Advice on how to dress my 5 month old in winter - its ~8Celsius in London today.?

Question

First winter for both me and the baby - need advice on how to dress him - how to cover him at night so that he doesn't get overheated etc. Thank you.

I said its " ~" meaning about or approximately eight degrees. my problem is i was told only to use blankets of a fabric that has air ventilation in it - but that makes him cold!

Answer 1

i am currently living in Germany, where the temp can get down to -15c. i have 2 boys and have been dressing them in light layers! first i put on a pair of tights! these are great for keeping there legs and feet warm! i know it is not the norm for boys to wear them but they were made for a reason and I'm sure your 5 month old wont complain, but the grandparents might!! then i put a vest on, then a t-shirt then a long sleeve t-shirt, then a jumper! i try and buy trouser that have a lining in as this gives them an extra layer! and finally socks!! this should keep him toasty warm through the day!

As for at bed time.....a vest and a cotton baby grow is good! then put a fleece baby-grow on top! it works like a dressing gown and keeps them extra warm!!

Blankets........ layer the holey blanket between a cotton sheet! 100% cotton is best because it keeps baby warm in the winter but cool in the summer! the holey blanket is designed to catch and hold the warm air in the holes. this is why it is a good idea to keep the cotton sheet on top because it will hold the warm air in!

scratch mits are also good for keeping there hands warm at night! if they seem to have cold hands in the morning and you are worried about the temp the best place to check to see if they are too warm or too cold is by placing your hand on the skin on there upper back! this will give you a better idea of there true temp!

hope this helps!

Answer 2

OK ...

If you look in any of the stores now, you'll see lots of nice warm baby clothes. If you get him a couple of nice warm jumpers that'll go over everything, that'll help. For outside you need to get one of those all-in-one snowsuits, and he'll need a woolly hat and some mittens. Get him a blanket or a "cozytoes" for in the pram/ buggy. He'll need warm socks too, and those vests that button under the crotch. and of course some trousers and long-sleeved tops LOL! Get him some babygrows - all-in-one pyjamas with feet.

Have a good look at what other people's kids are wearing when you're out and about.

The advice about blankets is more for when they're newborn. If he's wriggly enough to be able to roll over (or nearly do it) he should be safe with a cot-sized duvet, but blankets are just fine (is all mine ever had). You can get flannelette cot sheets that are warm too. Leave his vest on under his jamas, and put socks on his feet if the room's cold. Mine had a couple of knitted dressing gown things that buttoned across the bottom to keep the feet warm (think they're called buntings? Grandma knitted them) or you can buy a thing called a "growbag" which is like a sleeping bag with shoulder straps.

All this sounds expensive, but have a good look in your local charity shops; they've always got lots of nice things that often look as good as new for a lot less money.

Enjoy the snow when it comes!

Answer 3

Its a hard one for us new parents, you worry about them being too cold & too hot.I'll never forget something that affected the way i dress my baby girl, last winter when my baby was a few weeks old we were in a shop queue,A woman joined the queue with her baby boy, i'd guess about 3 months old.He was screaming his head off & i wasn't surprised as he was in a thick snowsuit,you could see a thick bit of cardigan poking up underneath, a hat on & a couple of blankets up to his neck. He was red & sweaty, it was a cold day but not that cold, plus the store was very warm.I felt paniky just looking & vowed never to go overboard on clothes for my girl.
I put a vest on her, thin t-shirt , or dress, then a cardi & gilet. If its really cold i put tights on under her trousers instead of socks. I regulaly check her torso to make sure shes just warm & not toasty or sweaty, if she is i'll remove a layer or two. If her torsos a bit cool, which it never has been up to now, i'd do her cardi & gilet up & put her in her pram to warm up.

I was told, if your cold in what your wearing, so will your baby be, if standing still in the cold you are warm enough in a jumper & coat, then the same goes for him.

Answer 4

Something all in one with feet (sleepsuit) with a vest underneath for in the day and a couple of cot blankets on him when outside. At night you could use a Grobag to sleep him in; they come with a thermometer which also tells you exactly what he should wear whilst in the Grobag, according to the temperature in the room. I would seriously recommend them over any other baby sleeping bag, as they can't be kicked off and are tog rated much like duvets. Look them up online; they are the best investment I ever made for my previous 2 kids, and am about to put my newborn in one..

Answer 5

I can't be -8 in London, I'm in Wales and its cold but nowhere near that cold - it would be freezing all over the country if it were that cold in London!

And for cold weather I recommend a snowsuit. My 12 month old son has a fleecey one from Woolworths and its really really snuggly!

Answer 6

My boy is 14 weeks and i know how you feel !! We just go for one extra layer than us and of a night take away all your worries and buy a grobag egg themometer and get some grobags. No worries about temperature!! Our room is about 19 degrees c and he just wears a long sleeved vest.

Babies generally will wake and grumple if cold but not if hot!!

Also i have found with this mothering thing - the best you can always do is trust your instincts you know the baba best!!

Answer 7

Here's another vote for the cosy sleepsuit with feet - in my experience, whatever you put over the baby when you put him to bed ends up kicked off by morning! I would also keep the heating on a low setting overnight if freezing temperatures are forecast. Daytime - layers are good - e.g.cosy babygro, shirt & cardi in the house - topped off with a warm coat, hat and gloves outside, plus a warm cover over his pram or buggy. Remember that you're moving about, which will help keep you warm, whereas he is not.

Answer 8

I recommend that you buy a few pairs of thick blue/black woollen tights, and put a pair on him underneath his trousers. This will keep his legs nice and warm, and don't feel embarrassed about doing this - many parents do so for their babies or toddlers.

Also put his tops on in layers (baby-gro, t-shirt, jumper, coat), so that if he gets too warm you can take off a t-shirt to cool him down.

As for night time, just put a few layers of blankets on the bed and as it gets warmer/colder then you can add or remove blankets, but make sure you put his feet near the end of the cot so he cannot wriggle under the balnkets. If he kicks off the blankets, you can buy a baby sleeping bag to put him in and then he wont be able to kick that off.

Answer 9

First winter for me and my 5 month old daughter too and the following works for me...

During the day -
If we are just at home, a short sleeve vest and a top and pair of trousers are enough to keep her warm. Sometimes if it is very cold and the room temperature is below 17 degrees, I will dress her with a long sleeve vest instead of a short sleeve one.
If we are going out during the day, a long sleeve vest (or short sleeve vest but then with top and jumper / jacket on top of the vest) and outfit ensuring socks are worn to keep feet warm. A hat is essential to keep the wind out of their ears - this will help with warding off ear infections. A short sleeve / long sleeve vest, pair of trousers, top and jacket should be enough to keep him warm. You should also put one blanket on top when out and about but take off in the car to prevent him getting too hot.

During the night
If we are going out - all the above as mentioned in going out during the day but would add a layer or two as the temperature can drop quite rapidly in London at night.
For bedtime - Sleeping bags (i.e. grobags) are great to use during winter as you don't run the risk of your little one waking up cold because he has kicked the blankets off. Again, I look at the room temperature before I bath my daughter and if below 18 will dress her in a long sleeve best, pj bottoms and top or a long sleeve vest and babygrow. If the temperature is above 18, a short sleeve vest and normal pj's are enough to keep her warm. The sleeping bags are 2.5 tog and the equivelent of one blanket and two sheets so more than enough to keep him warm. They are great. Grobags are quite expensive but you get cheaper ones which work just as well from George at Asda or Matalan. Tesco sell them too. They last for 6 months.

The general rule which helped me was that if you are comfortable in what you are wearing and are not hot or cold, your baby should be wearing the same but with one more layer on top as they can't control their temperature as well as we can. Hands and feet are OK to feel cool, if their hands are hot, then they are too warm.

Hope this helps... I am loving winter so far with my daugher... all the hats, mittens and scarves - so cute!!!! Happy Christmas!

Answer 10

It's important that you don't overheat him especially at night, but I found the amount you were advised to use was too little too. I kept my house at a constant 18 C day and night so it was easier to be sure. I used a cotton vest and babygro on my son, with a sheet and two thinnish blankets, and I checked his temperature on his body, under his clothes to check he wasn't too hot or cold. I used the same amount of bedding day and night. I found his hands might be cold and give the wrong impression, but checking his body showed he was warm enough.