Ds possible asthma new baby on the way....

[georgeo]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right spot...feel free to move.

Ds had a BAD cough for a month that woke him up a few times a night. It was mainly gone during the day, unless he was running around. We checked the furnace filter and realized it hadn't been changed in 2 years!!! (We moved in the spring so hadn't really used the furnace until just before the cough started. )

 Took ds to the doctor as it got better when we changed the filter but came back. She said that he likely has asthma (dh had it as a child, I had it when I lived in London, my mom had it as a kid).  She gave us a prescription for a puffer and suggested giving him a decongestant even though he is only 2 1/2. We read about turning the heat down and decided to try that for a week before trying the puffer or medicine..... It worked like a charm. If his room is 17 degrees celcius he doesn't cough, if it's higher he does. Problem solved without a puffer at such a young age....we're over the moon. The only problem is I'm due with lo #2 in 4 weeks. What do we do? That just seems too cold for a newborn. Will it be ok with a swaddle and fleece sleeper? I'm guessing it would need a hat too. It seems cruel to make the baby wear a hat and what if it comes off but I also don't want ds taking a puffer at such a young age.

Maybe close ds's heat vent halfway?!?!

WWYD?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Maybe close ds's heat vent halfway?!?!

We keep Spencer's closed about 80% of the way, she gets hot easily and her room is so small that it warms up quick.  That said, she was fine as a baby (I'm talking 3 months plus by the time it was winter here) with her room being 16 or 17 degrees, in fact she slept better that way.  We had an Angelcare monitor that also told us the room temp and would alarm if it got too low I think.  She wore a cotton onesie, cotton sleeper, and a swaddle and was fine.

[Oceanmagic]

17 degrees sounds ok for newborn, go for layers to keep warmth in.
But there's lots of advice against hats for sleeping - heads regulate temperature apparently.
Good luck with new LO.xx

[*Ali*]

 According to the fsid website the ideal temp for a baby's room is 16 to 18 degrees so 17 sounds fine. As pp says head should be left uncovered so any excess heat can escape.

[georgeo]

Wow that's great news. Do you think a fleece onsie (with legs and sleeves) is a good idea under a swaddle?

Thanks for the info about the hats. They put one on ds in the hospital. Is that just for when they are first born?

[*Ali*]

Not heard of wearing a hat indoors so not sure. Our hospital said take it off as soon as we come inside even when awake to avoid over heating. Fleece is not very breathable so can be quite sweaty actually. We use a cotton button-under vest and cotton onesie under our swaddle. Swaddling can be more that twice as hot as just laying the same fabric over a baby so you have to be careful.

[~*Nicole*~]

Our hospitals put hats on all newborns the whole time they are inside. Supposedly they have trouble keeping their body temp up and too much heat escapes through the head when so little. Or so the thinking over here is here! Hats are marketed to newborns for inside wear a lot over here when they just come home!!!!

[*Ali*]

I always think it strange the contradictory info in one country and another.  You are definitely right that they cannot regulate their temp when young.