Does baby need a coat in addition to footmuff?

[almostautumn]

I've just bought one of those gorgeous Fellhof sheep's wool footmuffs secondhand. If I'm taking baby to the park, will they be warm enough in a vest, thick cardigan and hat plus the Fellhof - or should I add a winter coat as well? The Fellhof feels very warm and snug and comes right up to baby's neck. I don't want them to overheat but am worried that they'll be too cold too!

I'm in London and it's 4C here today.

Can anyone advise?

Yes otherwise her arms and shoulders will get cold.

Yes otherwise her arms and shoulders will get cold.

The footmuff comes up to her neck though when buttoned up - which is why I'm unsure!

No.
We have the same. It’s -5 today here. We use thick cardigan, buff style scarf, hat and mittens. Has warm booties on. Then the footmuff. I add a blanket inside to pull up around shoulders if needed.

We do have a fleecy all in one type coat and thick snowsuit but both too warm inside. We use the fleecy one if he’s going in and out the pram but otherwise no.

I’ve just looked these foot muffs up
They don’t come up to the neck they will end up under the armpits.
So yes you need a jacket or some sort of covering on and a hat still. The jacket doesn’t need to be a great big quilted one these aren’t great with buggy straps anyway. I would say a vest bodysuit, a long sleeved too, a thin warm cardigan and then another more substantial outer layer plus hat and mittens. The jacket could ideally be undone too or unzipped some of the way.

Remember a baby loses a lot of heat through their head and they are not mobile in a buggy.

They don’t come up to the neck they will end up under the armpits.

@MonaLisaPiles Actually they do come up to the neck on a baby - you can fold them down so they fit under the armpit (so you can see a trim of white sheep's wool - this is how they're shown in a lot of the photos on google) or you can fold them up so none of the white wool is visible and fasten them at neck level. That's correct isn't it @Caspianberg?

Remember a baby loses a lot of heat through their head

As stated in my OP I'm already planning to use a hat for this reason. It was whether to add a coat or not that I wasn't sure about!

I might go with Caspian's suggestion and get a scarf, that sounds like the ideal solution!

There's no way I'd be putting a scarf on a baby. What if they pull it tight around their neck?

General Rule is one more layer than you. So the footmuff is that layer. So a coat or a blanket under the footmuff.
Baby is just sedentary in the pram not moving around like us so needs to be cosy

@almostautumn
Don’t put a scarf on a baby!

And what @umberellaonesie wrote

Scarfs are perfectly fine for a baby. Don’t be so dramatic. If you see what I wrote above you will see I said ‘buff type’ scarf.

We have these ones. They are merino wool but thin so not bulky.
m.alexandalexa.com/en/search/searchbytext?key=Kuling%20neck%20warmer

And yes, the footmuff will go up high to face if fully open. Ours has toggles on the side and is folded down right now as all the way open it is too much in ds face. He’s only 7 months though, folded down it goes down to just below his shoulders, so his arms and hands are inside.
I guess next winter we will use fully up.

Like I said I just add a thick blanket inside and pull that up around shoulders if it still feels cold.

It really has been worth it for us even at full price so you won’t regret it. He naps so well in the pram with it. And it’s so hot in supermarkets etc that when we go inside it’s easier to just open that then have him sweating in snowsuit and I do t put him in a coat in car so in and out there is handy.

@Caspianberg
A scarf is not suitable for a baby
They present a strangulation risk

I was expecting something like this.

What you've bought just looks like a normal sized footmuff. The folded part will fold up but doesn't look like it would stay up or come snug enough to keep the chill out.

Why are you so averse to a coat?

@MonaLisaPiles - please tell me how a baby can be strangled wearing the scarf I linked to above? Its designed for babies and goes through lots of testing to get rated as suitable for 0-12 months

[quote Caspianberg]@MonaLisaPiles - please tell me how a baby can be strangled wearing the scarf I linked to above? Its designed for babies and goes through lots of testing to get rated as suitable for 0-12 months[/quote]
Because what you linked isn't a scarf.

I would personally put a coat on baby and fold the footmuff down.

[quote Caspianberg]@MonaLisaPiles - please tell me how a baby can be strangled wearing the scarf I linked to above? Its designed for babies and goes through lots of testing to get rated as suitable for 0-12 months[/quote]
The products you have linked are not a scarf

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz - of course that’s a scarf. A scarf is any type of cloth that goes around your neck. Just because you might use long winding ones only, doesn’t mean a buff type isn’t a scarf. It’s sold everywhere where I live (alps), in the ‘scarf’ section of baby stores

[quote Caspianberg]@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz - of course that’s a scarf. A scarf is any type of cloth that goes around your neck. Just because you might use long winding ones only, doesn’t mean a buff type isn’t a scarf. It’s sold everywhere where I live (alps), in the ‘scarf’ section of baby stores[/quote]
I think you know most people think a scarf is something wound around the neck

Incidentally you don’t need to live in the alps to get those “niche “ products . I live in boring old northern England and have bought them. Not for a seven month old baby though I’ll be honest.

I’m assuming you wouldn’t actually wind a scarf around a baby’s neck though

They aren’t niche, they are everywhere. I just thought you hadn’t seen them maybe before in the uk they maybe didn’t sell them as frequent as you seemed to think I was suggesting a torture item of rather than a bog standard item.

Op - I would put whatever you feel happy with on your baby. But I will take my leave her as don’t wish to get into an argument about appropriate clothing, I was just trying to help.

We had a fellhoff foot muff. I put my dd in a coat or very thick lined jumper/cardi with it

@Caspianberg

That is definitely not a scarf.

More a snood

Coat because they stick their arms out then get cold

Not a thick coat btw, I liked the light Baby Uniqlo coats about they didn't make her arms stick out.

Yes that kind of thing is called a snood or muffler in UK English. But I get confused too as they are called scarfs in German as well and they are common here.

No op I don't think you'll need a coat, just a hat.

Why the aversion to coats? It's awful trying to stuff a tiny baby's arms into one. I hate them, especially snow suits. Never use them until they can at least sit up, preferably not until walking.

In cold weather yes you'll need a coat on the baby. Cool weather, a thick cardigan or pram suit.

We don't have the one you mention but our's supposedly goes over their shoulders too. DS will invariably wriggle free and get his arms out. I wouldn't worry about overheating. The baby is just sat still and will feel the cold more... we're also in London and DS went in the pram with the footmuff wearing a coat and hat today. I let him keep his arms out and didn't zip up fully. He was in there for an hour and didn't feel hot when I got him out.