New mum - dressing my newborn

[Kristie25]

I’m ever so anxious as I read a lot into safety and I hear a lot of sad stories about babies overheating etc.
my newborn is 12 days old today and I sought advice from few midwives but all advice varied.
Essentially I’m trying to figure out how to dress baby for the night and for outings.
Our room temperature is roughly 21-22 degrees. We keep it so as our windows are not the best and the bedroom can loose a degree or two quite quickly at night.
So far I’ve had baby in a short sleeve and legless bodysuit coupled with a regular sleepsuit. I also cover her with a thin cellular blanket (tucked in at both sides). Am I over doing it? Is she too warm or too cold?
What can I dress her in if I want to take her for a walk in this weather?
I just want to get things right, I looked up this information and various photo guides show different guides. Really not sure if I’m doing too much or too little.. any help or advice would be welcome. Oh and any advice for a newborn mama would also be greatly appreciated as I am definitely stressing about everything! Tia

As a guide go one layer more than you wear. So body, sleepsuit, cardigan and snowsuit/coat/hat for going out in cold. Add a blanket which you can take off as required.

My midwife taught me to feel the baby's chest or back by putting two fingers down their collar. If they are sweaty, they are too hot and you should remove a layer. If they feel cool then they are too cold and you should add a layer. They will normally feel warm or hot to touch.

This has served me well in all situations and I never feel like I don't know how to dress my babies, I just check them and adjust according to that :)

Hopefully the full pic loads.

Outside, an extra layer to you.

I struggled with this so much because there's so much mixed information.. I still do in all fairness but I worry less now DD is more sturdy

NHS says a babies temp should sit at around 36.4c have you got an under the arm thermometer?

As a precious poster said, using your fingers and touching baby's back and chest can help

Don't forget as well it's normal for temp to drop a little when sleeping

Sorry that was meant to say "previous poster" not precious 🤦🏻‍♀️

This is a guide for bed if you're not sure.

images.app.goo.gl/VHs9SQRV8cZ6e7At9

I received one piece of advice from a really experienced midwife which stuck with me and kind of made me a bit more relaxed about the whole temperature thing (as relaxed as you can be with a new born anyway). She said that the baby will wake up if they’re too cold, whereas they could be in danger if they are too hot, so if in doubt, underdress rather than overdress. You can always add another layer on if they get chilly.

“ short sleeve and legless bodysuit”…..a vest.
For a walk I would do vest, tights, dress, cardigan, hat, gloves, blanket. I live in Scotland so actually maybe a jacket and a cellular blanket.

Hi OP

I am not an expert but a short sleeved bodysuit and sleepsuit is what my baby wears to bed, and also in the day! When we go for a walk I put a jumper on top, a pramsuit and a hat. Our pramsuit doesn’t have feet so socks too, if it did I would probably leave the socks. Then a blanket over their lap in the pram.

Is there anything else you’re worrying about? You can spend a lot of time googling but your own instincts are probably right most of the time!

Hi Op. if you are very worried about the nights you might consider getting hold of a grobag. You don't need the gro egg if you already have a thermometer in the room. But the gro bag system tells you which tog bag to use at which room temp and what to put on your baby in terms of a vest etc (long sleeved or short sleeved etc). I found it quite reassuring xx

www.tommeetippee.com/en-gb/product-support/support-grobag

@oliveroses

Hi Op. if you are very worried about the nights you might consider getting hold of a grobag. You don't need the gro egg if you already have a thermometer in the room. But the gro bag system tells you which tog bag to use at which room temp and what to put on your baby in terms of a vest etc (long sleeved or short sleeved etc). I found it quite reassuring xx

www.tommeetippee.com/en-gb/product-support/support-grobag

Totally agree with this. I had a summer gro bag and winter one. The chart that comes with them put my mind at ease so much

That is very warm room at night. Lullaby trust recommends 16-20 degrees.

She sounds fine in what she's in. To check her temperature feel her chest or back, hands and feet can often feel cold when they are so small.

When you go out use layers that can easily be removed. Remember to take blanket off if going from cold outside to a warm shop.

Hats are generally only for outdoors.

Cold babies tend to cry so will let you know. Hot babies go red and sweaty.

If you are unsure check how warm she is on the back of her neck. Babies get cold hands quickly but if her body is warm then theres no need for extra layers. People tend to keep babies too warm.

My bedroom sits at 21 constantly. When my
Little guy was a newborn we done vest, baby grow, and a growbag of 1 tog. He's stayed in that 1 tog bag all winter too as our room doesn't drop. We had him in the middle of some really hot weather and I also used to panic about him being too hot!we ended up turning off the grow egg as we were getting so stressed with it not being exact. We used our common sense to judge what he needed.

My baby wears a vest, a baby grow, one of those sleeping bags and a cellular blanket for bed. Like you, my bedroom can cool drastically.

Just feel the babies temperature when yo for feeds etc and you'll know if they are OK.

During the day (in the house) she wears e.g. a vest, babygrow and knitted cardigan and when we go out she either had a coat or pram suit on top and always a hat, with a thick wooly blanket In the pram.

If I use the sling, I'll either just add a little coat and hat or just a hat to her outfit depending on temperature as I have a maternity coat that we can both fit inside. When shes too big, I imagine I'll use a pram suit in the sling.

Shes 11 weeks old tomorrow so I'm also figuring it all out.

Like a couple of other people have said I found a sleeping bag much easier. Room is usually 20C (drops to 19C overnight) - he has sleeveless vest, footless sleepsuit and 1.5tog bag. That's a layer more than the label says but it's what he's comfy in. We started with what the label said and he felt a little chilly in the morning so added a layer the next night. His arms always get cold if not covered as well so always give long sleeves unless summer.

I do remember it being a minefield and being completely clueless. But it gets easier and you get to know your baby. Use layers so you can adjust easily and look out for them going red in the face. Whip off a layer and see what happens! They get better at regulating their temperature pretty quickly.