Additional insulation in Germany at Christmas?

[inga]

Hi there. Travelling to Germany for Xmas with 9 month old dd and his buggy. He has a cosy toes cover and will be in his snow suit when out and about. My sister-in-law says I need to buy "something" for the buggy. Has anybody any suggestions/done the same trip at the same time. The expected temperature is -15C.

Personally, I'd add a few extra fleecy blankets which can be easily added/removed as necessary. I'd maybe add a wooly hat even if the snowsuit has a hood. The hat would be a snugger fit and the hood could go over the top.

Have fun!

Inga - we went to Germany when ds1 was 16 mnths, and I was shocked how cold it was. The snowsuit we had which was fine here, was completely inappropriate for the temperatures there, esp. for sitting still in a buggy. Are you visiting friends? Can you get them to 'borrow' some stuff for you? That's the best solution - you can get excellent ski-wear and stuff here, but it's very expensive, and seems unnecessary for a quick trip. Do you expect to spend a lot of time outdoors?

Cotton tights are great as an extra layer. Also think about some bigger size fluffy socks, or something, as their feet tend to get cold too. Good luck!

If it really is going to be -15oC (probably not generally the case) then I'm afraid I would not plan to venture out far with a baby. We had the same problem here in Switzerland a year ago with our then 4 month old and frankly she would not tolerate it for long ! Despite hats, gloves etc their face is still exposed. Nevertheless I would suggest several layers under the snow suit , with cotton polo neck top/leggings/tights, adding a fleece/jumper (we have a fleece all in one for really chilly days)plus hat, mittens, thick socks/bootees etc and agree with fleece blanket. What sort of footmuff is it, as I don't think a uk standard regular one, ie. those that coordinate with buggy/pushchair, is really up to the job - over here you see more lambs fleece or down-filled ones, Could you perhaps borrow one from your friends?(They are not cheap). Make sure you also bring your plastic raincover for the buggy as this can help cut down the windchill.

I have to say it is already freezing over here today (Zurich) and we've had several snow falls so you should definitely go prepared for the worst!

Layer up and have a great holiday!

LizS

Having lived in Scotland for a number of years I've had to wrap up the children against the cold, too. Layering is definitely the way to go and using some sort of weather protection on the buggy to keep the wind off is essential. If your SIL has a microwave you could take one of those microwaveable hot 'water' bottles or a wheat bag warmer to pop in the cosytoes when you go out.

It's quite pleasant to be thinking about this problem, actually, as we've got the opposite problem here in Indonesia. Temps have risen to over 40C today - yuk.