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Thread: Keeping Baby Warm

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    101

    Default Keeping Baby Warm

    Hi everyone! Just looking for a little bit of advice if anyone has it. I'm due to have baby in about 4 weeks, and with summer winding down, I was just wondering about keeping her warm. I know when I was over last June, it got rather chilly at night. We live in Hamilton, so it's not as cold as some places, but we also have the non-insulated, older, colder, rental house that lacks heating. Any tips/suggestions would be much appreciated!!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    California to Tasman Bay
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    1,137

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    Both my babies were born in winter. I used sleep sacks and swaddle wraps for my babies. A dehumidifier and a small heater was enough to keep my kids warm and the room dry. When my kids were babies we lived in a very foggy place in a wet, old, damp house and we used the heater and dehumidifier only in the rooms they were sleeping in to save money. I used a lamb skin in the baby buggy to make it cozy. A cotton onesie under footie pyjamas with a swaddle or sleep sack seemed to keep them pretty warm and we could keep the temperature setting on the heater pretty low. My son loved to be swaddled long after the "normal" time but my daughter was over being swaddled at a few weeks old. The sleep sacks are really good for the older babies or those that don't like swaddling. We used the Halo brand and they aren't that pricey on Amazon.

    Congratulations!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    101

    Default

    Thank you so much!!! I will have to look into finding her a sleep sack!!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    new zealand
    Posts
    28

    Default

    our bubs is only 3months and i too am a little worried about this. think we will be using sleeping bags and maybe fleece all-in-ones if need be - last yr our lecky bill quadrupled through using a heater from 100 to 400 and it wasnt even on that much so be careful witht he heater. given your little one is due later i would suggst maybe some merino vests too

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    NZ in the beautiful Hawkes Bay
    Posts
    69

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    My mother-in-law sent us a second hand merino sleep sack that she bought on trademe for $50NZ. It's been great at keeping our 1yr old warm this winter since we're in the mountains. Wish I'd had one for our older child.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    2,691

    Default

    When we moved to NZ our youngest was a tiny baby, and it was certainly an adjustment after coming from a centrally heated UK house. It is a careful balance because there is a risk of babies overheating if you put them in too many layers, or use non-breathable fabrics. It's not generally recommended to use fleece fabric with younger babies as they can easily overheat...cellular blankets/fabrics are safer. We found the best option over winter in our cold, uninsulated rental house was to use a 2 tog baby sleeping bag over regular sleepsuit and vest, while running a space heater to keep whichever room the baby happened to be in at about 17 degrees as well as using a dehumidifier to prevent build up on mould spores in the environment. And yes, our electric bill skyrocketted over winter but that is pretty much unavoidable if you intend to provide a healthy living environment for your baby in a less than well-build house.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Timaru, New Zealand
    Posts
    75

    Default

    Hi Auburn!

    A midwife might be able to give you advise on that, do you have one?
    We advise to dress the baby in 6 layers and that includes vest and grow. If you fold the blanket one time over thats already 4. Sleeping bags are a great thing and short hair lambswool inlet for the bed is great too. A newborn should wear a hat as well but stay away from those with laces.
    Room temperature is advised to be kept at around 18-20 degree celsius. You'd be surprised how cool that feels Use natural fibers for baby clothes and blanket as the polyester flies stuff often is not breathable and tends to overheat the baby. Wool and Silk are great natural fibers with natural thermoregulating qualities.

    However, I strongly recommend to have a newborn baby sleep in the same room with the parents, maybe in a little bedside cot whre you have easy access to your baby without having to get out of bed. If you are breast feeding I am almost certain you'll end up practicing safe bed sharing of parents and baby and then you don't really need to worry about the temperature.

    One more thing: newborn babies often have cold hands and feet. That is due to slow establishment of blood flow out into the extremities. They are not a good indicator whether a baby is cold or warm.

    And last but not least: Congratulations! Enjoy your pregnancy and the upcoming baby joy

    Hanna

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Essex, UK
    Posts
    2,235

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Hanna MW View Post
    Room temperature is advised to be kept at around 18-20 degree celsius. You'd be surprised how cool that feels
    People here won't be surprised at all

    18-20 is what I struggle to agree on with my Kiwi partner during the day, if I suggested that for nighttime, I'd be laughed out of the house.

    Daniela

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Essex, UK
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hanna MW View Post
    If you are breast feeding I am almost certain you'll end up practicing safe bed sharing of parents and baby and then you don't really need to worry about the temperature.
    I was under the impression that recommendations here aren't greatly in favour of co-sleeping/bed sharing. We're way past that stage now in our family, but I seem to recall reading reports about a few coroners' inquests and resulting recommendations to that effect.

    Daniela

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Timaru, New Zealand
    Posts
    75

    Default

    I know Daniela. TBH it is a very individual choice whether or not you want to do it. It is disputed in some countries and in others it is common practice. It is a fashion that comes and goes, as so many things in health education. Too extensive for this forum I think. But it is almost not possible to breast feed and NOT end up falling asleep with your baby feeding.

    There is safe ways of sharing the bed with your baby and a mother has a very very sensible awareness as to what is happening around her, even when she is sleeping. You might remember that yourself. But again: this goes beyond the frame of this forum.

    Here is a quite interesting article:

    http://www.parentingscience.com/bed-sharing.html
    and this one
    http://www3.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/overlaying.html

    Just in case someone is interested in that topic

    Hanna

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