Advice on wrapping up a newborn for the outside winter weather

[Strawbs]

Hi all

As an Australian about to have her first baby in November Im feeling nervous about how much I wil need to actually wrap him up to keep him warm.. Ive seen these in mothercare - before I buy one this weekend - am I over-egging it?

mothercare wallaboo

[EDmummy]

Gidday! As a fellow Australian, I was very challenged by this when I had my first and most definitely under-dressed him. He didn't suffer and funnily enough now doesn't really feel the cold that much (unless it is snowing). By the time I had a second I had wised up a little and dressed him in a snow suit but he was already 4 months old by the time it got cold. He now feels the cold if it drops below 18C! Completely unscientific but an interesting observation.

You are right to be cautious about overheating your new baby - far more dangerous than leaving them a little cool.

The Wallaboo looks lovely and as long as you don't put on too many layers underneath would probably be great.

[bluesuperted]

I agree, was much more scared of overheating my baby last winter - feel like they would definitely let you know if too cold but it's not so easy if they have overheated into a stupor! When it was really cold though, Jojo Maman snowsuits are fantastic - so cosy and easy to get on/off. Will definitely be buying the biggest size this year for my toddler.

Like everything it depends on the baby - my little boy is a hot head/body baby and often parades round in just a nappy but feels toasty. I hardly ever put him in a sleeveless vest under his actual vest if you see what I mean, even in deepest winter.

Good luck!

[MrsLL2b]

I had a baby last December and did alot of walking with her in the cold weather. I just used to have her in whatever she was wearing and then a snowsuit. I'd put her 'in the pram and put a nice cosy blanket over her,I'd sometimes use two if it was very cold. I had a pram which I think helps keep a winter baby more snug than a buggy.

Prob wouldn't need that mothercare thing but it is super cute. You would be better off buying a sheepskin liner to put under the baby to keep them cosy, you can also use them in a bgggy and they keep them cool in summer too. So you would get years of use from it.

Good luck with your baby x

[The Nappy Lady]

The Jo Jo suits with the fold over cuffs which create mittens are fab & really cosy. I love the idea of the mother care thing you're looking at from the point of view of being able to easily unwrap the baby if you are going in and out of shops, or if they are sleeping etc.

[JessB]

Definitely I would recommend getting a snow suit or warm wrap thing and dressing in normal clothes underneath. Shops and cafes tend to be very heated in winter so you need a thick outer layer you can whip off them quite easily when you get inside somewhere, preferably without waking them! Some snowsuits have zips or buttons that go all the way down each leg which is really good as you can unzip and fold back the snow suit when you get somewhere but not necessarily take the whole thing off. Hope that makes sense!

Congratulations and good luck!

[Strawbs]

thanks all, really really helpful, sounds like snow suits are the way to go.. I'll start looking around but maybe I'll need to wait til they have winter stock in..

One other thing, I have been told the sleep bags are the way to go (2.5 tog for winter) but my partner is questioning why we wouldnt use blankets? Im assuming the only reason is because then they cant kick them off in the night and wake up screaming and cold? Are there any safety reasons also?

thanks again!

x

[new mother]

Definite safety issues!

And little babies should only ever have access to those "blankets with holes"...

Others of course are so much cuter unfort....

[Pickle]

I found Grobags so much more practical than blankets - one of the major benefits for a winter baby is that you can lift them out of bed at night to feed without taking them out of their cosy bag, so they stay all nice and warm.

I too was really worried about how to keep my winter born son warm enough, but you'll find it all seems a lot easier once you've actually got a baby. Out and about during the day we had a pram, which I snuggled him up in with a blanket my Mum knitted for me and a warm hat etc. My next baby is also going to be a winter one (due end of Jan) and I much prefer it to the struggles of a baby born in the middle of a heatwave like my daughter was - keeping them cool is much more difficult!

[buggie]

As well as having a regular pramsuit, we had this: Cosy Wrap which was really useful when using the car/even if using the car seat on the buggy wheels (if out and about would add a folded blanket over the top. Was good as the wrap bit acts like a swaddle so meant Bugglet would sleep well in the car.

[Strawbs]

Brilliant thanks all!

[Belle]

Hi Strawbs - fellow Autumn mummy here! I also love the look of that wallaboo wrap, have noticed they do a lighter one too. As someone above mentioned, sheepskin liners are v useful.

My first was an end of Jan baby, though we didn't venture out much till it was a little warmer as he was teeny. I def used to find layering the best - actually only used pramsuit about once, preferred using various cardies/jackets/blankets so I cd v quickly layer up/down. Lots of nice thin blankets are useful (either cellular type as NM mentions or I was lucky to have a home knitted one from my Mother in law, that was thin with holes in if you know what i mean, so v safe). I found that for e.g. doctors surgery was always boiling, and various shops/cafes etc the same. Also remember if you do carry the baby in a sling at all they'll get extra warmth from you, so might need to dress them accordingly.

We did sheets/blankets at night till my son was about 8/9 weeks, then moved into first grobag size (think they have to be a minimum size/weight as otherwise can slip down into it). still in sleeping bags 2.5 years on!

[jollybaby]

I'd third the jojo maman baby fleece snowsuits. Miss jb was super cosy in hers. She also had a more heavy duty one - a quilted down one - which we used during the snow and if carrying her in a sling.

Mr jb is also aussie and is verging on obsessive about her getting too cold. Just this morning he said to me 'I think we need to get her winter clothing out!'. Grandma jb was even worse. She stayed with us during the snow last year and being a queenslander hadn't seen snow for 26 years. She kept sneaking on additional layers Thay I had to remove when she wasn't looking!

[bluesuperted]

Great point about sling giving lots of extra warmth - amazing how hot you both can end up feeling in winter!

Also, Belle's point about knitted things made me think how fab hand-knitted cardis are - I'm lucky as my mum has been knitting enough to cover a football pitch since my baby was born but if you can get your hands on one (Pickle on here?) then they are amazingly versatile, comfy and if in a knit style like cable (classic wiggly line) them they really are very breathable. Plus they stretch and last ages and ages - still have my strapping one year old in a lovely stretchy oatmeal that I'm pretty sure is no bigger than a 3months pattern!

[Pickle]

Thanks Bluesuperted... it is me that knits. Generally I can do cardigans for babies up to 6 months for around ?20, and my booties etc. start from a very reasonable ?6.50. For an idea of what I can do, I have a page on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Handcrafted-by-Pippa/139685552763104

I'm desperate to find out what my baby is going to be so that I can start knitting things in appropriate colours :)

[Belle]

Yes - we weren't given any handknitted cardies last time, just had bought ones from mothercare etc which weren't so nice - so have already pre ordered some from Pickle for when next baby is born.