How To Keep A Baby or Toddler Warm At Night

December 27, 2013 by Carrie

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Do you have something you constantly worry or obsess about with your kids?
As a mother I’ve found myself to be pretty obsessive about a couple of things.  Making sure my kids are warm at night is one of them.  I’m ALWAYS worried that they aren’t warm enough at night as they sleep.
This means as I’m settling down for the night under my warm blanket, I worry that my kids are freezing and miserable.
Then I can’t go to sleep because I’m worried about them.
As if I didn’t have enough things keeping me up in the night!
To help spare you the worry (and perhaps save some sleep!) I’ve complied a list of tips to help make sure your little ones stay warm at night.
How To Keep Babies And Toddlers Warm At Night

One Piece Fleece Pajamas
Hands down one piece fleece pajamas are the best and most versatile way to keep your kids warm all night.  Since the pajamas are all in one piece you don’t have to worry about the shirt hiking up exposing a cute belly to the “elements”.  Also, the built in footies will ensure those little toes will stay warm.  
Any one piece fleece pajama set will work but I’m pretty partial to Carter’s baby clothes line because they’re absolutely adorable! 
Here is an example of where you can get some Carter’s fleece footed pajamas for a good price.
Even in the summertime, my kids sleep in fleece pjs.  But once winter rolls around I know they need an extra layer to keep warm.
When you want to add an extra layer, I’ve tried several things that have worked well.
Fleece Blanket Tucked In 
This is a great low-cost option!  (Note that this tip is only for toddlers–babies cannot sleep with blankets for safety reasons)
One day I was trying to brainstorm ideas of how to keep an extra layer on my son during the cold winter months.
On a whim I bought a 1 yard long piece of fleece from Walmart for about five dollars.  At the store, the fabric on the ream is folded over, so if you buy one yard, you’re actually buying 2 yards.
I layed the fleece on his mattress in the crib with most of the excess blanket on the sides.  I tucked the longer parts under each side of the mattress.   I figured if most of the blanket was tucked in under the mattress, this might help the blanket stay in place.
For demonstration purposes, for this picture I took the mattress out of the crib so you can see how much of the blanket gets tucked in under the mattress.  The blanket you see in the picture is about 72 inches wide.

After tucking the blanket under the mattress, I layed my son down in his crib and tucked his legs and body under the blanket.  Then I watched him on the monitor and held my breath to see if my efforts had paid off.
To my surprise it worked!  The blanket stays tucked in since most of it is held in place by the mattress.  My son will still turn and move around at night but the blanket will stay on top of him (for the most part).

Do you like how my son is pretending to sleep in this picture? Silly kid!

This method won’t work for everyone since some toddlers move a lot when they sleep.  If that’s the case for you, keep reading.
Wearable Blankets
Wearable blankets are a great option for babies and toddlers who move a lot while they sleep.  These blankets move right along with the child keeping them warm all night!  My daughter used these for several years and I loved them.
Halo makes some great wearable blanket for baby and wearable blanket for toddlers.  They are worth every penny and I highly recommend both kinds.

Layers  
One other option you have is to layer pajamas.  Make sure to only do this with toddlers and not babies for safety reasons.  This is a great option for those kids who are too wiggly to stay under a blanket at night and is a less expensive option than the wearable blankets.
First, dress your child in thin long sleeve pjs first.  Then put on some fleece footed pajamas on top of that.  Two layers will keep your child warm for sure!
Turning Up The Heat
This is not my favorite option because of the cost, but nevertheless it is an option.  Sometimes the weather gets ridiculously cold and sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and turn up the heat.  My child’s comfort is worth the extra cost.
I hope these tips were helpful for you!
How do you keep your kids warm at night?  Did I miss anything?

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