As winter arrives it's important to make sure your little one stays warm and comfortable at night for the best sleep possible. The thought of your baby being cold can keep you up at night - but equally, you don't want them to overheat.
With that said, what do you do? How do you keep your baby snug during those colder months, without letting the heat get to them? We believe that the answer lies in natural fibres - read on to discover our top three tips for keeping their temperature just right this winter.
What Temperature Should Your Newborn’s Bedroom Be?
While we naturally want to wrap up more in winter, it’s important to be mindful of the safe sleeping temperature for your baby.
The Lullaby Trust advises a room temperature of 16-20°C for your newborn, with light bedding or a lightweight, well-fitting baby sleep bag. Making sure your baby’s room stays in this temperature range is important because the chance of SIDS is higher for babies who get too hot.
If it is hard to keep your home warm in the winter, and you feel that you do need to have the heating on overnight, make sure that it is set at a low temperature, never higher than 20°C.
So while you will certainly need to make some adjustments over winter to make sure your baby doesn’t get too cold, make sure they are also not getting too hot. With that in mind, here are some tips for how you can keep your little one at the perfect temperature this winter.
1. Choose The Right Mattress
When we overheat at night, we think nothing of kicking a foot out from our duvet to cool us back down again. But did you know that babies don't know how to control their temperature like us? That's why it's so important to choose the right mattress for your little one.
Because we don't tuck babies into duvets at night until they are one year old, the usual suspect for newborns overheating is a synthetic foam mattress. That's why we created our range of natural fibre nursery mattresses, from the finest materials nature can offer.
Inside our children's mattresses, you'll find certified organic wool for temperature regulation & moisture wicking, organic coir for natural spring & breathability, and natural latex for a wonderful, natural alternative to synthetic foam - all wrapped up in hypoallergenic, chemical-free cotton covers for a healthy & happy sleep space.
Our Recommendations
- Newborns (Crib & Cot) - The Coco Mat (from £105)
- Toddlers (Cot & Cot Bed) - The Latex Mat (from £247.50)
- Children (Their first Single Bed) - The Natural Teen (from £730)
2. Make Sure Their Bedding is Breathable
We all know that toddlers can be fussy - especially when they're uncomfortable - which is a recipe for trouble when it comes to bedtime. They should want to leap into bed for their night-time story, but that often isn't the case - and it could be because their sleep space is making them uncomfortable.
That's why it's important to choose the right bedding for the time of year - bedding that is going to regulate their temperature, not increase it. Our selection of natural-fibre duvets and pillows does just that. Made with a range of natural fibres, from certified organic wool to EDFA-certified feather & down, a Naturalmat Baby bedding set is sure to keep your little one snug.
Please remember that newborns don't need a duvet until they're one year old - if your little one could be cold, we recommend you follow the Lullaby Trust's Safer Sleep Advice and tightly tuck them in with one of our Brushed Organic Cotton Sheets.
Our Recommendations
- The Nursery Wool Pillow - a supremely breathable wool-stuffed pillow (from £40)
- The Nursery Wool Duvet - stuffed with wool for the utmost in temperature regulation (from £70)
- The Nursery Goose Down Duvet - a wonderfully soft, fluffy and sumptuous duvet (from £110.00)
3. Pick the Right Bed Linen
A natural-fibre mattress and duvet are great for regulating your child's temperature, but their sleep space simply won't reach its full potential if it's wrapped up in synthetic bed linen.
Cotton is a brilliantly breathable natural fibre, and our range of Children's Bed Linen is made from 100% unbleached and undyed GOTS-certified organic cotton. GOTS certification means that the least amount of water and no chemical pesticides are used in its production, and farmers are paid fairly for their work and produce.
Our range of bed linen is available in either cotton percale or brushed cotton - the latter of which we would strongly recommend for these cooler winter evenings.
Our Recommendations
- Organic Cotton Bedding Pack - includes a soft Waterproof Nursery Mattress Protector (from £60)
- Cotton Percale Pillowcase - made from beautifully smooth organic cotton (from £10)
- Brushed Cotton Flat Sheet - a luxuriously soft organic cotton sheet (from £18.50)
- Waterproof Nursery Mattress Protector - a soft & breathable protector made from the finest organic cotton (from £13.50)
Just remember, it is important to keep your baby at the right temperature while they sleep, and in winter it is not simply a case of turning up the heat to stave off the cold - you should aim for that ideal bedroom temperature of 16-20°C, coupled with a breathable, natural fibre mattress and bedding.
The Lullaby Trust
If you have any doubts about keeping your baby warm this winter, we thoroughly recommend visiting the Lullaby Trust's Safer Sleep Advice - an excellent, free set of expert advice for everything to do with newborn sleep.
