Clothes for winter born baby

[Princey675]

Would I be right in dressing baby in winter in a short sleeve vest, body suit then a pram suit for when out in the Pram, and inside a vest body suit and cardigan is this too little or too much? Help please

It depends on what the day is like and what the baby is like! My DD ran really hot. That sounds about right. Possibly a long sleeved vest rather than short sleeved when out. But see how you go, check the temperature on their chest.

One piece of advice I have heard a lot is one more layer that what you feel comfortable/warm in as a rule of thumb.

DS was born in January. He wore a short sleeved vest and babygro indoors and if we went out I'd add a cardigan and hat, then a blanket on top. Don't really understand the point of pramsuits - you can't wear them in a car seat and if you go indoors to a shop/cafe/your house you have to take the baby out so they don't overheat. With a blanket you can just take it off without waking them!

Oh and you check their temperature on their back/chest. Should be warm but not sweaty. Hands and face are fine to be cold.

I was told one layer more than you're wearing but no more than four, including blankets.

Winter is much colder here (was -20 when DD was born and this one is due around the same time) and I dressed DD in a short sleeve vest, sleep suit, balaclava or hat depending on how cold, pram suit or snowsuit (depending if it was actually snowing or not), socks, soft insulated booties and mittens (hands and feet get cold quicker so you especially want to make sure they are warm) for outside.
Inside a sleep suit or long sleeve vest and leggings but we keep our houses warm here.

DS was born on New Years Eve last year and we just used to dress him in a vest and sleepsuit indoors and the same with a hat, mitts and a thick blanket when we went out. He's always run hot and inside the bassinet on his pram it was like a little oven!
All of our friends used pramsuits but they had to constantly take them on and off whenever we went anywhere, they were always worried about babies overheating and they ended waking their sleeping babies quite often just to undress them so they always seemed too faffy for me!

I always just unzipped the pram suit and gently lifted DD's arms out if she was asleep.

Would Pram suit be suitable for long walks? Would it be ok to go for long walk with newborn?

If it's very cold and you won't be going into shops on the walk then yes.

Of course you can go for a long walk with a newborn. A pram suit would be fine but I found blankets easier, mainly because he'd always fall asleep in the pram so when we got home I'd wheel him inside, take the blankets off and have a peaceful cuppa whilst he slept! I took him out when it was snowing and he was fine under a couple of blankets with a woolly hat on.

Didn't realise you'd asked if it's ok to go for long walks with a newborn, as above yes of course! Fresh air is great for them.

Long walks in cold air make them nap really well, that's why we put them outside to nap over here so def take baby for long walks tucked up warm.

Does this change at all if baby is in a sling? Does your body heat count for anything? Also if on a walk in a sling but not going into shops etc would a pramsuit then be too hot?

You shouldn't use a pram suit with a sling, the baby would overheat. The only time I'd use one with a carrier is in extremely cold weather when using one of the backpack type carriers where they aren't in contact with you.

I used a stretchy wrap when DS was little. In January/February he'd be in a vest and babygrow plus hat and little booties. Remember that the wrap adds an extra couple of layers plus you share your body heat.

Still struggling to come up with a use for a pramsuit in the UK!

You could get a tuppence & crumble star wrap instead of a pram suit, easier to get them out of. Or yes, blankets. I've also got a Morrck baby wrap for the car seat. Not getting a pramsuit but maybe someone will buy us one. Loads of knitted cardis! :) So gorgeous.

Also t7c star wrap is thinner than a pram suit so good for use in the carrier if you're going on walks.

*t&c

Two winter babies here.

In the house they wore a babygrow, vest and maybe a cardigan too (our house isn't that warm).

To go out they would definitely wear a cardigan, and on top of that a fleecy wrap - I had one of the tuppence and crumble ones mentioned above, which is gorgeous, and a bug in a rug wrap. I would pop the baby in the pram carrycot with another blanket on top, a little hat, and that was fine on the coldest day.

Dc2 was a pram refuser and almost always went out in a sling. He would just wear a babygrow and vest and thin fleece or cardigan, then he would go in the sling and under my coat. I'd pop a hat on and some thick socks or booties for his feet.

I agree that pramsuits are actually pretty impractical as they are difficult to remove without waking the baby, and they are too hot if you are going into shops or the car.

Please don't think I'm being patronising but no one ever explained this to me until I had mine. With regards to the car seat, your baby should only be wearing indoor clothes, so no cardigans, coats or pramsuits. As well as being a risk for overheating it's really unsafe as you can't tighten the straps enough to stop baby being ejected from between them.

I was always amazed at the number of babies being brought into baby groups asleep in their car suits with a pramsuit or coat on. A blanket over the top is safer.

Thanks everyone. I got a couple of pram suits, seems they are only good for long winter walks to no where! I need to get some more cardigan things but its reassuring to know she should be ok at home with a vest and a baby grow.