how to keep my baby cool?

Question

in this hot weather we are having in the uk how can i keep my 3 week old baby cool she only had a vest and nappy/diper on i give her feeds she is taking them and i give her water because i dont want her to dehidrate and i have fans going on all the time and she gets a bath every night is there anything else someone can suggest

with people saying not to give water to my baby what happins when she is screaming her little head off after i have given her feed 2 hours before what do i give her more formula or let her scream for the next 2 hours

Answer 1

it was 96 degrees here yesterday. I let my little girl play in the tub. she loves her tub.

I give her water all the time.

people really think that a baby don't need water in the heat they are crazy.


i lived in Texas for the first year with my son with no ac (yes it happens) the Dr.s all told me to make sure that he drinks at least 8-12 oz of just water through out the day.

My daughter now is 5 months old and she drinks her water with 1 ice cube in it and her breast milk and on hot days like this she likes her one bottle of formula that she get for supplement cold.

I also keep a damp wash cloth near just to wipe her down every now and then. But baths are the key here. just put her in for 10-15 mins to play and she is happy and cool for like 2 hrs. Give cool water and maybe even cool formula if she will drink it that way.

Another thing i do is to shopping. I took her to the grocery store for like an hour shopping.

good luck
and congrats on your baby enjoy her now they grow quickly!!!

Answer 2

First of all, without your pediatrician instructing you to do so, do not, I repeat, do not give your 3 week old water. Why? At this age, babies need every single calorie they can get to grow and develop - their brains need it the most. With that being said, water has zero calories and fills the baby up, leaving her not as apt to eat when she's supposed to. The milk you're providing for her will keep her hydrated, don't worry about that. As long as she's having 6 wet nappies a day, she's fine. Keep her cool by dressing her the way you are - she can even just go with a nappy, skip the vest. Do you have an air conditioner that you can use? The fans will surely help her, but if it gets too hot, you might want to take her to a place where there's air conditioning. You can also use a cool wet cloth to cool her off, not just at bath time, but during the day. I hope this helps. You're a good mummy for asking! :) I read that someone here said that the fan will give the baby a cold (so I'm editing this post) This is not true. The only things that give people illness are germs (i.e. bacteria and viruses) Cold weather does not make people sick. People seem to be sicker in cold weather because they're inside together more and germs spread more rapidly that way. Just thought I'd throw this in.... Edited once again: If your baby's sceaming after two hours from the last feeding, it may be that she's going through a growth spurt and she simply is probably hungry again. A growth spurt at 3 weeks of age is normal. At this time your baby will eat more and sleep more. It's not going to hurt to contact your pediatrician to ask about supplementing with water though. If the doctor says it's ok to give her water, then you can do it without a second thought. Let us know, please, how things progress :)

Answer 3

I had this problem last year, my baby was born in July.
Basically I left him in his nappy in front of the fan, I was breastfeeding at the time so I gave him more frequent feeds. If your baby is on the bottle it might be an idea to give a smaller feed in between feeds and sips of cooled boiled water from the bottle too.

I used to let him sleep in a vest, and checked him about 20 mins of being asleep so I knew to add or take away sheets.

My partner bought a portable air conditioner where the pipe goes out the window - it was invaluable because we could set the temperature so the room wouldn't get too cold and cause sniffles. I think it cost about £150, but we still use it now.

If concerned at all,ask your health visitor on some tips.

Answer 4

One way to cool the air in the room even more using a fan, is to fill a bottle of water and freeze it, and stand it in front of the fan.
If you have a loft hatch, open that - hot air rises and so the hot air will go up into the loft. Even better, if you have a sky light in the roof, open that.
With formula, you can add an extra oz of water to SOME NOT ALL feeds. With a 3 week old, perhaps 2 a day at most. My daughter was about 6 weeks when we had our 1st hot stint, and the Health Visitor told me it was OK from 2 or 3 weeks but if you are unsure, talk to your HV.

Answer 5

It sounds like you are doing really great, you are being very tuned in and attentive to your baby's needs. No matter what anyone's best advice is to you, trust your instincts. Continue all you are doing: creating air flow or cooling fans, strip down to the nappy (for no additional warmth) and mixing milk feeds with occasional water feeds sounds perfect. You will know from your baby's cries if it is a milk feed or thirst feed that is wanted. Also baths should be just tepid (cooler than usual ones), for more body cooling. Just keep a close eye and all will be fine. I'm concerned with this also and in the recent hot weather, we've not had our usual outdoor walks for I worry to over tire her. For night time a light sheet or I use a snuggle-sack that is really very light with nothing on my baby but nappy & the top left quite open for air circulation. You may not need a vest at all. Seems we won't have too much longer with this excess heat ... forecast is for cool down by the weekend

Answer 6

You can give water to your baby...just don't give her so much that she gets full on it and refuses her formula/breastmilk.

For a quick fix, pack her up in the car, turn the air conditioning on and take her for a spin. You could also take her window shopping to a nice cool store or mall.

You can also buy a portable air conditioner made by DeLonghi. My grandmother has one and she loves it. Their website is http://www.delonghi.co.uk/product_gate.php The models that DeLonghi offers in the UK look slightly different from the ones we have in the US, but I'm sure they work equally well. The nice thing about these portable ones is that you can move them from room to room. Play room during the day, nursery at night. :) They're a bit pricey, but well worth it. DeLonghi doesn't make crap, and I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for.

Also, make sure to dress her comfortably...I don't know if it's common in the United Kingdom, but here in the US, a lot of people let their babies run around in a diaper while they're at home.

Answer 7

If you are breastfeeding you don't need to give your baby any water as the first bit of milk it gets from you is like a drink. If you are bottle feeding then use cooled boiled water in a sterile bottle. My doctor advised i put a pinch of brown sugar in my son's water as he wasn't drinking it, but I would advise speaking to your gp or health visitor first before trying something like that.
You can tell if a baby is dehydrated by the soft bit on their head, apparently it will dip in a bit, well that's what my doctor told me.

To keep my son cool I dip his feet in a bowl of cool water during the day, he loves it and regularly gives me smiles for it. As long as your baby has had first injections they can go swimming, i took my son on fri and he really enjoyed it. But for the time being keep curtains closed in sunny rooms, with windows closed and a fan going with a bowl of ice in front. Open the curtains and windows when it cools down. That's what i've done.

Answer 8

i have a six months old baby and i have been giving her water with a Little bit of sugar (not too much though about 3/4 of a teaspoon) since birth to hydrate her and it hasn't done her any harm if anything i am always praised on how well my baby is doing.
what you do need to do though is give her a bath every morning, in the evening and one at night to keep her body cool. massage her whole body with olive oil to moisturiser her skin. then pat the oil away with the towel that you dried her with that way you remove any excess oil from her skin and rub her whole body with talc powder to keep it dry specially the bendy bits like behind the knees, in the inner elbow area, under the arm pits and the front and bum area. this is out of my personal experience and doctors have commented that olive oil is a great moisturiser for my baby's skin.

Answer 9

Leave her in her diaper. You can give her water but not all the time(2 times a day make sure she is getting fed regularly (formula or breast milk/whatever you do) And Please don't put a air conditioner on her!!!!!!!! The hot and cold temperatures will make her sick.Just try wiping her body with a wipe every once in a while keep the fans on like your doing but not directly on her. If she has a wet diaper every couple of hours she is okay.You are doing fine mama.

Answer 10

Put a fan in her room and leave her to sleep in her nappy. Check on her frequently and make sure she drinks lots of water.

But don't worry too much - think of all the babies around the world that survive weather like that all the time.

A cool flannel wash will help as well.

Oh, and it is OK to give her water as long as it's properly sterilised.