We often hear the question “what is a good baby room temperature?” This is a great question because as parents, we want the perfect balance for our baby’s comfort to optimize sleep quality and duration. The temperature range for this to happen is between 20 and 22 degrees Celsius.
Other factors will have a role to play to know if this temperature range fits with your reality and this leads to our next question.
What should baby wear to sleep?
First of all, you have to take a few things into consideration like:
- Is your baby’s room between 20 and 22 degrees?
If the room is between 20 and 22 degrees, a normal baby pajama should be alright. You might cover your baby with a fitted sheet in the crib for security reasons. You should avoid crib bumpers for security reasons even if they are sold as safe. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stated: “There is no evidence that bumper pads prevent injuries, and there is a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment.”
If you are in summer, it’s hot and you don’t have AC, the room might be warmer than 22 degrees even if you use a fan. In this case, the baby shouldn’t be wearing anything except a diaper.
If the baby is too warm, he or she will sweat (like a fever) and he or she will be uncomfortable. This situation might even trigger dehydration so parents have to be careful about that because babies are much more prone to dehydration than adults. Here's a video showing you what to check for to prevent it.
The other question that you have to take into consideration is:
- Does your baby share a room with you?
If so, some adults are more comfortable when the temperature range is lower. Of course, we want baby to be comfortable as a priority and in this case, it’s easier to dress up baby to be comfortable so that the adults will be comfortable too.
In this case, what should baby wear to sleep? You can use a warmer pajama and fitted sheets in the crib.
If the room is cooler or if you think that your baby needs more heat for comfort, we really like the baby sleep sack option because it’s warm and it’s safe!
But isn’t a baby sleep sack too hot?
We often get this question. It always depends on the temperature of the room and the material of the sleep sack.
Another thing to consider is to find a convertible baby sleep bag that you can remove the sleeves or keep them. This way, you will avoid having to buy many different fabric baby sleep bags.
In any way, the decision on how to dress your baby for sleep will depend on your baby’s room temperature and humidity. Most recent houses have good thermometers but a very good option that will help you measure temperature and humidity is a digital thermometer and a hygrometer combined. This is a great tool to give insight on how to dress your baby before going to bed to optimize comfort.
Each baby is different so having this information and knowing your baby will be a great combo to make great decisions!
