Bedding for a warm room and for a cold one

The housing stock here has a particular pattern: steam heat that runs hot in January, and rooms under a flat roof that hold heat in July. Both make dressing a baby for sleep harder than the general advice suggests.

Measure the room

A simple thermometer at cot height, away from the radiator and the window, tells you what you are actually dressing for. Judging by feel is unreliable, especially at three in the morning when you are cold and the baby is not.

Height matters: the air near the ceiling in an over-heated room can be several degrees warmer than at cot level.

Adjust what is worn

The layer to change is the sleep sack and what goes underneath it, never a loose blanket in the crib. Sleep sacks carry warmth ratings for exactly this reason, and swapping between two ratings covers most of the year.

A lightweight sack plus a long-sleeved bodysuit and a warmer sack plus a short-sleeved one give you four combinations from two sacks.

Winter in a steam-heated flat

The most common winter mistake here is over-dressing in a room that is already too warm. If the radiator cannot be turned down, a lighter sack and a cooler bodysuit is the adjustment, plus ventilating the room before bedtime.

Check the back of the neck. Damp hair or a hot chest means one layer too many.

Summer under a flat roof

Muslin sheets, the lightest sleep sack you own, and a fan positioned to move air around the room rather than at the crib. Blackout blinds keep afternoon sun out and make a measurable difference to how hot the room is by bedtime.

Do not be tempted to remove the sleep sack entirely and add a sheet; the sack is the safer way to keep a baby covered.

Draughts

Old sash windows leak air, and a crib beside one gets a cold stream across it even when the room average is fine. Move the crib rather than adding layers; the temperature at the mattress is what matters.

The same applies to the wall of an unheated stair hall.

Blankets outside the crib

Cellular cotton blankets are excellent for a pram, a floor mat or a stroller, and they layer predictably because the holes let air through. Fleece is warmer for outdoors and much less breathable, which is why it suits a cold pushchair walk and not a warm room.

Keep them as room and outdoor items, and let the sleep sack do the crib job.

Travel and other people’s houses

Take your own sleep sack and your own fitted sheet. It removes the guesswork about what is on the bed you arrive at, and a familiar sack helps with sleeping in a strange room.

A travel cot sheet is a different size from a crib sheet; check before you pack.

What to buy for the year

Two sleep sacks at different warmth ratings, muslin sheets for summer, cotton for the rest of the year, and one good cellular blanket for outside the crib. That covers a Brooklyn year. Warmth ratings and fabrics are on every listing on the shop page.

Where to put the thermometer

Room temperature is not a single number. Air near the ceiling in a steam-heated flat can be several degrees warmer than at cot height, and a spot beside an old sash window can be several degrees cooler than the middle of the room.

Put the thermometer at roughly mattress height, away from the radiator, the window and any direct sun. That is the temperature the baby is actually in, and it is frequently not the one on a thermostat in the hall.

Adjusting for an unusually hot night

In a heatwave the useful moves are all about the room rather than the bedding: close curtains during the day, open windows once the outside air is cooler than the inside, and move air through the room rather than at the cot.

On the bedding side, drop to the lightest sleep sack you own and a short-sleeved bodysuit underneath. Resist the temptation to remove the sack and use a loose sheet instead; the sack is still the safer way to keep a baby covered, whatever the temperature.

The short version

• Adjust the layer worn, not the layer loose.
• A room thermometer removes the guessing.
• Muslin and cellular cotton are the summer answers.
• Radiators under windows make the room hotter than it feels at floor level.

From our shelves

• 10 Pcs Fleece Cot Blankets, 39 x 27 Inch Baby Nap Blankets — $40.99
• Burt’s Bees Baby Organic Cotton Infant Reversible Blanket, Nursery Bedding — $26.95

Where to go next

Browse the full range on the shop page, read the frequently asked questions before ordering, or check delivery timing on the Shipping Policy page. If you would rather ask a person, contact us — the phone reaches the counter.