M.B. asks from Milwaukee, WI on December 11, 2009
How Cold Is Safe for Baby?
EDIT: Many thanks for all your kind replies, please see my "So What Happened" (below) to see how things turned out. I'm still getting replies even after I wrote that, many many thanks to you all for caring! *Peace*!
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Hi everyone. My toddler and I just got home a little while ago to find our heat is off, and I don't know why. Hubby is sleeping and I don't dare wake him because he has to work at 3am. I have the oven on to heat the house a little but the temperature is falling below 60 degrees now (we're in West Allis and it's below freezing outside)... I'm dressing my daughter in a onesie, long sleeve top, tights, sleeper and blanket sleeper. Maybe I can get on another blanket sleeper over that. I know it's late but I've received quick replies before... just a little freaked about this cold and want to know if my baby will be okay tonight, as I don't know how cold it will get before we have heat again. Many thanks for any advice you have. *Peace*
So What Happened?™
EDIT: It's now noon the next day, hubby just came home from work and I finally got to talk to him about the furnace. It turns out he turned it off before he went to bed because he was trying to figure out how to hook up our humidifier, then went to bed without turning it back on or leaving me a note about it! When we bought this house a few months ago we didn't get any instructions on how to make the humidifier work, and we still don't know, but that's another request for another day. I wanted all concerned to know, we don't have a pilot, the furnace has an ignition device, and we also have a CO alarm in the kitchen so I wasn't too worried about CO poisoning. I was ready to sleep with my daughter to keep her warm, and if we lose heat again, that's what I'll do, but if it threatens to get *very* cold we'll go to a hotel. Also, we have a space heater but it's buried in the garage, we'll find it and bring it into he house. Many thanks to all of you who replied, you helped me when I was feeling alone and scared. *Peace*!
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Many thanks for all for your quick replies. I finally woke my hubby to ask him why the furnace was off and he said "I don't know"... there was a light-switch looking thing and it was "off" so I turned it "on" and it sounds like the furnace is working now, warm air is coming from the vents. I feel so stupid to not have known anything about this furnace (we moved here just a couple of months ago and I let my hubby take care of home maintenance). I was afraid to touch the furnace because I didn't know why it had been turned off! (when I came home I smelled a burned smell in the kitchen and didn't know if that had anything to do with the furnace being off)... many thanks moms for your help and caring support. You're the best! *Peace*!
Featured Answers
L.H. answers from Milwaukee on December 12, 2009
I would have woke my husband up no matter if he had to work or not. Cold temps can make a baby sick. I wouldn't have taken that chance. I hope you are able to get it fixed.
1 mom found this helpful
More Answers
J.L. answers from Minneapolis on December 11, 2009
If your heat has been off for sometime, it may be because the pilot is out in your furnace. Wake your hubby if you don't know how to check. Your house could be full of CO and there's no way for you to know because it doesn't have a smell. He might even be in trouble if he's been in the house for a while and there is a CO leak.
Don't try to light the pilot yourself if it's been out a while. There is an explosion risk if enough gas has built up. Try not to use any electrical devices either. Especially doorbells, toasters or light switches as they could trigger an explosion if there is significant CO also. Contact your local gas company immediately.
Besides a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from either your pilot being out or your stove to heat the house, you are all at great risk of developing hypothermia. Especially baby. If her temp reaches 95 degrees, she's in trouble and will need medical intervention. Spending enough time in a room at temps below 60 over a short period of time could result in hypothermia.
You must get your child to a warm place immediately, if your husband is unable to get your home adequately heated. Babies are highly susceptible to hypothermia because their little bodies aren't equiped to handle extreme temps like older folks.
See this link for more on this;
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-hypothermia/FA...
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_winter-signs-hypothe...
If the problem can not be fixed tonight, seek shelter at a local red cross, or family shelter in your area.
1 mom found this helpful
A.F. answers from St. Cloud on December 11, 2009
Hi M., I know that you don't want to wake your hubby but if you don't know what to do, you NEED to wake him. You need to have heat. It's going to get alot colder in your house.
Do you have family that you can stay the night with? Can you go to a hotel for the rest of the night?
I hope it's a problem that can be fixed quickly!
1 mom found this helpful
R.K. answers from Appleton on December 12, 2009
Hi M.:
You don't say if you own or rent your home. If the heat is off you can call a furnace repair person to come out on an ememrgency. Not only will it become too cold to stay in your home but the pipes could freeze and burst and you will have water all over the house. Then you will have to call a plummer and the furnace repair man.
1 mom found this helpful
K.B. answers from Minneapolis on December 11, 2009
Go down to your furnace and there should be a red light towards the bottom of the front. It will be blinking a certain amount of times (if everything is working fine it will be a solid red light). You than open the front panel (vent area) and it will tell you how many blinks mean what. We had this with ours and the code told us something was dirty and my husband was able to clean it and it has been fine since. You can also try turning off the furnace with the on off switch (looks like a light switch) and sometimes that will reset it.
As far as your daughter, I would also suggest sleeping with her to make sure she stays covered. I would leave your stove on too long to heat the house though (if it is gas).
Good luck and hope it is an easy fix.....
1 mom found this helpful
B.H. answers from Minneapolis on December 11, 2009
You can get CARBON MONOXIDE POISIONING by using your oven or stove to heat your house don't do that!
1 mom found this helpful
M.S. answers from Sioux Falls on December 12, 2009
Sorry I missed this, how'd it go? Besides what all said RE CO posioning...as far as alternative heating in a pinch you could use a space-heater and keep the room at 70+. The Mayo article is assuming a child was exposed (eg had improper clothing in cold). Recall babies of tribal people have survived in all regions without heaters for centuries, so the temp needed is sort of relative. I'd have used my body heat and had her snuggle up with me in bed til heating restored safely. We should all have someone show us about safety things like how to safely check a pilot and trouble-shoot pbms with basic needs! Congratulations on your miracle girl! I love my 2 girls so much we're happily having a 3rd.
1 mom found this helpful
L.H. answers from Milwaukee on December 12, 2009
I would have woke my husband up no matter if he had to work or not. Cold temps can make a baby sick. I wouldn't have taken that chance. I hope you are able to get it fixed.
1 mom found this helpful
N.F. answers from Albuquerque on December 11, 2009
I'm not sure how cold is too cold, but if I were in your situation, I would sleep WITH her until the heat is back on.
1 mom found this helpful
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