Keeping baby in the shade

[Bab123y]

So, I've probably got waaaaaay over anxious about this.

Baby is 3 months old and with all the heatwaves and beautiful sunny days I've found it quite stressful as I'm always worried about there being enough shade.

Do you take this advice with a pinch of salt and let your baby in the sun for a short while, say 10/15 mins for a walk round the block in a sling etc or do you go out of your way to always keep your them in the shade?

Really rough and ready pic of what I used to do with the muslin - red is the muslin, blue arrows are where air was getting in and out

@WeatherwaxLives thanks. The hood of our pram does this. I think most prams do which so many mums don't realise. When you press either side to lower it you can also pull it the other way so it's directly above baby but still let's air in.

My parents, specifically not so DM tells me I'm silly to worry so much

And to the daft poster who said no wonder kids have a lack of vitamin D.... It's only important to be this anti sun before 6 months because of the lack of pigment. I'd hate to permanently damage her skin /significantly increase her risk of skin cancer long term... I can't see how sun avoidance for the first 6m is going to be as detrimental as that!

As soon as she's 6m we'll be out rain or shine with buckets of suncream if needed.

@WeatherwaxLives

Really rough and ready pic of what I used to do with the muslin - red is the muslin, blue arrows are where air was getting in and out

Do not do this! Regardless of how much air you think your baby is getting - they are not.

We used suncream under 6 months. It’s 30+ most the summer here and baby born last May. Although I tried to avoid sun, sometimes he was in it ie in sling or pram or car and I would put a bit on his legs. Sometimes ie doctors appointments during peak heat it was unavoidable.

When I mentioned to paediatrician re suncream, they looked at me like I had 4 heads and said of course you use suncream at any age if you can’t avoid shade, and that it’s far preferable than baby burning.

I mean I wasn’t taking baby for long walks in the sun, I mean where you park the car and it’s 10 min walk to doctors and they are in sling as doctors upstairs without lift.

I aim for the shade where possible but put baby sunscreen on their feet in the pram from as it can be tricky to make sure a parasol is always in exactly the right position. The way I see it a small bit of baby sunscreen is unlikely to cause any problems but sunburn can happen quickly on baby skin and is really nasty. My first was a summer baby so I did this from pretty much newborn with her, and from about 4 months with my youngest as that’s when it started to get hot.

Whoops. I used suncream before 6 months. Doesn’t seem to have done my baby any harm!

Yanbu to be cautious about this though. Keep your baby out of direct sun between 11am and 3pm. It’s fine for her to be in the carrier, but if you don’t want to use suncream make sure she’s in long but lightweight sleeves and leggings / tights, and a hat that protects the back of her neck. If if she is breastfed she won’t need extra water, but if formula fed you may want to give her a little extra boiled, cooled water on extremely hot days.

If you’re in the garden lots (or want to be) I would get a little gazebo or one of those fishing hide tents, they’re dead useful.

I’ve got a SnoozeShade that I put over the pram whenever I take my 3 month old for a walk in the sun - it blocks the UV rays but still lets air in. It’s not recommended to use muslins for this purpose as they do not allow the air to circulate so baby can overheat.

I carry my 10 week old in a sling, I just adjust clothing layers accordingly. and on the pram I use a SnoozeShade, no sun cream as I feel they are too young for the chemicals in it.

5 minutes in the sun if not fierce hot or glaring bright - I wouldn't worry about even slightly.

I come from a family of red-heads living in a very sunny place so have a different perspective on what is too much sun. We got tonnes of sun safety lessons in schools, and will acknowledge many British are stunningly clueless about sun safety.

Happily let my babies hide under muslins too. They were fine.

Do not do this! Regardless of how much air you think your baby is getting - they are not.

I think you've misunderstood my diagram. And if you read my post above that you'll see I've said never to put a muslin or blanket fully over the pram.

I used to clip a muslin to the top of the sun shade, and clip it to the handle of the pram. It was effectively a flat 'roof' with nothing hanging down over the sides or over the handle. Literally as in the attached pic. All the gaps at the side in the pic, and from under the handle were completely unobstructed.

I try to keep my little one out of the sun as he has such sensitive skin - much like me! I use a giant muslin cloth to cover the pram and secure with beach clips lol. If the sun is burning my skin then I keep him covered at all times. If it’s just sunny but not too hot then I let him get some sunshine for a short while - he needs to get used to some of it. I use child’s farm sunscreen and hats too. Although I do worry with hats making his head too hot - guess it depends what kind of hat you have.

No, you're not overthinking. My second got sunburnt at 4 months old from sleeping in my parents' garden, in the shade, in early June. Few on MN will admit to having their kids burn in the sun, but I know anecdotally it's not that uncommon. DS had a red nose and red forearm (I was so glad I'd put a hat on him as he had no hair and I think a burnt scalp would've been quite serious). It didn't seem to bother him at all, but it took a good week for all the redness to fade. It looked like the kind of burn that would have completely disappeared on an adult overnight and I remember being shocked how long it took to go. I am even more careful now and he gets sun cream on his feet in the pushchair (he's 6+ months now) and anywhere that might get exposed for more than a couple of minutes. My dad also thinks I'm paranoid but 🤷‍♀️

We have a parasol for the pram which along with the hood keeps most the sun out. The sling is trickier and we don't use it much as we find it hot in Summer. When we do we've tried to keep a sun hat on the baby but it kept falling off! This is my second baby born in Spring.

I live in NYC, so it's really, really hot in the summer.

DS was a June baby, and we went out even say except the two days when the temperate was 40c. I dressed him in light layers and had him in the pram with the shade over him and generally kept out of direct sun. He was fine! If it was only in the 20s, I had him in his sling. We had a lightweight wrap one, so it wasn't too bulky and warm.

Personally when it's sunny I have her in the pushchair with a sun shade thing and generally try to go out in the mornings before sun is high. On cooler/cloudier days I'll so slightly

That should I'll do sling haha

As an earlier poster said, get a UV umbrella/parasol to carry when you're using the sling. I was so stressed about this too as my baby hated the pram, and I couldn't get a hat on her in the sling when she was little - the umbrella sorted the problem. And I put her in long sleeves and trousers, thin ones.

You're not being over anxious at all. My biggest fear was my baby becoming burnt from rays reflecting off other surfaces . And not all shade is equal, something may block light rays but not necessarily radiation.
It breaks my heart when I see parents pushing around even older children in prams with zero shade, hats, or consideration for their eye sight or comfort.