Need suggestions to keep thank you warm at night.

[susiestar]

Tyler's room gets cold. while he likes the cold, he does not sleep through the night well if he gets cold. His knees start to ache and they wake him up.

He can't stand those blanket sleepers, even with clothes under them. He actually would prefer to sleep with NO clothes but shorts on. He can't stand sweatshirts for sleeping, though he will tolerate sweatpants.

I am leary of heated blankets, mostly because I remember the "hot spots" that they always got when I had one (one area much hotter than other areas - mostly due to improper use, but how do you keep an 8yo from using it improperly?).

I don't have a problem with heated mattress pads, but he gets too hot, even on the lowest setting, then throws off his covers, and we are back at the start.

I would use polarfleece for sheets if he would sleep on it. Texture problems. He will tolerate flannel bottom sheets, but not top ones. I have a tough time even getting him to sleep with a cover at all. Until he gets cold and then wanders at night.

any ideas?

 

[klmno]

I got a space heater (electric) for the game room because there's no heat out there- except the spill-over from the rest of the house. difficult child has taken it to his bedroom to use but I haven't fussed because his bedroom does stay at least 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. Anyway, this is a safe heater and only cost about $50 at walmart and has a fan and a timer and can be set to oscillate. The bad side is that if it is set on a higher setting and stays on all night, the elctric bill jumps sky high.

 

[Lothlorien]

How old is your house?
When I lived in my parents' house, my room used to be the coldest in the house. My house was over 100 years old. Dad replaced the windows, which were blown glass and horrible in the cold. That helped a little, but not enough. Then, when my dad was remodeling the kitchen, he encased the heat vent going into my room with wood. Then my room was super warm, all the time.

If you have forced hot air, you can add another vent in his room. You should also make sure the vents are clean. (There was someone who lived in my house, who used to stuff toys and clothes down the heating vent...ick!). Dust can build up in the vent, causing inefficiency.

If you have baseboard, make sure that it's cleaned out with an air compressor. You may also be able to add another smaller baseboard radiator.

You can get an electric baseboard module and have an electrician (or if you have someone who is handy) installed so that it works on a thermostat. That would be completely different than having a space heater on.

Make sure the windows are sealed and not drafty. Another place where cold drifts in is down by the baseboards. Frequently, the sheetrock doesn't go all the way to the floor. If you feel around on a good windy & cold day, you might feel where cold is coming in. Get that spray foam insulation and pull the baseboard molding away. Spray it in there and after it dries, you cut away the excess. Put the molding back.

 

[nvts]

My kids won't use top sheets either (no matter what type of material)!

They have light-weight quilts that come out every year right around now - difficult child 1 has a rustic Christmas Theme, difficult child 2 has snowmen and difficult child 3 has reindeer. What's cool about them is they're incredibly soft but they're lightweight with down in them so their body heat "self-regulates". They cost about 15 bucks and difficult child 1 has had his for 6 years and uses it year round. I got them at Target.

Good luck! I'm a cold sleeper too, so I know how he feels!

Beth

 

[tiredmommy]

Maybe a sleeping bag might help?

 

[KTMom91]

What about silk long johns?

 

[susiestar]

I am afraid of any kinds of space heaters. I am sure there are some safe ones, but I am also sure he would try "science experiments" with them - he has a real bent toward figuring out how things work. Seems like a bad recipe, knowing him.

As for the house, it is 5 years old. We had the vents all cleaned before we took possession, mostly due to asthma. No down anything, though down-alternative is a fave of mine. We have a very high R factor on insulation, higher than required by building codes, or so the mortgage says. The fact that our highest energy bill has not topped $225, summer or winter in an all electric home with 4 bedrooms says something. But his room is just situated so it leads into the wind on that corner.

Silk long johns sound promising. I will have to search for them in kid sizes. He does seem to like the new microplush blankets. I bought some fabric and am thinking about having Gma amke some simple pjs for him out of that.

I just know that the asthma coughing gets better if his chest is kept warm and he hates the feeling of having his chest be warm. His dad's kid - husband will wander around in 30 degree weather in shorts and a long sleeve sweatshirt. And I am ALLLL bundled up, LOL!

Thanks for the ideas. Any others?

 

[KTMom91]

I found two sites that have silk long johns in kid sizes...

www.wintersilks.com and www.silkyshop.com

 

[Hound dog]

Those microplush blankets are absolutely wonderful. I bought a couple of the throw type for Darrin's toddler bed he has here because our room upstairs has no heating vent at all. (some idiot put it in the hall instead of the bedrooms) And our room gets cold enough in really bad weather that I swear you can see your breath. So far the microplush has kept him toasty. Even Aubrey has a couple.....and Nichole has snitched the two meant for the livingroom because their room can get chilly since she won't leave the door open.

Can't say I blame you on the space heaters. They scare me to death. Although walmart has one that looks like an old radiator that supposed to be fire proof I think.

husband and I have 2 thermal blankets, the comforter, and a Pendleton blanket thrown over top. Most of the time I'm too hot. lol

 

[gcvmom]

We have used an electric space heater before that was very safe and essentially silent. No exposed element, no fan... it was a 3 or 4-foot long bar-shaped unit that sat low to the ground and was open on the top to allow the heat to rise up. I think we bought ours at Home Depot...

But I can appreciate your reluctance to put it in a child's room, let alone a difficult child's!

Would he wear a beanie/knit cap to bed? That can do a lot to keep you warm, especially if you tend to kick off the covers... Just a thought.

 

[susiestar]

I doubt he would wear a hat, but that is worth a shot. Much of the rest, other than the silk long johns we ahve tried before.

I have found some really NICE microplush throws for very cheap in Ross stores. And, for those of you with little kids, Walmart had some for about $15 that were characters (disney type or Dora, I forget) and they LIT UP! Yup, flashing lights on them.

and they were TOTALLY machine wash and dry able! I don't have any kids in that range to want those particular characters (because I didn't see any spongebob, which is what my crew REALLY likes!).

But tehywere soft and cute.

I think I will get some big pieces of microplush to make sheets out of for his bed. Basically to just wrap around the mattress.

I have a down alternative fiber bed adn it really ehlps me stay warm and comfy.

 

[trinityroyal]

Can't say I blame you on the space heaters. They scare me to death. Although walmart has one that looks like an old radiator that supposed to be fire proof I think.

Those space heaters from Wal-Mart that look like old fashioned radiators ARE fire proof. I have one under my desk in my home office. There have been times when I've dropped paper on it and it sat there all day with nary a spark. However, if thank you is prone to take things apart, then even this type of heater is not a good solution.

The microplush blankets are great. For Little easy child I layer his bed as follows:
- regular cotton bottom and top sheet
- microplush blanket over the top sheet
- waffle weave cotton blanket over the microplush
- Lightweight comforter

Little easy child likes the feel of the microplush blanket against his chin, which allows him to stay covered up during the night...

If you do decide to go with an electric blanket, they have improved them tremendously over the years. More even heating to avoid hot spots, temperature regulators, and automatic shutoff after a certain number of hours.

husband and I have one on our bed. It has 2 temperature controls, so he can keep his half of the bed cool while I toast mine up. To get around the texture issue, I put a heavy cotton sheet between the blanket and me, and then a waffle-weave cotton blanket over the electric. Then a lightweight comforter.

 

[Star*]

You are warmer if you use a top sheet and sleep nude with a goose down duvet. This I know for a fact.

However since no one has suggested this? How about a hot water bottle for his feet at night? DF does this for my and my Raynauds and it is like heaven. He will also plug in a our small heating pad on a low setting and put it under the covers for my feet. Seems if my feet stay warm and I have the right weight blankets and enough pillows and thread count I'm okay, stay toasty and sleep well.

Also - Pootie is the original under the cover, shover, foot warmer. So maybe a puppy? (do not shoot the messenger) This pup is a freak for burrowing under the covers from the top of the headboard until she pokes her nose out the bottom of the blankets. The first night she "burrowed"? She kept going and fell right out of the bed. lol

 

[SRL]

A good quality sleeping bag is lightweight and would have a smooth nylon texture as opposed to fleece.

Another idea is to use a bed tent.

 

[hearts and roses]

I just bought a new heated blanket for my bed. And last year I bought a new heated matress pad for difficult child's bed. They make them a lot safer now - no hot spots and with auto shut offs. If you turn it up before he goes to bed, it will be nice a warm in there when he hops into bed and then you can turn it down to the '1' or low setting when he gets in and he should stay warm all night.

I just want to say that I am always cold and I tried the silkie jammies and found that they made me kind of sweaty instead of just warm.

Another idea is to lay a fleece throw blanket UNDER his regular sheets - it adds warmth because it retains the body heat - and it also adds loft so it's comfortable without being directly on his skin so it doesn't get itchy.

We have a summer weight sleeping bag for when guest crash on our couch and everyone comments that it's the perfect weight for winter sleeping and cozy too.

 

[susiestar]

Thanks for the suggestions. He had a heated mattress pad. They don't hold up so well when the monster JUMPS on them. Not even the new ones with the auto shut off handle that well. Cause when he jumps, he JUMPS. It is at the point I don;t even comment. Cause it just increases anxiety when he can't jump. (eyeroll).

I am going to try several of these things - layering the blankets so he can have a feel he likes next to his chin, new jammies to help stay warm, a rice bag for under his feet (he LOVES the rice bags I make - I use a hand towel and dump in a handful of lavendar flowers from the health food store. And amazingly they don't set off his allergies.)

Thanks and hugs to all!