You spent months planning and decorating your baby’s nursery, researching products and baby tech to support your journey to being a good parent. Yet, one thing that’s often overlooked is the temperature of your baby’s sleep space. Whether your baby sleeps in a bassinet beside your bed or in a room of their own, you must consider the room’s temperature to ensure they get the best rest.
A newborn baby doesn’t regulate their temperature like an adult, toddler, or child. They also don’t have the words to tell you when they’re uncomfortable (unlike your partner, who never misses a chance to comment on the air conditioner).
It’s incredibly important to learn more about creating a comfortable sleep space and using a baby temperature monitor for the room or tracking external skin temperature variations.
Temperature in Baby’s Sleep Space
Everyone you ask for advice tells you to stock up on footie pajamas, learn how to swaddle, and invest in copious sets of baby socks, but nobody says, “Remember to keep the room at the right temperature.” Some expectant parents look up everything, including how warm or cool the house should feel. Others are lucky enough to realize that the baby is uncomfortable thanks to a smart baby monitor. What should you do to make sure you’re prepared?
Expert Recommendations
Finding studies explicitly indicating the best temperature for a nursery or baby’s sleep space is difficult. What experts can tell you is that an overheated baby is not a comfortable baby, and it’s more likely to become a dire situation than with a baby in a room that’s a bit chillier.
Still, there is a consensus that a moderate temperature between 68°F and 72°F is the most comfortable for a baby. You’ll find this guideline on many websites dedicated to infant sleep comfort, but not on the American Academy of Pediatrics blog.
All the Variables
Other variables that can contribute to a comfortable temperature include humidity levels, infant sleepwear, air circulation (a fan), the baby’s proximity to vents in the room, plus the baby’s personal preferences. Some babies run hot. Some run cool. You might not know at first, which is why it’s best to keep the room at a moderate temperature with the proper sleepwear.
A Simple Way to Gauge Temperature(s)
You might wonder how to monitor your baby’s comfort levels and room temperature. Classic thermostats can be put on a shelf, smart thermostats that connect to the whole home, and smart baby monitors that include a temperature gauge are also available.
A Monitor for the Sleep Space
A baby sleep monitor that also works as a baby temperature monitor for the room is beneficial for parents, but you want to make sure that the gauge isn’t too far away from where your baby sleeps.
Instead of using a monitor with a sensor in the baby cam, you can use a baby monitor with a temperature sensor in a hub you can place closer to the same level as your sleeping baby. This will give you a more accurate representation of the room’s temperature.
Collect all the Data
In addition to the room temperature, you need to consider your little one’s skin temperature. External skin temperature variations can tell you a lot about how comfortable your baby feels and help you collect information about how your baby sleeps best. You can use a smart baby monitor’s smart sensor attached to an ankle band to track this data, which is sent to an app for viewing.
Baby tech is incredibly helpful. A smart sensor with an ankle band can monitor external skin temperature variations and serve as a baby oxygen monitor by collecting data on heart rate and oxygen saturation levels.
Infant Sleepwear Education
There’s another way to keep your baby comfortable in their sleep space and probably the most obvious: their sleepwear. There are all kinds of infant sleepwear, and your choice can affect how your baby sleeps. Even if you receive lots of baby jammies from friends and family, you should stick to the ones you know work well for their sleep environment.
Infant Sleepwear Options
From footie pajamas to sleep sacks, there are many ways to clothe your baby for the most comfortable sleep. Depending on their bassinet or crib, baby monitor accessories, and room temperature, you might consider different options. The easiest way to know them is with a list, so we’ll present one in no particular order here:
- Footie pajamas
- Footless pajamas (romper)
- Swaddles (various kinds)
- Bassinet swaddles (exclusive to a brand of bassinet or crib)
- Sleep sacks/suits
- Blankets (12 months+)
Understanding T.O.G. Values
Each style of sleepwear from different brands has different materials, weights, and designs. These variables contribute to their T.O.G. values, the thermal overall grade or thermal resistance. Outside of infant sleepwear, you might hear T.O.G. values attributed to duvets.
T.O.G.s are great ways of determining which products are best suited for a baby’s sleep environment, and many infant clothing brands will provide T.O.G. values for sleep sacks, especially. Still, they involve some math because you have to combine the T.O.G. of your baby’s pajamas with the T.O.G. of the sleep sack or swaddle (if they wear one). The ideal T.O.G. for sleepwear in a room between 68°F and 72°F is between 1.0 and 1.5.
Monitor Changes in Your Baby
You can keep your baby’s sleep space within a comfortable range using a baby temperature monitor for the environment and one for their skin temperature variations (they may be separate data points of the same baby sleep monitor system).
With data tracking and helpful tips associated with your little one’s ages and milestones, you can continue to help make the environment as restful as possible so both you and your baby sleep peacefully. As your baby grows, learns, and experiences many different things, you may have to adjust how you maintain their sleep space. It can even change from one week to the next.
Whether you go with the flow or feel disrupted by minor changes to routines, using an infant sleep monitor that notes the room’s temperature and humidity levels is a great option for stabilizing the environment. Having your baby wear a smart sensor on an ankle band to track heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, and external skin temperature variations may also be a factor in uncovering the mysteries of keeping your little one as comfortable as possible.
About Hälsa Baby™
Raising a baby takes a village, but the modern world doesn’t make it easy. This is where Hälsa Baby™ comes in with their baby monitor and expert support from BabyLiveAdvice™ . The modern baby brand can help you navigate new parenthood with their All-In-One Wellness Monitor that tracks data and helps you create a comfortable sleep space for your little one.
The All-In-One Wellness Monitor tracks heart rate and oxygen saturation levels like a baby oxygen monitor plus more. It also monitors your baby’s environment, including room temperature and humidity levels. Everything you want to know about your little one’s sleep space is at your fingertips with Hälsa Baby™, so you have support when you need it most.
Learn more about how to monitor temperature changes in the nursery at https://halsababy.com/
