How to dress my baby

[Athrawes]

May sound odd but...

Only 14 weeks but we livein a really cold house and it will be depths of winter (in New Zealand) when the baby arrives and I am concerned about how to dress him/her. Don't want to overheat him but the rule of one layer more than I wear doesn't seem feasible - we have an electric blanket, flannel sheets top and bottom, fleece blanket and a winter weight duvet! Surely the baby should at least wear a hat?

The room is about 12 degrees on average.

Is there a thread/advice on how to dress newborns?

Thanks

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I would use a hat but reading your thread are you planning on having baby sleeping in your bed? Not sure about electric blankets & babies to be honest

They really do need to be dressed similarly to an adult, apparently. Not style wise, unless you go in for babygrows, but layerwise. So I guess if you turn off the electric blankiet and keep yourself warm with clothes and bedding alone that will give you a guide. I've never been in a really cold climate with a tiny baby though so definitely not an expert! Perhaps you could ask your midwife/health visitor (sorry am not sure what the support set up is in New Zealand) or some other local parents for advice?

you mustn't use a hat indoors

use layers of blankets so you can take them on and off

no to an electric blanket for a baby - they can over heat very easily (which is why no hats)

Could you get a small thermostatically controlled heater for use in the bedroom only, to get just that room up to 16 degrees C?

At 16 degrees C Grobag recommend 2.5 tog Grobag plus long-sleeved bodysuit and full-length sleepsuit.

Babies shouldn't wear hats indoors and certainly not to bed; they are a risk factor in SIDS.

We spent a year in NZ with our babies and shipped over grobags from the UK. We kept the room warm by using little oil heaters which were supplied with the house we rented and seemed to be fairly common over there. The house didn't have central heating which is fairly usual for NZ isn't it - just a woodburner and two oil heaters.

If you get a baby monitor with a room thermometer it will tell you how warm the room is. I think giving the baby's room a heater is probably the easiest way of keeping it warm.

Good luck!

We have just spent the holiday in the UK and did send over grobags for 0-6 months. I guess I will have to get relatives to send more when it outgrows them.

I will just have to heat the room with a bar heater (and heat the planet too - New Zealanders suffer from a collective delusion that this is a warm country and see no need for insulation or double glazing...)

The next big question is pram vs pushchair vs sling. Are there any pushchairs suitable for use from birth?

Thanks

I do remember being freeeeeezing in NZ in winter with no heating!!

I'd also get family to ship over vests with poppers under the crotch - these are great as an extra layer and for keeping the nappy in place - but I found it very hard to source nice ones in NZ.