How Do You Keep Your Toddler Warm at Night?

J.,

My son is the same!! I got one of these for this winter...safe and efficient.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00185XISW?ie=UTF8&t...

Hi J., I always put my son in a long sleeve onsie and socks UNDER his fleece footie pajama'a and that keeps him toasty with or without a blanket!

Dress him in layers - on my 20 month old, I use a onesie, cotton footie pajamas, and fleece pajamas over that. Use a hat, too, if you feel it's necessary.

Not sure how cold it actually is where you are at but, my pediatrician has always told me that they should not be overly warm anyway. He has always told me to keep the house at 69-72 degrees. This way when you do bring them in the outside elements they won't freeze. Also, look online for the sleep blankets I have gotten them that way however could not tell you which sites (haven't ordered them in a while, my little one is 36 months now.)

My daughter is 2 and half and she still sleeps in a sleep sack. They make them all the way up to 24 months, and even have ones for toddlers with legs so they can walk in it instead of waddling. I got my X-Large sleep sack (24 months) at JC Penney.com. They didn't have that size in stores, but they did have it online. Good luck!

J.,
They do have wearable blankets for bigger kids. I believe the sleep sacks go up to the toddler sizes. Also, you may be overthinking this. I have always put my kids in flannel sleepers at that age, then turned down the heat to 66 or so at night and have not had any problems with them waking due to being cold. Why don't you try a sleep sack and his pj's, then turn the heat down and see what happens.
Good Luck!
T.

Hi J.-
Our home gets cold also plus with hard wood floors, it is chilly. We have a 19 month old and leave the heater on at 72 degrees. We layer her with a cotton long sleeved PJ set underneath the fleece footy PJ's. My daughter also kicks off her blanket...so I have to double layer her PJ's. We have never had a problem.

We are in the same dilemma. With my older son, we put a heater in his room at night. It would go on at a certain tempertature. It is just hikes up your electricity bill. I don't know what is better a large electricity bill or gas bill? You could put a onesie and some socks on underneath. Then his body and feet aren't so cold.

I hope that helps. :)

I had the same problem plus our house has single pain glass and no insulation. I resorted to a space heater for her room and that has done the trick.

My boys both sleep in blanket sleepers. We have the heater set for 68 at night. The bedrooms are upstairs and except for the absolutely coldest nights it's usually hotter up there. We just don't put as many covers on our bed as we did before the kids. We typically have flannel sheets and a comforter. They don't need it as warm as you think honestly. A little cooler at night then during the day can acutally make for better sleep.

We keep a room heater on low in our 1 year olds room, and turn down the house heater. We also layer her jammies (onesie 1st, then footed pj, we add socks too if it's a really cold night) then she doesn't need a blanket; also you can buy extra thick, double fleece footed pj's at Nordstrom (about $15) for older toddlers. Good luck!!

They move around so much when they sleep that blankets are pointless so we use footed fleece PJ's and they stay warm.

Yes, they do make those wearable sleep blankets for bigger kids - My daughter is 2 years 4 months and she wears the large sleep sack every night over her flannel/fleece-ish footie P.J.s

We would double layer: first put him in cotton snug-fitting pjs then find the warmest fleece suit to go over the top. I think they have them at LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, etc. They are polar fleece for kids who go out in the snow. They don't always have feet so just put socks on. Little kids are better at regulating warm body temps than adults: they have an extra layer of fat, so unless your son is waking up because he is cold, he is probably not cold.

Get GROBAGS from the UK, they come in size 18-36 months and 3-6 years. Mine are still in them at almost 3. If they get used to them they love them. Just make sure they have room. They are expensive but you can get them off ebay gently used. Worth it. Get carters fleece all in one and put it over a onesie. If he's still cold put another layer underneath. Good luck.

Hi J.,

Yes, the do make the sleep bags for bigger kids. We use one for our 13 mo. old son. We dress him in a long sleeve onesie, super warm pjs and a sleep bag. We were having the same problem as you where my husband and I would be way too hot because of the heater. So we recently got a little floor heater for his room and have turned off the heat through out the house. This is working really well for us.

E.

J.,

You can get heavier blanket type sleeper/footie pajamas at Carter's. We have an outlet here and that is whay I use for my kids. They sell lighter fleece ones (which are pretty warm) and then heavier ones.

:-)T.

Get a space heater. As long as your little one is in the crib you do not have to worry about them getting up and messing with it. Plus the heaters these days are very childproof and have many safety features!

if you go to www.onestepahead.com they have great blanket sleepers that have legs so your older child can still manuever. I love these. I also bought a small heater just for my daughters room and it only runs if it gets below a certain temp. It is a Lasko brand and is safe and not hot like radiator heaters.

Hi, J...
Have you tried putting thermals and socks on under the blanket/foot pajamas? I think that with doing all three of those things, he should be quite warm. We parents do tend to worry a bit too much. I would think that if his hands and nose are cold, he needs more warmth. If they are warm, he's fine. That's how I gauge it, anyway.

Hi
"Halo" makes sleep sacks up to 5T. You can order them online. I put my 19 month old in cotton footed pjs with a sleep sack over the top
Good luck

My friend who had no heat went out and bought thermal jammies (long sleeve and pants set) in a size that fit her kids and then fleece footie jammies in a size or two too big to go over the thermals (like a wearable blanket with legs!) You can even put on a onsie under it all for one added layer! Target sells affordable thermal sets and Carters footies seem to be the thickest warmest I've found (or children's place). Good luck!

I use a set of long johns under a fleece sleeper suit. I also use a warm air humidifier which adds both moisture and heat to the room (close the door to keep it in the room). That way, no one else in the house has to roast!

Those sleepsacks are made in larger sizes. Check out this website :

www.halo.com

Hi J.

You've lots of responses and I haven't read them all, but we absolutely LOOOOVE babyinabag.com!! They are a godsend for parents with concern like yours. Their sleep sacks are well-made and super cute. You can get either summer or winter models. Winter ones are waaaay warm. It's not constricting coz you can leave the bottom unzipped.

Best, A.

Hi J.!
I like other moms put extra clothing on under the fleece footed pj's. I ad a longsleeve shirt, sock and pair of those summer cotton pj pants. They fit nicely under and my kids not an icecube at night and our heating bill isn't through the roof. Couldn't get my kids to do those sack pj's. They freaked out in them.

Hi,
We have a 21 month old and a 4 year old and we love the toddler sleep sacks. Same company that makes the baby ones but the bottom has legs instead of being one big sack. I have attached the link:
http://www.inventiveparent.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd...

If that link doesn't work google "Halo toddler sleep sack"
Hope you like them!!

They sell bigger sleep sacks at JCPenny. I think you have to order them BUT they have them up to older sized kids.

We have an 18mo old and have found what really works is to put Abby in her cotton two piece pair and then her fleece footie pj. I found some (and just sold some) to Baby Trader in La mesa. I am sure WalMart sells them as well. We did this trick when we went camping in October and she was warm and toasty. Just the fleece works well when we are at home.

i use an oil space heater for both my 20 month and 6 year old, on a low setting. it is enough (even with the door slightly open to hear crying) to take the chill off and then i don't have to run the central heater. worth $5 extra on the electric bill vs. $30-50 extra in propane!!!! its currently 20 degrees at night, and will be in the single digits come january.

put some clothes under the pjs... i put long socks, thermos or thiner loose pants, and a long sleeve under the pjs.

I'm from Michigan & have had my kids in both places. They are fine. Neither of my girls 4 & 2 use blankets. They start off with them then they're off. Use the footed pj's & be done. If they are cold they'll wake up & let you know. You just think he's cold because you sleep with blankets. They really are fine. I personally would worry more about using a space heater or something like that. I've heard so many horror stories about those things.

Hi J.,
My kids are now adults. I raised them in Virginia (where my concern about cold was to be sure they kept their gloves on outside when the temperature was below freezing). Are you sure your son is cold at night? If he's kicking off covers, his body might be as warm as it needs to be. Unless he has a special condition that requires extra warmth, at 13 months I would want to acclimate a toddler to the same temperature that's comfortable for the rest of the family. It's similar to over-sterilizing a child's environment -- if everything they touch is antiseptically clean, they won't have a chance to develop the antibodies they need to to ward off the germs we all come into contact with daily and they will actually get sick more often.
Best Wishes, K. F-B

Yes, they make sleep sacks or wearable blankets for toddlers, my son is 20m and LOVES his. Look online, there are several, different price ranges.

we have a little heater that plugs into the wall. it is super safe, does not get hot. it is more like a larger stationary hair dryer. with many different settings you can keep the room warm without heating the entire house. we have one for all the kids' rooms and it saves us a lot of $ with heating. Just make sure to put it on a desk or out of way place so little hands can't get a hold of it. I got mine at Longs Drugs, and at Big lots.

My son is 3 years old and has been wearing the Halo sleepsacks since he was an infant. He hates covering up with a blanket, so it's the only way to keep a cover on him. They come in larger toddler sizes, up to 5T I think, that have foot holes on the bottom so the kids can still walk. Unfortunately, the big ones don't come in the cotton, only in the fleece, at least for now, so this past summer we didn't use the sleepsack. But now that it's colder we pulled out the fleece ones again. The Halo sleepsacks are very generous in size, so my son is not really restricted in his movements, so he has no problem with it.
Hope this helps!

I keep the heater between 68-70 degrees, wear regular footed pajamas(sometimes with socks) along with one of the flanel footed pajamas. My son was the same way, and now that he is almost 5, he still kicks the covers off.

I would double jammie my son at that age, and even now, at nearly 2 1/2. My 4 yr old keeps the covers on, but not my youngest. So I put him in either long underwear type long pants and shirt, orIi put a pair of long 2 piece jammies on him, and then put the fleece footie jannies on. I also keep socks on him under the fotties. It keeps him warm, and we haven't turned the heater on at night yet. Of course, with it expected to get down to 30 degrees the next couple nights, that may change! :-)

We got a little space heater at Target.($30) I think they do have those sleep sacks for this age also. We did those too.

I found some really big ones!
https://www.halosleep.com/products/results/?product_categ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-New-Halo-Sleepsack-Sleep-Sack-Blue-...

Cozy Dreams.

my daughter does the same thing (shes 21 months). but even at your little ones age they know if they are too cold or warm and will cover themselfs up. i think your doing just fine dressing him in footed sleepers and what not. thats what i do with my daughter is but i put socks on her too.

I use a space heater that has a thermostat which allows the room to reach a certain temperature and then it shuts off (purchased at Lowes for around $25), similar to the heater in your house. I keep it high on a shelf where my son cannot reach it or the cord. It works perfectly and he sleeps snug as a bug. I have been using this for several months, it is a great option as my husband is a polar bear and would rather not use the heater at all.

I put my daughter in those fleece blanket sleepers from Carters.

Last year, when it was really cold at night, I layered a thin cotton sleeper underneath the fleece sleeper. Or Target has some thermal 2-piece sleepers for toddlers; you could layer those underneath a larger-sized fleece sleeper.

I used the sleep sacs with my babies until about 2 years old, so I would definitely recommend it for your 13-month-old. With a warm sleeper and a sleep sac, we could comforatably set the thermostat for about 62 at night. My youngest is 2-1/2 and wearing 2Ts now - I don't have a sleep sac that will fit him this winter, but I'm thinking about looking for one for him. I wish I could find one big enough to fit my almost 4-year-old, he still moves around way too much in his sleep to keep a blanket on (and he could probably get it off by himself if he needed to go to the bathroom, etc). The largest one that I used before had enough room at the feet so they could still stand up. That's all that my 2-year-old needs now, he doesn't need to be able to walk around as long as he is still in the crib.:)

Hope this helps!

Hi J.,
We put our son in thing long sleeve/long pant cotton jammies and socks UNDER his warm fuzzy footed jammies. Then we use the space heater from target ($30) before he goes to bed and again before we go to bed to keep the room warm. We still use a blanket on him and he seems nice and cozy, but not too hot.

I raised twins in Minnesota and they do make bigger warm jammies. Go to we-us.mychoices.biz and search for the Web Clothes store. They have real great prices on clothes.

I have a 22 month old daughter and we still use a sleep sack. You can buy them online and they go all the way up to 4T. She is still in her crib and I love it because it prevents her from being able to climb out but she can still move around and stand up etc. At her Grandma's house she sleeps on a matress on they say that she can get up and walk around in it. In Europe they use them a lot :-)Just google toddler sleep sack and you will find a million!

Don't worry so much. Being a bit cool at night won't hurt him. Keep putting him in the footed pajamas and don't stress. If he's truly too cold, he'll wake up and cry, and you can add a blanket or buy him heavier-weight pjs (or add a onesie and socks underneath for another layer, but if he's sleeping comfortably at night now, he probably doesn't need this). My kids are school-aged now and I'm still amazed they're willing to sleep in only underwear or in summerweight pjs in chilly weather. It doesn't bother them, they sleep fine and we keep the thermostat at about 66 degrees at night. Don't torture yourself with a steamy house and too-high utility bill. Maybe the kids' high metabolisms keep them toasty warm? :-)