What Is The Best Temperature For The Baby Room?
While you can wake up when feeling hot to change into lighter clothes or when it’s cold to make yourself warm, your baby cannot do that. It is for this reason that experts insist that you should always ensure that your baby’s room is kept at the right temperature. So, what’s the best temperature for a baby’s room?
No matter what the weather will be, the right temperature for your baby’s room remains almost the same. Keeping the room temperature that your baby sleeps in at the right level will keep your baby from getting too hot or too cold.
Studies have shown that there have been cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndromes as a result of babies getting too hot. Such cases are common in babies who are below 6 months. However, in babies who are above one year of age, the risks of SIDSs as a result of overheating are reduced.
Experts recommend that the right temperature that a baby’s room should be kept is between 16°C to 22°C. An ideal temperature that I would recommend is 20°C.
Most parents may feel that this temperature is slightly chilly, but the good thing is that doctors have proved that it is the right temperature in which your baby can sleep very safely and comfortably. You can always use a room thermometer to help you keep the room temperature constant.
How To Regulate Your Baby’s Room Temperature?
Using an air conditioner or a fan can be a good way of keeping the room temperature at the right level. However, your baby should be put to sleep as far as possible from these appliances. It's also essential to keep an eye on these appliances and check they're working correctly. If you are concerned that your air conditioning isn't working as it should be, make sure to look for assistance from a company that offers air conditioning repair in Haltom City or wherever you are based to get it fixed right away!
A study conducted by Kaiser Permanente, a California-based healthcare, revealed that when you use a fan to regulate your baby’s room temperature, you reduce the risks of her contracting SIDS by 72%. You can also embrace the open air by keeping the windows open to allow cooler air to circulate in the room.
On a cold night, the best way to keep your baby’s room at the right temperature is to turn your heating system on. You can use a central heating system that is set between 16°C to 22°C. Ensure that your baby’s bed is not directly facing the heat source. If your baby’s room always feels chilly, then it will be good if you invested on thicker and lined curtains to help keep in the warmth.
If you are using gas or natural fuel to heat your house and your baby’s room, then you shouldn’t forget to install a carbon monoxide monitor in your baby’s room since such heat sources may produce the dangerous and invisible carbon monoxide.
(Via Amazon.com)
How You Can Keep Your Baby Warm During Extremely Cold Nights?
During the cold seasons, keeping your baby warm and cosy should be one of your top priorities. However, in your effort to keep your baby warm, you should not overdo it as you might make your baby too warm.
You can dress your baby in some soft, one-piece footed cotton sleep suits to keep him warm all night. I recommend kigurumi.co as a trustworthy shop for children's and babies onesies. If the room that your baby sleeps in is at the colder end of the scale, then you should put a vest underneath her sleeping suit.
In terms of her bedding, fitted cotton sheets and layers of cotton blankets will help keep your baby warm throughout the night. You should always check your baby to see whether she is too hot or cold so you can remove or add a layer of blanket.
You can also swaddle your baby to keep her warm and cosy. Swaddling is very safe and is also known to make the baby feel secure. However, the material used to swaddle the baby should be light and 100% made of cotton.
Keep in mind that your baby’s head should never be covered no matter how cold it is. This is to avoid suffocation and also to prevent the baby from overheating during the night. This is because the majority of the heat in a baby’s body is lost through the head.
If your baby’s room has drafty windows, then it will be no fun for you and the baby. This is because you will need to invest more on heating the room hence more heating bills. You can make the room warmer by installing energy efficient window coverings so that heat can be retained in the room.
How To Tell If Your Baby Is Too Hot Or Too Cold?
If you want to tell how cold or hot your baby is, then you should feel his or her tummy. If the tummy feels too cold, then you can add her a layer of blanket, if the tummy feels hot when you touch it, remove the layers of blankets.
A baby’s hands and feet cannot be used to determine their temperatures since they usually feel colder most of the time. This is because a baby’s circulation is not as good as that one of adults. This makes their toes and fingers to feel colder than the rest of the body.
Parents are warned of using duvets if their babies are below one year old. This is because duvets may suffocate your baby since they won’t be able to move them away from their faces if the duvets accidentally cover their heads. Duvets may also lead to overheating.
How You Can Make Your Baby Comfortable In The Summer Heat?
When the summer sets in, the hot temperatures may make it a tricky season to keep your baby safe and comfortable. Because babies are very sensitive to hot temperatures, they are likely to get stressed by heat quickly.
Apart from using fans and air conditioners to keep the baby’s room temperature comfortable, you can also ensure that you dress your baby right. This is because what he or she wears can help to keep him or her cool.
Your baby should, therefore, be dressed in cool cotton clothes during such times of the year. Synthetic clothes should be avoided since they can trap heat and make the baby very uncomfortable. Unnecessary bedding should also be removed when the temperature is hot. Using too many layers of blankets should also be avoided since your baby might only need just one sheet if he or she is wearing a nappy. This is the time to put away the blankets since a sweaty blanket is no fun for your little bundle of joy that is trying to get some sleep.
“If the temperature gets really stifling, you can hang wet towels over the windows to help cool the air inside the room. On a hot summer night, you can also open the windows if the night is calm to allow in more fresh and cold air in the room,” says Chireal Shallow, a psychologist and a sleep expert at the Naturally Nurturing Clinic.
When you are trying to keep your baby warm when it is extremely cold or comfortable when it is too hot, you should not forget to continue practicing safe sleep practices. Avoid adding blankets to your baby’s crib as this can put her at risk of suffocation. Other beddings like pillows that may give a false sense of warmth should also be kept away from the baby’s crib.
Conclusion
Babies rely on us to take care of them. Since they cannot make themselves warm when it’s cold or feel comfortable whenever it is extremely hot, it is up to us to know the best temperature for a baby’s room so that they are as comfortable as possible all the time.
You can invest in a baby monitor since they always come equipped with thermometers or just use a standard thermometer to make sure that your baby’s room temperature does not go below 16°C or beyond 22°C.
