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Do you have something you constantly worry or obsess about with your kids?
As a mother I’ve found myself to be pretty obsessive about a couple of things. Making sure my kids are warm at night is one of them. I’m ALWAYS worried that they aren’t warm enough at night as they sleep.
This means as I’m settling down for the night under my warm blanket, I worry that my kids are freezing and miserable.
Then I can’t go to sleep because I’m worried about them.
As if I didn’t have enough things keeping me up in the night!
To help spare you the worry (and perhaps save some sleep!) I’ve complied a list of tips to help make sure your little ones stay warm at night.
How To Keep Babies And Toddlers Warm At Night
One Piece Fleece Pajamas
Hands down one piece fleece pajamas
Any one piece fleece pajama set will work but I’m pretty partial to Carter’s baby clothes line because they’re absolutely adorable!
Even in the summertime, my kids sleep in fleece pjs. But once winter rolls around I know they need an extra layer to keep warm.
When you want to add an extra layer, I’ve tried several things that have worked well.
Fleece Blanket Tucked In
This is a great low-cost option! (Note that this tip is only for toddlers–babies cannot sleep with blankets for safety reasons)
One day I was trying to brainstorm ideas of how to keep an extra layer on my son during the cold winter months.
On a whim I bought a 1 yard long piece of fleece from Walmart for about five dollars. At the store, the fabric on the ream is folded over, so if you buy one yard, you’re actually buying 2 yards.
I layed the fleece on his mattress in the crib with most of the excess blanket on the sides. I tucked the longer parts under each side of the mattress. I figured if most of the blanket was tucked in under the mattress, this might help the blanket stay in place.
For demonstration purposes, for this picture I took the mattress out of the crib so you can see how much of the blanket gets tucked in under the mattress. The blanket you see in the picture is about 72 inches wide.
After tucking the blanket under the mattress, I layed my son down in his crib and tucked his legs and body under the blanket. Then I watched him on the monitor and held my breath to see if my efforts had paid off.
To my surprise it worked! The blanket stays tucked in since most of it is held in place by the mattress. My son will still turn and move around at night but the blanket will stay on top of him (for the most part).
Do you like how my son is pretending to sleep in this picture? Silly kid!
This method won’t work for everyone since some toddlers move a lot when they sleep. If that’s the case for you, keep reading.
Wearable Blankets
Wearable blankets
Halo makes some great wearable blanket for babies
Layers
One other option you have is to layer pajamas. Make sure to only do this with toddlers and not babies for safety reasons. This is a great option for those kids who are too wiggly to stay under a blanket at night and is a less expensive option than the wearable blankets.
First, dress your child in thin long sleeve pjs first. Then put on some fleece footed pajamas on top of that. Two layers will keep your child warm for sure!
Turning Up The Heat
This is not my favorite option because of the cost, but nevertheless it is an option. Sometimes the weather gets ridiculously cold and sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and turn up the heat. My child’s comfort is worth the extra cost.
I hope these tips were helpful for you!
How do you keep your kids warm at night? Did I miss anything?
This post linked up to Link Party Palooza, Think Pink Sunday, Inspiration Monday, Whimsy Wednesday, Create It Thursday, Family Fun Friday, Serenity Now, Saturday Sharefest, Do Tell Tuesday, Tutorials and Tips, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Moonlight and Mason Jars, Skip The Housework Saturday, Family Fun Friday, and Get Schooled Saturday.
As a well-seasoned mom of three adorable children…who are now adults and planning their own families…I am so happy to see someone in the younger generation who worries about the warmth of their babies. My children always slept in blanket sleepers as soon as the weather became chilly, and they loved being in the sleepers as often as possible. I found that there were times, though, when their little feet would be cold so I began to put a pair of thin socks on their feet prior to putting on the sleeper. When we were goofing around the house, the kids would wear some of their favorite slippers over their footies and that helped greatly. My daughter actually began pulling her hands inside her sleeves when she went to bed and often I would find her with her arms inside the sleeper the next morning…..She started doing this when she was about 2.
I’m so glad you liked this Cathy! You can take my word that there are still lots of moms that worry about the warmth of their kids! Now you know the tricks and tips so you can share these when you become a grandparent!
This post is very useful, thanks for sharing your tricks! 🙂
I’m so happy to hear this helped you Audrey!
Hey Carrie! Just letting you know I featured this post for this week’s Do Tell Tuesday party. You also got featured for being “most viewed”! You can check out your feature on my blog here: http://www.aromaofhim.com/2014/01/do-tell-tuesday-link-up-6.html
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Alicia! It’s an honor to be featured once, but twice? That’s awesome!!
We found a great way to pre-heat our kids’ cribs and beds before they get in (and who doesn’t hate getting into a cold bed?). A half hour before bedtime, we place a heating pad on the mattress and cover it with the blanket. Right as they get into bed, we remove the heating pad (the cord would be a serious danger to a child, so never leave it in a crib or bed with a child). Both the mattress and blanket are toasty and the kids are as cozy as a pea in a pod!
That’s a great idea, Katie! I hate how cold my bed is when I first get in it and I’m sure my kids don’t like it either. Thanks for sharing your idea here!
Thanks for linking up at Family Fun Friday! I’ll be featuring you this week 🙂
Oh that’s great, Sarah! Thank you so much!!
I’ll definitely be using some of these for my 10 month old! I’d love it if you’d share this at my very first linky party, going on now!
http://www.accidentallywonderful.blogspot.com/2014/01/accidentally-wonderful-wednesday-1.html
I’m glad this was helpful for you! I’ll check out your linky party now–thanks for the invite!
These are some great tips Carrie! We live in the tropics but each room has an AC unit so the room can get pretty cold at night. I always feel super mommy guilt when I go to check on my son and he’s out from under his covers and his poor body is like ice. Thanks for sharing these ideas!
I’m not sure if you’re interested in adding any link-ups to your list but I’d love for you to join us each week at Do Tell Tuesday. Here’s the link to the party that’s happening right now: http://www.aromaofhim.com/2014/01/do-tell-tuesday-link-up-5.html
Yes I feel that guilt in the summertime, too. Isn’t it awful? But checking on them before I go to bed usually will put my mind at ease. Thanks so much for the invite– just linked up!
I always worry about this as well! Great tips on your blog! I’m not sure why, but I found myself thinking about it a lot when our baby was first born. I decided to buy a wool coverall (http://www.novanatural.com/babys-wool-overalls-with-feet.html) to keep our little one warm. She has baby eczema so turning the heat up can make her scaly skin worse and I was nervous about adding a blanket to her crib. Thanks for sharing!
Yes turning up the heat wouldn’t be an option with eczema, so you had to be creative! It’s funny how I worried about things a lot when my kids were babies. I still worry now, but just not as much. Thanks for stopping by!
This is something I worry about as well. Thank you for the suggestions!
You’re welcome Laura! I’m glad this was helpful! Tomorrow our temperatures are going down to 0 so I’ll be using several of these tips to keep my kids warm!
I know exactly what you mean about worrying if baby is warm enough! My little guy is 7 months old and rolls constantly and scoots in his crib so the baby-sized afgahn I use with him doesn’t stay put. We live in New England so it truly gets cold in our house at night. I’ve learned to layer. Socks & a onesie, then fleece footie pjs (LOVE Carter’s!), and finally the sleep sack. Next winter I’ll have to try your blanket trick! Thanks for sharing via Family Fun Friday.
yes in your case I think layering is the best option!I hope the blanket trick works well for you next year. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Your kids are so cute! I loved the wearable blankets, too. I’m sad that my son has outgrown them. Sniff. I also recommend baby legs leg warmers and I always put socks on under those footie pjs!
Stopping by from Family Fun Friday.
That’s a great suggestion, Sarah! Thanks for sharing it. My kids have also outgrown a lot of things and it’s really bittersweet.
Love the wearable blanket…might try to sew one! my little guy is quite big for his age so the footed pajamas are often too small so thank you for some other options!
Lindsay @ weddingringstoteethingrings.blogspot.com
Good–I’m glad this gave you some ideas to work with! A couple years back my mother in law and I sewed a light wearable blanket for my daughter to wear in the summertime and it worked out great.
This is one of the biggest things I obsess about too! I’m always asking my husband if he thinks our son is too hot or too cold…haha! We love the fleece pajamas, but he does move around A LOT so I don’t think a blanket would work for us. We had to ditch the sleep sack too because he stands up and was getting tripped up. What temperature do you keep your son’s room? He is so cute by the way.
Nice to see I’m not the only one that worries too much about this! My son was born in December so his first winter we kept the house at about 72 degrees to make sure he wouldn’t get cold. Now that he’s two and I know he’s warm we keep the house a little cooler (68) to help save on costs. The temperature you choose to keep your house at depends on a lot of things. If it’s easier for you to turn up the heat until he can sleep with a blanket, then by all means do it! Or maybe dressing him in layers would be a good option too. I hope that helps Andrea!
Great tips, Carrie! I have used all of these at one time or another. Currently we’re working with the blanket tucked tightly into the mattress, wearable blankets, and one piece fleece.
That sounds like a winning combo, Jelli! Thanks so much for stopping by!