2 hours she is crosswise on her bed, on top of the covers. I would not recommend tucking the covers in more. The only thing that works for us is comfy, fuzzy cotton footsy pajamas or nice warm socks that prevent icicle toes. By the way, I wonder if some kids don't mind sleeping a little cooler than we do, anyway. Good luck! Diane

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We have a very chilly house too. We put a safety space heater in her room at night and turn it on low. We are sure to put it up where she cannot get to it during the day. We also put her the warmest jammies we can find. I don't think covers work until they sleep in a bed. Lisa

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I think most babies kick off their blankets. Go get yourself a nice fleecy sleeper (Carter's makes them, and others), the kind that cover the feet and zip up. That will keep him nice and toasty, even without a blanket. Flannel crib sheets help you feel better about the no-blanket thing, too. Julie

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We hassled with this one, too. What we didn't get told about, and what others have told me works well, is a baby sleeping bag set-up. Friends of ours bought polartec throws or just polartec yard goods, folded them in half, stiched them up into sleeping bags, and it worked very well for their kids. There may be something more official sold by some company, too, and you might call Baby World or whatever it's called, on College Avenue, to check. Wendy

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We had the same problem with our daughter at about that age. Our house was quite cold and those blankets would never stay on. We put one or two pairs of pajamas on her, depending on how cold it was, and then put a blanket sleeper over the pjs (I put a link to a blanket sleeper on the web, so you know what to look for). Blanket sleepers tend to be scratchy and awful on the inside, but since you can put nice cotton jammies on underneath, they are ok. http://store.astronauts.org/todblansleep1.html This worked really well for us. susan

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Our baby, who kicks everything off of her, now sleeps in little sleeping bag. If it is very cold, we put additional blankets of top of the sleeping bag, so that she can't kick them off. It works very well. You can make a little sleeping bag out of fleece material, with a zipper down the front. Genevieve

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we got a little portable heater for our baby's room. we keep it on pretty low, but it keeps the room a nice temp. our baby tends to kick off her blankets too sometimes - usually, i think as a temperature regulating action, however. michael

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It's hard, but not impossible to find warm pajamas with feet for 16-month olds---try Lands End or Baby Gap. (they're not the cheapest, but both brands last a *long* time, as they're very generous in size-- my 2 1/4-year-old is still wearing his 18-24 month Gap pj's) Also, I always put socks on him in the winter, and tuck him in firmly first with a loosely woven afghan which is much harder to kick off, then cover that with the quilt that he almost always kicks off. Sometimes the afghan is gone, too, but he's got to be pretty restless to make that happen. As someone whose sleep is worth almost any price, on really cold nights I simply keep the heat at a level that will keep the house warm. It's easier to justify the expense when you consider what it costs you to get up with your freezing kid every night.

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Since this is very common among little ones, it seems that a better solution is to change the temperature of the room. Try using one of those heaters that looks like a radiator (they sell these at OSH and Home Depot, etc.) to keep his room warm during winter nights.

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Dress the little guy in a long-sleeve onesie and blanket sleeper w/feet - he'll no longer need a blanket. Regan

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I had the same problem with my daughter and I could not find anywhere those special sleeping bags for baby that everybody uses in France. So I finally had it ordered over there by someone in my family but I'm sure you can find it on the Internet. It's called gigoteuse or dors bien and it looks like this one: http://store1.europe.yahoo.com/shopint1/giggalble.html It's the best thing you can have and it existes in different sizes from newborn to toddler. I've seen one at Cotton & Company in Rockridge but it was expensive. Good luck, valerie

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My kid was an active sleeper too at that age. I just bundled her up in cotton underwear, socks, and winter jammies with feets, so it didn't matter much if she didn't have covers. Now she's 3-1/2 and she strips off her pajamas every night and just wraps herself in her blankie. Before I go to bed, I put another comforter on top of her and even sometimes put her pajamas back on, and leave an electric heater on, but she generally emerges naked in the morning -- I guess she's just a hot kid!

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Cotton and Co. (Rockridge, Lafayette) carries a line of slumberbags by a company named Little Big Foot, out of SF. They may be what you are looking for -- a roomy sleeping-bag style coverup, which zips up the front. As I recall, they are a bit pricey, but probably no more so than paying for the electricity to run a space heater every nite!

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Something warm underneath helps...I had a similar problem with my youngest when I put her to sleep downstairs during the day in a playpen. The downstairs was colder than upstairs, but I wanted her there because I was working in the kitchen or living room and could be closer to her. I bought one of those washable lambs-wools (found at Ikea, Costco, a sheepskin place in Albany on San Pablo) and put it under her while she was sleeping. She slept much better! We used that even for diaper changing, or massage after a bath, took it travelling, etc. Each child wanted one and my oldest used hers on the piano bench, in the car, and later in her hard wooden desk chair in college. (Also, if your child, sick with the flu, ever needs to spend the night in the bathroom, a lambs-wool is invaluable.) Or you might try a washable woolen mattress pad in crib size. I also am fond of flannel sheets (www.garnethill.com) and down comforters. Places like Warm Things on College Ave have them in crib size, I think. We still use ours over the rocking chair. Bonnie