If your baby is coming soon, you may already have stocked up on blankets, hats, and cozy clothes for your little one’s cold – weather arrival. Of course you will want to ensure that baby is warm enough during the winter. However, it is also important to consider safety while selecting which items you will use to keep him cozy.
For example, there are many baby buntings and snow suits in the stores right now. Did you know that it is not safe to place baby in a car seat while he is in a bunting or snow suit? The straps can not be tightened enough to keep him safe when he is wearing bulky clothes, which can compress during a car accident and cause the straps of the car seat to slip. To keep baby warm while he is in the car seat, try a car seat cover. A car seat cover has an elastic edge that allows it to fit over the edge of the car seat, so it does not interfere with the car seat straps.
If you plan on using a stroller this winter, you can use a snowsuit or bunting to keep baby warm. Some strollers also have stroller muffs or other winter gear that you can add to keep baby warm and dry. If you will be wearing baby, dress him warmly and consider getting a fleece carrier cover that attaches to your baby carrier. Kowali makes one that fits many different front pack carriers.
Of course, there are some babies who are naturally warm. My son Dylan was born in late November. He could only wear cotton newborn hats, any attempt to put a winter weight knit hat on him would result in a screaming fit. He also often refused to wear a hat, because he would get too hot even in the cotton ones sometimes. I would be a very wealthy woman if I had a dollar for every disapproving glance that I got from people at the grocery store, or every time someone shook their finger at me and said “shouldn’t that baby be wearing a hat?”.
Also, anything fleece was simply too warm. Regular footed pajamas and a car seat cover were all he needed for going out. We found this out when we dressed him in adorable candy cane striped pajamas for Christmas and then headed out on a long car ride to visit my family. Soon after we got in the car, he began crying inconsolably His diaper was clean, he had just been fed, we wondered what was wrong. Then, I looked at him and his little face was bright red. He was too hot. I removed the offending garment and put a regular pair of footed pajamas on him and he was very happy. The moral of the story is that while it is good to be prepared with winter gear for baby, keep the tags and the receipts in case the items do not work for your baby.
Photo by sjs5769 on morguefile.com.