How to dress a baby for sleep when the room is 18-19 degrees?
How to dress a baby for sleep when the room is 18-19 degrees?
Although professional recommendations - which may still differ today - state that the ideal sleeping room temperature for babies and young children is 20-22 degrees, 18-19 degrees is also appropriate.
For children, sleeping in pleasantly cool air is recommended because it prevents overheating.
Of course, you need to choose clothes that are well-ventilated, moisture-absorbent, and warm enough. If you don't pay attention to the quality of the material - for example, if you choose products with a lot of synthetic fibers - it can easily happen that a child dressed in a thicker layer will sweat, his skin will get rashes, and of course his sleep will not be restful.
Putting babies to sleep in the cold is completely normal in Scandinavian countries. In fact, children often spend their daytime sleep outside in strollers, in very low temperatures, well-dressed. In our country, there is a greater fear of catching a cold, so we basically don't take our little ones for walks in temperatures below freezing.
We believe that attitudes can largely depend on the climate and temperatures people are used to. Therefore, it is a good direction for us to take this as a basis.
Isn't 18-19 degrees too low for baby to sleep?
As the saying goes: we start from ourselves. Indeed, often when we are the cold-hearted type, we dress our children based on our own thermal sensation, and we start to worry sooner when the air gets colder. In this case, we rarely turn the heating down to a low setting for sleeping.
However, if we can tolerate and even like colder weather, then we are more supportive of 18 degrees for sleeping, both for ourselves and our child.
How do we decide at what level to put the baby to sleep?
Since today we can find recommendations up to 18-22 degrees, it may be difficult to decide. Putting your baby to sleep in cooler air may seem attractive, because we hear that this way the baby, and even adults, sleeps more peacefully. But won't he get cold? Let's examine a few questions, so the decision will be easier!
How cold or sweaty is our child?
If you have noticed that your child gets hot and sweats quickly, you have probably already tried to dress them more loosely or provide them with a lower air temperature. In this case, you can be braver and let them sleep in a cooler room.
What temperature do we put them to sleep at the rest of the year?
If we have the opportunity to regulate the temperature in the room in the summer, which can avoid the heat wave, and our toddler can sleep in pleasant cool weather, then he will get used to the cooler air of 18 degrees more easily in the winter. However, if he slept a lot in the heat in the summer, the temperature difference may be quite large for him. In such cases, we usually choose the common 20-21 degrees.
Our individual habits also matter
Sometimes we don't even get to 18-19 degrees, we feel it's extreme because the temperature in our apartment is set to a constant 20-22 degrees day and night. If we still feel that it's warm in the evening when we're wrapped up, then we can turn the heat down a little by 1-2 degrees, so it's possible that our sleep will be more restful for both us and our child.
What do we consider more favorable, what can we trust more?
We read...obviously the first step is to find out what others recommend and what their experiences have been. In this case, we recommend professional sites , as they provide us with authentic information.
What do the midwife and pediatrician recommend?
If you're unsure, it's a good idea to seek the advice of healthcare professionals . They have scientific knowledge and know the physiological effects of cooler temperatures on babies. They've also heard from countless other moms.
How to check if the baby is cold?
If you are confident and use a room temperature of 18-19 degrees, or if you are still in doubt, in both cases, check your child from time to time to see if he or she is cold.
Their limbs alone don't tell you how they're feeling. Reach under their clothes at their neck and feel their back and nape. If they feel warm, they're fine, but if their skin is cold, they're definitely cold.
Let's also pay attention to the humidity!
In theory, we should always add air humidity to the temperature. For children , 60-70% is ideal . This way, we can avoid the mucous membranes drying out, causing irritation, coughing, and throat irritation. If the mucous membranes are dry, they cannot adequately protect against pathogens.
Source: Buda Health Center , Webpatient Dr. Judit Kónya
If we measure low humidity (always measure in the room where the baby sleeps, because the values in the apartment can vary greatly), we can easily and immediately remedy the problem.
Let's evaporate!
Most people solve this by hanging out their washed clothes. However, be careful not to use chemicals when washing if you want to transfer the moisture from the clothes to the air in your home. Chemicals are also found in detergents and delicately scented fabric softeners. If these are completely released into the air, the whole family will breathe them in every day.
We can also use a vaporizer, or the simplest solution is to place water bowls in the apartment.
Newborns need warmer temperatures
It's not for nothing that it's so hot in neonatal units. Babies who are a few weeks old can't regulate their own body temperature yet, so it's important for them to have a temperature around 23 degrees Celsius to prevent them from getting cold.
Source: EFCNI Academy
LiaaBébé baby clothes recommendations for a sleeping temperature of 18-19 degrees
At a room temperature of 18-19 degrees, the baby should be dressed in a little more layers. This is the case when we should probably look at the material of the clothes we put on him. The material made of bamboo fiber is outstanding because it has the ability to regulate heat . It cools the body in summer and warms it in winter, while being well ventilated and perfectly absorbent. The latter can be beneficial when the child's body temperature creeps up a little at dawn - this is a natural human reaction.
- Give your baby a short- or long-sleeved bodysuit . If you choose a product made of bamboo fiber, your child's skin will be well ventilated, they won't get hot or sweaty. They will feel comfortable in their pleasantly soft clothes even while sleeping.
- The bodysuit can be worn with a comfortable jumpsuit . If it's important to you that the little outfit is so flexible that your child can turn around freely in it at night, then choose bamboo viscose, to which we've added 5% elastane!
- You can keep him warm in the winter with a 2.5 TOG sleeping bag . If he's more active, feel free to choose the toddler sleeping bag !
- If your child can cover themselves, you can put pajamas on them. At 18-19 degrees, a long-sleeved T-shirt can fit under the pajama top, and you can regulate the temperature with a thicker blanket.
- You can also use socks or a thin hat if you feel it is necessary.
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