Keeping Babies and Toddlers Warm at Night

From Mommyplace.com WiKI Page

[edit] Infants and Toddler either do not have blankets or do not keep them on at night.

Children under age 1 should not have thick/heavy blankets in the crib. Once a child turns 1, some pediatricians say it’s OK to have a blanket in the crib, but only if it’s tucked in under the mattress (talk to your pediatrician for more info). Swaddling blankets are ok and are a good tool for younger babies to sleep. The best ones I've found (other than the ones at the hospital) are by Swaddle Designs and can be found on Amazon and BabyCenter among other retailers (I've seen them at Nordstrom too).

Halo Sleep Sacks are a wonderful invention. They are blankets that a baby can wear at night and do not pose any suffocation or strangulation risks. We started zipping our baby into Halo sleep sacks as soon as we stopped swaddling. We are still using these and our son is now 2 years old. They are available at Babies R Us and Target.com. They have two types: a lightweight cotton for the warmer months and a fleecelike material for winter.

During the winter we put our son in a sleeper suit and then zip him into the Halo Sleepsack. If it’s really cold, we add a long sleeve undershirt or cotton PJs (under the Sleeper Suit) to the mix.

Our pediatrican recommends setting the thermostat around around 65 degrees at night. The lowest we set ours is 63 degrees. During the day our pediatrician recommends setting the thermostat at 68 degrees.

[edit] Things you should NEVER do to keep your baby or toddler warm at night.

1) NEVER put a space heater in your child’s room. These space heaters pose an extreme fire risk.

2) Do not use the warming devices that you can put under your child’s sheets. These can burn your baby.

3) Do not put blankets or loose sheets into a crib of a child who is less than 1. When your child is 1, ask your pediatrician if it’s OK and how to tuck it in.