Baby essentials for winter (3-6mths)

[StargazyDrifter]

Hello, FTM here with a tiny swishy newborn. Both delighted and slightly shell-shocked.

The baby will be 3 months old in October and I am looking to start stocking up on winter essentials in the sales. Apart from next size up sleesuits/vests, an outdoor snowsuit type-thing and warmer gro-bags for sleeping, I'd be keen on suggestions for what else is really useful at that stage in the winter months.

Thank you very much in advance! 😊

Not an outdoor snowsuit type thing. They can’t be used in the car, they can’t be used in the sling, and if you are going straight out for home in a pram you can just use blankets. Much easier to take off the blankets to adjust when you go in a hot shop or cafe. It’s layers all the way. The big all in one suits are too all or nothing.

That's so helpful to know, ChanklyBore, hadn't though that through. Thank you! 😊 That would explain the large number of those things on sale, I suppose!

I think it depends what your life is like; I had the all in one snowsuit as I used to walk 20-30 minutes to get places and it was useful then but if you mostly use a car then not so useful.
I had several cardigans for my DD but I never really used them as she used to wear long sleeves inside and then coat or snow suit on top when we went out.
I’m thinking with my next one about getting a special car seat blanket that wraps around them but not sure if that’s a waste of money

I avoided the all in ones as I also was walking to get places. Then getting on a sweaty bus. Then cold street. Then going in a hot supermarket. Then cold street. Then in the roasting changing rooms or library or church hall or wherever, when you’d have to wake the baby up to get them out of a coat - or stay outside. Baby mostly in sling anyway so was kept much warmer close to me, and I could just add or remove layers over the top. Then there was actual snow, which amusingly don’t suit snowsuits unless the kid is running about in it, because you aren’t taking a pushchair out in a foot of the white stuff, so it’s back to the sling and the sweaty bus!
Maybe a lightweight polar fleece type suit or a thin wool one could be good.

Don't get anything expensive as your baby will grow out of it quickly.
I think someone bought us a fleece jacket and we used that with little jogging bottoms.
MIL also knitted cardigans all through her childhood and were great for layering and look nicer than a lot of things you can buy.
Check out charity shops too there will be people check and throwing out stuff soon,at this age mostly barely worn and some still with labels on.
But out and about blankets and shawls for over the car seat,sling were most useful.

Agree don't get a snow suit. Useless till they are walking. But if you want a nice, totally unused one from M&S that I told MIL we'd never use and she bought anyway I'll send it to you for free! They are too hot for pram or sling and can't go in the car.

Tuppence and Crumble star wraps however are brilliant. Get one of them instead!

Those snowsuits are useless, unless you plan on leaving the house and walking in the pram for several hours without going inside. Even then my DD would just wail until I took it off! If we manage to have another one I’m going for a Tuppence and Crumble wrap instead.

The car seat wraps are worth their weight in gold, IMO, and you can get similar things for buggies - called baby cocoons. Means you can avoid wrestling a tiny baby into multiple layers and just wrap them up on whichever mode of transport they happen to be in.

I don't understand the snow suits either! You can't put baby in them in a car seat - overheating risk aside, it's not safe as the suit compresses if you're in an accident. And if you go inside, you've got to undress them, much easier just taking a blanket off.

I had an October baby, I just used layers (vest, sleepsuit) and then threw a blanket over the top of him. If he was still cold, I put another blanket on. You can tuck in into the sides of the carrycot/car seat so it can't be kicked off. I was given about a billion hand knitted jumpers and never really used any of them. A friend gave me some gloves, but he flailed those things off in minutes. So he just had cold hands.

If he was in the sling, I borrowed my husband's coat and zipped that up around the both of us.

At night, he was in a long sleeved vest, sleepsuit and 2.5 tog sleeping bag. The grobag website has a good guide to what to dress them in. When it got really cold at night, we got a fleecy sleepsuit.

I always used snow suits with my kids as babies, when they were in the pram! They wore the suit and lay in a sheep wool pram-sack. We took daily walks, so they were very useful. If we went in a shop, I simply opened the sack and the suit (drawing down the zipper doesn't take that much time).

I always used snow suits with my kids as babies, when they were in the pram!

I just can't see how any baby wouldn't be roasting in a snow suit unless it's actually below freezing. Pramsuits yes, used them but snowsuits are much warmer. I'm not sure mine would even have fitted in the pram in a snowsuit!

What's the difference between a snowsuit and a pramsuit?

My babies weren't roasting, because it was winter, therefore cold and obviously they just lay there and didn't move around.

Pramsuit is fleece and reasonably close fitting, designed for lying in a pram. Snowsuit is fleece lined, bulky, waterproof on the outside, designed for playing in cold weather.

OP mentions both so presumably has looked at both. DC2 was still in the lie flat pram stage during the Beast from the East. We were outside every day for hours and she wod definitely still have roasted in a snowsuit.

Well, my babies never had waterproof stuff, because there isn't a need for it as a baby (and don't think I ever saw any of those sold for that age), but warm and thick suits.

I don't get your reasoning - you wrote earlier snowsuits are suitable for when they are walking. Yet you say they are too warm for a baby in a pram. Logically if a baby is just laying, they need to be dressed warmer than a child that is moving. So if a toddler who's running around in a snowsuit isn't roasting, a not moving baby surely won't either.

Then I would say if they weren't waterproof then they weren't snowsuits, they were pramsuits so same as I would have used.

Walking toddler in the open air always came up colder than baby lying enclosed in narrow carrycot with hood up in my experience.

Watching with interest... I am due in February & have no idea what’s needed!

I would buy

• long sleeved vests and baby grows
• blankets - get plenty, keep one in the car, one in the pram and have spares for when they get poo, wee or sick on them, oh and food as you'll be in weaning territory late winter/spring
• sleeping bag thing x2, with sleeves if you can find one in the sales
• hats, several they get lost when they fall off while you're not looking
• sling/wrap . If you use a sling you can get leg warmers for baby or you can get a coat panel that zips onto your existing coat to go over baby ( easy to make if you sew)
• foot muff for pram if you don't have one

Avoid

• socks. Bastarding things fall right off of baby feet, just get baby grows that have the feet enclosed and a blanket.
• shoes/booties, see above
• mittens, same problem as socks. Get the fold over sleeve baby grows and use a blanket to cover cold fingers

I also agree about pramsuits/snowsuits - I found them fiddly to get on and off, and a faff using the car seat.

I absolutely recommend a Tuppence and Crumble Star Wrap - we were given one and it was easily the best and most useful gift we received. It can be kept on in the car seat (probably for shorter journeys mostly) and I layered it with blankets in the pram. We got the smaller size (0-4 months) and it lasted beyond that age for our larger-than-average baby. It is now my go-to baby gift!

I lost newborn size star wrap. Was gutted about it and had to wait for the following winter for DC2 to go into DC1's old bigger one.

They are brilliant and can go in a sling with it on too.

I didn’t use a snowsuit either. As pp said, you can’t use them in the car and they’re a faff to take on and off in a cafe etc. Mine just wore a vest with jumper, trousers/dungarees and a warm jacket and hat. Not all socks slip off, I found the H&M knee length socks stayed on and kept legs warm too.

The most useful thing was a pushchair muff. Basically a sleeping bag that zips onto the pushchair. You can put arms inside so you don’t need to worry about gloves. And blankets for the car. I also had a little fleecy dressing gown to put on over a babygrow in the house.

My dd was about the same age last year in October and I bought a couple of chunky knit cardigans to go over her clothes and covered her in blankets when out in the pram. I also had a kind of soft coat that I bought from asda. Bit warmer than a cardio but not as thick as a proper coat. Definitely need a hat. Other than that same as other pps have said, short and long sleeved vests, baby grows etc

Thanks so much, everyone. Really helpful tips and discussion. Have ordered the star wrap already so I don't forget. Sounds brilliant!

Really silly q - what kinds of hats would work best on a 3-6 month old? Something that also covers the neck? Or something that at least isn't easy to remove and throw overboard when in the pram?

Thank you again 😊

I had two winter babies (January). Loved snowsuits but I don't drive so was walking with the pram a lot!

In the car we used tuppence and crumble star wraps! Amazing! Google them!

Pram suits were fab too as more like thicker onesies so could be worn in the car!

I love pramsuits, have used them with all of mine though we do tend to go for long walks. Just a vest and sleepsuit underneath.

Op a regular wooly hat is fine, preferably with the bits that go down over the ears to keep them toasty

Actually I think it was a mix of snowsuits and pramsuits I used.