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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think my baby is warm enough ?

79 replies

ILoveHumanity · 05/12/2018 11:58

I get lots of comments From strangers that My 9 months baby isnt dressed warmly. Even from friends and family.

But baby is easy to sweat from his head, if I put on as many layers as most do.. always has warm and his hands and nose are warm.

I use hand and feet and nose to find out if he is cold. And head sweating to find out if he is too hot.

AIBU? Right now I’m out and it’s lightly raining and he wears a long sleeve vest, then hooded thick jumper with hood on his head , he is wearing socks and foot muff covers his body. I’m in London and it’s 12 degrees. His hands are boiling.

Someone random just told me, “you need to cover him up”.

I just find baby is very uncomfortable in too many layers.

OP posts:
tryinganewname · 05/12/2018 12:21

But my mother would claim DD is cold even if she had 100 layers on Envy

SoyDora · 05/12/2018 12:24

Also, far better to be too cold than too hot. Overheated babies die. My DH’s uncle is a paediatrician and he (bluntly) says ‘better to be cold than dead’.
A baby that is too cold will let you know they’re too cold. A baby who is too hot may be drowsy and lethargic and unable to let you know.

wijjy · 05/12/2018 12:26

If hands are really warm I would be more concerned about overheating. I remember being told to told to go by the temperature of the body rather than hands/feet.

But that might be around the time of this advice

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3211297.stm

Vanillaradio · 05/12/2018 12:27

I got this a lot. Not helpful as ds was a very warm baby who cried when too hot, fought any attempt to put him in a snowsuit from an early age and even at the age of 5 feels like a little radiator when the rest of us are freezing. I was also extremely stressed about the thought of overheating him (pnd) and did not always react well to the suggestions. Carry on as you are, smile and ignore!

Cherries101 · 05/12/2018 12:28

@SoyDora - as your uncle’s a paediatrician he must have told you then, that a child underdressed for the weather is also one (and sometimes only) of the signs they watch out for in terms of neglect.

SoyDora · 05/12/2018 12:33

My DH’s uncle. No he’s never mentioned that but it’s an obvious thing to look at if there are other signs of neglect obviously.

whiteonesugar · 05/12/2018 12:34

When DS was little he HATED being too warm, i was always worried he would get cold (he was born in Feb) but it soon became apparent he was just a warm baby! I was told to put a hat on him once but i just gave them shit eye and ignored them.

formerbabe · 05/12/2018 12:35

It's not very cold in London at the moment. It's grey and miserable but pretty mild really.

LovesLaboursLost · 05/12/2018 12:37

Kids do vary. Generally my DD needs an extra layer than my DS did and his hands never felt cold as a baby. That said, I think it’s unusual to need as few clothes as your baby has today.

CooksMatches2 · 05/12/2018 12:37

Are you from a very cold country and British/London weather is comparatively warm perhaps?

icannotremember · 05/12/2018 12:39

@Cherries101

...and he probably understands that no child protection professional worthy of the title would deem 'wearing less than is the norm for most babies at this time of year, but warm enough and with no signs of untreated illness and/ or injury' neglect. We look for signs, we don't assume that because a possible sign is present that therefore neglect is occurring and the child is in danger.

And he is right that it is better a baby is a bit cold than overheated. A cold baby cries, an overheated baby often dies.

dogsaster · 05/12/2018 12:39

Strangers (and family) can a pain in the arse with unwanted, unnecessary advice, you know your baby. I'm assuming you've got the message that hands/noses aren't the a reliable indicator of how warm a baby is and that actually it's fine for those parts to be a little cooler. If his trunk is warm and he is happy he is clearly fine. It doesn't sounds like loads of layers but I've just been for a walk on the beach in the heavy rain and wind, you might be on a bus/in a shop/having a coffee somewhere which makes a difference. I'm sure you are able to judge the situation appropriately

Santababyclaus · 05/12/2018 12:41

When my dd was about 4 weeks old I took her out for a walk. I had 3 old ladies scold me because dd was not wearing a hat or cardigan. She had a short sleeved vest on and a muslin draped over her - it was 30 degrees! (she didn't have a sunhat on as was in the shade in her pushchair)

Silkie2 · 05/12/2018 12:44

You see babies dressed for icy weather crying loudly in stifling shops. They must get dehydrated.

Bluebelltulip · 05/12/2018 12:48

If I followed the one more layer than you rule I would boil DD, I feel the cold she takes after her dad. She was frequently less dressed than her peers at baby groups etc. I always check her temperature on top of her back. Now she's older the nursery have commented that she frequently takes her coat off when outside and will retrieve it if she's cold.

hammeringinmyhead · 05/12/2018 12:50

I tend to go long or short sleeved vest, long sleeved babygro with cuff scratch mitts turned over, cardigan, hat, blanket in this weather. I would think he needs something on his legs?

Mia1415 · 05/12/2018 12:50

My DS is 5 now but I get this quite a lot! We are both 'warm blooded'. I'm always hot. You will rarely see me with a coat on (today I'm wearing a short sleeved t-shirt).

It's a family thing. I don't think I can ever remember my dear Dad wearing a coat. Possibly he did when it was snowing.

My DS is generally wearing one layer less than the other children.

PhilomenaSnowflakeButterfly · 05/12/2018 12:56

It's nobody else's business.

Printerneedsink · 05/12/2018 12:56

It would also depend on how warm the pram footmuff is!

Camomila · 05/12/2018 12:58

I think he sounds fine if the footmuff covers his whole body. I bought a winter weight footmuff for DS and it was thicker than a coat would be. At 9m it went right up to his armpits. He had a fleece on top of his clothes but would have been way too hot with a coat as well.

He started wearing a coat his 2nd winter as by then the footmuff only went up to his waist.

Namechangemum100 · 05/12/2018 12:58

Don't worry about it op, people seem to get utterly hysterical about whether a baby is too cold. The factor of the matter is that if he were cold, he would be unhappy and let you know about it. If he seems happy, his body feels warm, and you are dressed similarly and are comfortable then all is good. People waaaaaay over think these things!

LisaSimpsonsbff · 05/12/2018 12:59

I worry about this too - my five month old seems to run really hot, whereas I run cold. Right now he has a long sleeved vest and trousers on whereas I have a jumper on (in our centrally heated, objectively quite warm house). I put a cardigan on him this morning but took it off when he got sweaty. He hates hates hates his pram suit and I think it's because he's always too hot in it so I now put him in a jumper, mittens and hat to go out, with blanket and footmuff over his legs - he always looks a bit underdressed compared to the other babies but he still gets a bit hot and I end up taking the blanket off!

Rhiannon13 · 05/12/2018 13:02

Ignore random strangers. Babies have a very clear way of letting you know when they're not happy!

Oneinthegrave · 05/12/2018 13:05

I don’t understand, is your baby wearing anything on his legs or just the footmuff?

villainousbroodmare · 05/12/2018 13:06

I spent the first couple of months of DS1's life cooking him with excessive clothing and blankets and heating. He used to cry and it took me ages to realise he gets furious when he's got. Now at 3yo he only wants one blanket in bed while we're under a quilt. I now have 6mo twins: another hot boy who sweats up easily and a 'normothermic' girl who is comfortable wearing the same or one layer more than us.
I do find people pass-remarkable at times.

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