Babies and young children can’t control their body temperature as well as adults. They can get chilly fast, even with the mild winters in Overton, Texas. If your baby gets too cold, he or she could keep you awake all night by crying. Getting enough sleep and staying comfortable are both critical for kids and adults. You can keep your baby comfy in cold weather by using warm clothing, adding zoning, installing a humidifier and getting rid of drafts.

Use Warm Clothing

When you put your baby to sleep, dress him or her in one-piece pajamas with feet and a hood or a hat. You can also add an undershirt under the pajamas. Wearable blankets or sleep sacks are also available. Avoid bulky clothes or thick blankets to reduce the risk of suffocation or overheating.

If the rest of your home feels comfortable but your infant seems cold, add a space heater instead of using blankets that might harm your baby. Make sure it’s at least a few feet away from the crib, and keep flammable objects away. Even if you don’t hear crying, you should check on your baby every few hours to make sure that he or she isn’t too cold or overheated.

Add Zoning

Increasing the temperature on your thermostat is the easiest way to keep your baby comfortable. Unfortunately, using your heater more increases your your utility bills. You can make sure that your baby is warm enough without making other members of your family too hot and conserve energy with zoning.

With a zoned system, special dampers in your HVAC system’s ductwork direct warm air where you need it the most. Several thermostats monitor the temperatures in the different areas or zones of your home. These thermostats usually connect to a programmable thermostat so that you can control the temperature anywhere in your home from a central location.

You can control many thermostats with zoning through your computer or your smartphone, as well. Many ductless HVAC systems have more than one indoor unit, so you can use zoning by controlling the units separately instead of installing dampers in your ductwork.

Installing a Humidifier

Using your heater reduces your home’s humidity, and the air is naturally drier in winter than in summer. If you’re using your furnace often to keep your child comfortable, you and your entire family might deal with dry skin, dry eyes and irritated sinuses.

You can keep your baby and the rest of your family from having trouble sleeping and improve your indoor air quality by getting a whole-home humidifier installed by a professional. You can also use a smaller, less expensive portable humidifier for your baby’s room.

Higher humidity also prevents static electricity, protects wooden floors and furniture from cracking, and makes people feel warmer. A humidifier can help you keep your baby comfortable without turning up the heat.

Getting Rid of Drafts

Check for drafts in your baby’s room to save energy and make sure that he or she stays comfortable. Just turn off your HVAC system along with any ceiling fans. Then, hold a burning incense stick, a candle or a piece of string near the door, the walls and any windows in your baby’s room. If the smoke from the incense, the flame or the string move, there could be a draft nearby.

Look for gaps or thin places in your insulation. Use weatherstripping to eliminate spaces around doors and windows. You can take care of small leaks near light fixtures, baseboards and electrical outlets with caulk. Use thick curtains for windows, and make sure you close them at night. As long as you keep your baby out of direct sun, you can open them during the day to take advantage of heat from the sunlight.

JD’s A/C is a Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer with more than 30 years of experience. We can help you maintain, repair, and install a variety of heating and cooling equipment to help you keep your child comfortable. Call us at (903) 759-7483 for outstanding service.

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