A newborn baby cannot yet regulate its own body temperature. It is therefore up to you to keep an eye on your little one’s temperature in the first few weeks. There are plenty of things you can do to keep your little one warm. Cuddling and skin to skin contact, dressing nice and warm, putting on a hat and covering well in bed. A hot water bottle can also be a good tool to keep your newborn at the right temperature, or to preheat the clothes / bed.
What is the best hot water bottle for your baby?
The aluminum hot water bottle is by far the most used and often the safest one for your baby. You also have electric pitchers, and pitchers filled with pips or seeds that you heat up in the microwave. You can use these 2 types of hot water bottles to preheat the bed, but they are less suitable to keep your baby warm at night. For example, the electric water bottle automatically stops ‘charging’ when it has reached the right temperature. Conveniently, this jug cannot leak, but a disadvantage is that it cools down a bit faster than a hot water jug.
Why you need 2 hot water bottles for your baby
When you see that your baby’s temperature is below 36.5 degrees, put 2 hot water bottles with your baby. Is the temperature between 36.5 and 36.7 degrees? Then you put 1 jug in the bed with your baby. This is why you need two jars.
Where do you put the hot water bottle on the bed?
It is not recommended to put a hot water bottle in bed as standard, but if your little one has a low temperature, it is necessary to do so. If you put a water bottle in your child’s bed, always make sure that the water bottle is at the bottom of the bed, on top of the covers. The spout of the hot water bottle should be facing away from your baby, so in the direction of the cot, not the baby. This way, your baby won’t get burns if the hot water bottle leaks unexpectedly. Always put a hot water bottle cover around a metal jug. This applies to every baby bed, including cot, co-sleeper and cradle.
You can preheat the bed with a hot water bottle fifteen minutes to half an hour before going to sleep. Just take the jug out before you put the little one in!
