Winter gear for babies

ball.and.chain · October 2014

I'm kind of confused about what kind of winter gear I need for B. I was told he can't wear a puffy coat in his carseat because it can compress in an accident and then his harness wouldn't be snug enough. I was also told to put him in one layer of clothing in the carseat. I find it difficult to understand how this works in wintertime. Do I dress him up in warm clothes, undress him (partially obviously) in the car and suit him back up before he goes out? Daycare is a 5 minute drive and that seems like a PIA. I want him to be safe, but we live in Massachusetts and they are predicting a cold winter. I know we have @JGY in Minnesota and some New Englanders at least so we should have some practical cold weather baby wisdom!

I found some infant car seat covers that are supposed to take the place of jackets when they are in the seats. I am thinking about buying this one but I'm not sure if it's really that warm. Has anyone used anything like this?

Does he need a snowsuit? It seems like if I just put him in a coat/jacket his legs will be cold. I just found an adorable snowsuit from mini Boden (one of my favorite out-of-budget baby lines) for $48 at a consignment store. I bought it and am trying to decide whether to keep or return. New, it goes for $68 and the other infant snowsuits I've since seen online are at least $50 if not close to $100, so the price seems OK (it's pretty lightly-used), but if he's not really going to wear it, I'm not sure if it's worth it. If I use a car seat cover in the car, when would I need a snowsuit? Am I really going to take him out for walks in cold weather?

We do have a few warm winter hats -- that part was easy!

TIA friends!

KH826 · October 2014

Ok, so I have nooooo answers, but ALL of the same questions!

J and I were literally just talking about this in the car tonight.

Another question - what about size of coats and/or snowsuits? Should I go up a size? What are the odds that something I put him in in nov or dec will still fit in Feb? My big guy is already in 6 month clothes. Should I buy a 12 month jacket/snowsuit?

ball.and.chain · October 2014

KH826 said:

Another question - what about size of coats and/or snowsuits? Should I go up a size? What are the odds that something I put him in in nov or dec will still fit in Feb? My big guy is already in 6 month clothes. Should I buy a 12 month jacket/snowsuit?

Not speaking from a lot of experience here, but I will say that the snowsuits I was looking at in the consignment store (there were 3) all looked bigger than the size that was indicated. Like the 0-3 snowsuits looked like they should be 3-6. I bought the 3-6 for him even though it looked huge, figuring bigger was better, especially since it has to fit over his other clothes (he is just transitioning out of his 0-3 clothes now). And when I was later looking at snowsuits online, one of them said it was "sized generously" and you should order a size down. So I wonder if they make them big on purpose? I am hoping this will last him through the winter, even though he will be 6 months by the New Year.

herbunmyoven · October 2014

We are also in MA and last year we used this (JJ Cole BundleMe). It worked perfectly. It is like a sleeping bag for the car set. The bottom piece stays attached to the carseat, the baby sits on top of it and the top piece zips up around them. We opted to go with a version that was a little more open (not the kind with just a head hole) because we wanted him to have the freedom to move around.

We dressed him in normal indoor clothes like thermal shirts or sweaters and he would snuggle up in the BundleMe thing. He loved it and it was super easy for us. I have NO IDEA what we are going to do this year now that we are in the big seat.

@KH826 M was also born in June and we didn't bother with a snowsuit last year. He had no interest in the snow at all. We ended up with a few hand-me-down jackets in various sizes and honestly we rarely ever used them. We just didn't spend time outside with him last year. If you do get something, 12 month will probably be huge now and fit well at the end of the winter, but I wouldn't invest too much.

This year we bought him a 2T winter jacket and a bunch of 18 month fall jackets/winter hoodies. The 2T looks like it will fit him next year as well.

ball.and.chain · October 2014

@herbunmyoven - they make a BundleMe for toddlers. They show it on a stroller but it says it works with carseats too -- check it out!
https://www.amazon.com/JJ-Cole-Bundleme-Stealth-Toddler/dp/B000G7YO7M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413079167&sr=8-1&keywords=JJ+Cole+Urban+Bundle+Me+toddler

herbunmyoven · October 2014

@ball.and.chain Thanks for the tip! We will have to look into it. It woun't be a easy as just getting the car seat loaded inside and bringing it with us where ever we go though

mrl02 · October 2014

I would go with the car seat cover you were originally looking at. Car seat techs basically tell you not to use the bundle me's since they also go under. The general rule is you want nothing that interferes with the straps. Here's a good article:

https://csftl.org/hello-winter-good-bye-coats/

As for a snowsuit, I think you only need those if you do imagine taking many walks outside. We had one and did use it, but really only in that scenario.

ball.and.chain · October 2014

Thank you all -- this is really helpful! I think I'm going to order the car seat cover and get a fleece bunting, but may think about returning the snowsuit. I'm not sure how much we'll be outside with him, but I'm going to ask daycare if they ever take the kids out in the winter.

2brides · October 2014

We swore by the LL fleece one piece buntings. You can find them on Ebay really cheap and in great condition since kids don't wear them too long. They were thin enough for the carseat, but warm enough for our winters (not as cold as Boston, but cold.), and east on/off.

ie. https://www.ebay.com/itm/L-L-BEAN-BABY-SNOWSUIT-BUNTING-ONE-PIECE-FULL-ZIP-6-12-MONTH-PRE-OWNED-EUC-/301351734705?pt=US_Baby_Toddler_Boys_Clothes&hash=item4629f68db1

JGY · October 2014

Wow, sorry I'm late to this. As PP mentioned, we got a fleece one-piece that had flip over covers for hands and feet. We also had car seat cover, but not the bundle-me kind. In addition, on really cold days, we'd throw a blanket over him (over the harness, and under the cover).

We did have a snowsuit for him that I bought used. The only time we really used it was when we were in NYC over X-mas and out in the stroller a lot. I don't think we pulled it out one time at home in MN. This year, on the other hand, we will HAVE to go outside or I will lose my mind. So I see a toddler snowsuit as a necessity.

mrs&mrsk · October 2014

Baby R is due in Februrary, so we will probably need this only for a month, but we are getting the infant car seat cover that goes only over the car seat and something like the fleece bunting one piece. getting = registered and/or will buy.

JGY · October 2014

FTR, G was born in March, and this is just like what he came home in (with just a onesie on underneath). Except the one he had was a beautiful blue and dark gray. Still, $15 is a steal!

https://www.carters.com/carters-baby-boy-flash-sale-jackets-and-outerwear/V_127-911.html?dwvar_V__127-911_size=3M&dwvar_V__127-911_color=Color#start=1&cgid=carters-baby-boy-flash-sale

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