How to Keep Your Toddler Warm at Night

Dear L. M.,

We raised two daughters and two granddaughters. We always put a blanket sleeper on each of them. They often threw off the blankets anyway and I did not have to worry about them getting chilled and waking up crying.

They last so long that they are well worth the cost.

Also putting a onesie and a pair of cotton socks inside the footie part helps a lot as well. When they get older you put a t-shirt on each child and a pair of cotton socks inside the footed part. When they are too tall for the legs to use the feet but it is in good shape yet and you don't need to save it for any more children, we would cut the foot part off. Makes each blanket sleeper last much longer.

L. C.

What I do in the colder months is double up on jammies. I put a thinner layer of long sleeved/pant pjs and then a warmer fleece type that has footies. I even put socks on too. That seems to make my little one happy enough. I also did the plastic on the windows in his room once, but it's up to you on that one. Hope this helps!

I just have my thermostat at 72 degrees I put my kids in footy jammies. It seems to really keep them warm. Hope this helps.

Hi L.
My son NEVER stays covered up, this was especially true when he was younger. I would put regular pajamas on him and then put on fuzzy sleepers over that. I figures that the sleepers acted like the blanket. I really liked that carter's brand - they were fuzzy inside and out.

I also used to tell him "if you get cold, pull your laket on you. But, to this day, I often find him only under his "blanky", not his warm blankets!!!!

During the winter months, I always put a onesie on my son, socks, and then his fuzzy feetsie pajamas that zip up. I then put a blanket on top of him. He stays plenty warm that way. Even if the blanket comes off, he's still really warm. :)

we use a space heater that has a thermostat on it and will turn off if tipped over. When my daughter was younger she was sleeping terribly and I noticed when I went in her room it was freezing (she's got the corner room, so 2 exterior walls, and drafty windows). We put a thermometer in there and even if we had the thermostat set for 65 it would be 55 or less in her room. No wonder she couldn't sleep! Got a space heater and I'll put it on 67 or 68 and she sleeps great now, the only times she wakes up is if we forget to turn it on at night.

If he is over a year, a blanket should be safe. I have been giving my daughter one and she keeps all wrapped up in it. Last winter I would run a small electric space heater for an hour BEFORE i put her to bed to warm up her room. I turned it off and never left it running while she was in the room. That helped a lot.

Put socks under the fleece and a longsleved onesie. My daughter has been warm to the touch in the am without our heat on.

we use feet pj's and make adjustments to the temp setting at night. No more 65 degrees at night. We now leave it on 68. It seems to work - she sleeps through the night - doesn't wake up telling us she is cold. Good luck!

I have seen baby thermal underwear, you could buy some of those and use them under his fleece jammies.

L. ~
That's exactly what blanket sleepers are for! LOL They're thick, footed and warm. And no matter how much moving around they do, they stay covered up. I would still put a blanket over him, though. :)
D.

L. ~

If he has fleece jammies, you might try buying some a size larger and layering them to get the sleep sack effect with the jammies. However, I think you'll be glad to know that the Halo brand makes much larger sleep sacks than what you see in stores. My son who is very tall for his age (95-100%+) wore one until beyond 2 years old. We only stopped when we put him into a big boy bed. The link below will take you to One Step Ahead where I found the larger sizes (up to 36 pounds). We still use them for our second who is now 17 months and also off the charts for his height. He is still in the "large" until he needs to move into the "extra large." So at 13 months, your son has LOTS of time to still fit in a Halo sack if you choose. And I will say that the Halo brand seems much better than others I've tried. (Not sure what brand the "big kid" sack is you're having trouble with.)

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Also, again not sure what "big kid" sack you're using, but here is another wearable "blanket."

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Another option (which I feel your son is too young for, but for future reference) is an electric blanket. Even if he uncovers and lays on top of it he'll still get the warmth. They also make warming pads for under the fitted sheet, though I've never used them. But those are options for when he's older. Good luck to you!

Such a good Question L.!
I totally layer in light layers our 4 year old. from birth. No heavy blankets, or jammies, they kick those blankets off anyhow.
I have her in a long sleeve cotton thin type shirts. jammie sets with long sleeves and pants are best. fleese too hot, im sure....
the best thing i do is to put her in a Vest!!! All winter long! a fleese Vest keeps the Core Warm, and that is the main thing. Just like wearing a few shirts Ourselves, and a Winter Vest, outside! funny, how you can totally move AND still be so warm! Sleeping is easy when your not tangled up and your Core is warm!
Blessings!!
andrea...
PS... I totally Put the Heat On this AM!! Whimp Eh!! LOL

L.,

I have twin boys who are turning 2 in another week. I've put them in blanket sleepers ever since they outgrew the sleepsacks. I usually leave socks on their feet (even though the blanket sleepers we use have 'feet' in them) and I put undershirts on them. Depending on what size your 13 month old is wearing, you should be able to find long-sleeved body suits (or onesies) that are just cotton and put that on first, then put on the blanket sleeper. That should keep your child warm enough at night, even if you keep your room temp at 68 degrees at night (keep in mind it's not recommended to keep the room too warm at night or it makes it difficult for them to sleep). Fleece blanket sleepers with an undershirt on and socks should work well at keeping them warm.

--K.

"Blanket Sleeper" PJ's and a night cap...

In one house I owned we had no heat in the up stairs where the kids rooms were so we got the electric space heaters that were thermostate controled and used that to heat the space. My mom was doing some research on line at Mr. Electric guy .com I believe he says to use the electric heaters only in the rooms you are useing. But I have found raising 2 small children in that home that they will cover up when they get cold. Both my boys like it cooler in there rooms and did not require all the extras. My youngest started taking off his fleece sleeper when he was around 14 months old because he was too warm. over dressing children can cause colds just as under dressing. He will let you know if he is cold at night. If you are worried about him getting sick germs do not grow well in a cool room and air your house out once a week even in the winter. it always works for me and it worked when I was growing up.

I designed a sleep sack which is adjustable to fit from infancy into the toddler years called a Snuggle Down. It is filled with cozy white goose down, which I think is comfortable year-round. And if your little one does not like having their legs confined, this product is equipped with a two way zipper extending down the side and across the bottom, so it can be unzipped from the bottom...little legs are free to kick, but the blanket stays securely in place. My website is www.snuggledownbaby.com. The design is currently only available with goose down fill, but I will be offering unfilled versions soon. Hope this helps!

We use space heaters that turn off automatically if they tip. We have had to use them every winter with both of my girls.

Good luck!

all my kids have heated mattress pads none of them will ever stay covered up and i got sick of no sleep cover them four and five time a night now if they don't stay under the cover i knoe they are warm because they are sleeping right ontop of the warmth good luck

Hi L.,
Blanket sleepers are wonderful! I buy them a size too big and put them over a long sleeve onsie and my son stays nice and warm at night! :)

L.,

We ended up buying a small heater. Even though we dressed him in layers and did all we could to keep him warm in onesies, fleece soemtimes times two, and socks.. I'd get up at night to check on him and he'd be curled in a ball cold cause he came out of his covers.

I also didn't like that the air he was breathing was cooler than I thought it should be, even if he was wearing enough. I was so uncomfortable with the thought that he might be chilly, that the heater was the perfect solution. It warmed his room, just enough, he could sleep comfortably, and I could sleep peacefully.

Wishing you the best,
L.

i just use a onsie tee shirt and thick footie pajamas.

I cover him up at bedtime and then later when I go to bed

He seems fine to me.

My daughter is almost 3 and she does stay covered up most of the time at night.

Fleece pajamas contain chemicals as fire retardants that children absorb through the skin. Two are arsenic and antimony. Both can cause neurological problems. Untreated, tight-fitting organic cotton pajamas expose children to fewer toxins.

My son's room has 3 outside walls, so it gets pretty cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I LOVE the Carters footie pajamas. They really keep him warm. We also make sure to open his door last thing before we go to bed so that the heat from the house can circulate in there.

We've always used blankets or comforters

We use the electic space heaters that are on a timer. We set them so they shut off after a couple of hours. The kids room seem to stay pretty warm until the morning this way. Good luck!

Buy him a pack of toddler girls tights and put them on under his pjs that should keep his feet and legs warmer for sure and maybe you could put a onesie on him as well under his pjs or even put him on a snug fitting cap as well.

I use fleecy onesies that have feet in them. They keep my little boy very snug. Most stores should have them in now, I got mine from walmart. He has a comforter but always kicks it off so these work great for me. When it is really cold put a vest on underneath for a little extra warmth.

Our heat is on a 65 and our daughter stays plenty warm at night. Layer pj's, use two blankets that are big enough to cover the width of the bed. I think kids are usually warmer than we think they are, we might feel cold but they might not. Our daughter usually chooses to wear lighter pj's because she ends up being too hot, or she takes her blankets off.

Hi L.,
As a family we always had the temp. around 60-62 at night during cold weather, while the kids were little. When they were at an age where they wouldn't keep a blanket on, I had two sizes of blanket sleepers and would put on the one that fit first and then the slightly larger one over it. We would start with a blanket over them all nice and cozy, but if it didn't stay on, at least they didn't get cold. With natural gas going up about 25% this winter, I hope this works out for you!

We purchased an electric heater that we only turned on at night. The brand we purchased was "Longhi" (I think that's the spelling) It was nice because it wasn't hot to the touch but it would warm up a room very nicely. There is a gauge on it so you can determine how warm you want it to be. We had great success with it.

Layer the pjs. I would put the fleece ones on over a cotton pair. It worked with my daughter and I will do it this year with my son who is 14 months.

FOOTIE PAJAMAS! They are so cute too!

We use a booster fan over the register to pump more heat into my son's bedroom. You can get them very cheaply at Home Depot. Hope that helps.

It's funny you ask about this, because I was just wondering how to do this for my 5 month old. My idea was to get baby leg warmers (available online as BabyLegs or at Target) and use them. My daughter stays very warm at night but just needs a little boost, so I thought that'd be perfect. Perhaps you could get a few pair and put them on his legs and arms? Plus, they're handy for when you have him just bumming around the house and he needs a diaper change - no struggling to take his pants off!

Since my son, now 5, outgrew his sleep sac, I've dressed him in multiple layers. I buy one or two sizes up in pj's, so he has the smallest pair on first, then at least one, maybe two pairs on top. The turtle neck shirts work well as under layers. He's never woke up from being cold since!

L.,

When my oldest two children were babies our farmhouse wasn't insulated yet and would get very cold in the winter on the 2nd floor. What I would do was to put socks on them or sometimes even would buy the girls cotton tights and use those, then a onesie and then a blanket sleeper. When it was really really windy and cold I would add another blanket sleeper in a larger size and a hat. I know it sounds like overkill but it did get really drafty up there and it always kept them warm enough.

Hi L.,

U have the same problem with my son. He's 2 and never stays under the covers, so I put him in 2 pairs of footed, fleece pajamas. He seems to be warm enough with those.

That's a tough one. We keep our house at about 60/65 at night and the girls have always used the fleece pj's and a comfortor and have stayed plenty warm. Our youngest is actually sweating. I guess I would say put the comforter in his crib and put him in the fleece pj's. When you put him down at night cover him up. If he becomes uncovered and gets cold he may try to find the blanket. Eventually he will learn that the blanket brings warmth and figure out how to stay under it. We all have to learn sometime I guess!

Hi L.,
We face this same problem as two of our bedrooms are downstairs and we keep our house pretty cold. For our twenty-month-old, we put two or three layers on her when it is colder out since she often comes out from under her blankets. We have some form-fitting type pj's that we put under fleecy footy pj's. We have even put turtlenecks or sweats on under larger pj's. We found that as our almost four-year-old got older, she kept her blankets on better so she doesn't need the layers anymore. Also, anytime my husband or I get up in the night for whatever reason, we re-cover our youngest with blankets.
Hope you find something that works for you!
Rachael

Well I have these new full body pajamas with the convertable feet. (they cover and uncover the feet) I also put socks on her feet with the foot covered pajamas. He might be to big for it but I also put a onsie on her as well. I have a blanket that was made for her that is really thick and if its really cold I put that over her as well. I also have a heating pad that I use for my self and I would lay it on her crib mattress for a couple of minutes. (while still standing there, you dont want a fire or want it to get to hot)It warms her bed up a little so her body temp can connect with the cribs temp. I hope I gave you some ideas. I know it wasn't much, I'm sorry.

K.

footie sleepers pjs you can buy at kmart or pretty much anywhere. it's like wrapping them in a snug blanket that zips up at night, and keeps them plenty warm. they make them up through 7's and 8's for kids, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding the right size