How much winter wear is needed?

ChristmasCookie · August 2017

Maybe this is a dumb question...

Do you put a newborn in a big puffy winter coat? I'm assuming it will be pretty cold here when baby comes. It seems odd to put a newborn in something bulky... like will the coat/suit bunch up by baby's face? But at the same time, obviously I need to bundle baby up. Feel free to mock this strange question. I'm a FTM and don't know anything.

Melissa9481 · August 2017

We just layered dd in a few things (onsie/shirt/sweater/pants, socks), used a blanket and car seat cover. You aren't supposed to put a bulky coat on in the seat. But! Before she was born I freaked out and bought a snowsuit because I too panicked. She never wore the darn thing.

babymakes9 · August 2017

You can get baby a cozy fleece snowsuit, and a fleece blanket cover for the infant carseat that is a blanket that fits perfectly. And lots of blankets. The carseat cover is especially good because you don't want to put baby in a carseat with a thick snowsuit on because of there is an accident they will fly out. Wal-Mart and babies r us always had good options in the past, they'll start breaking them out In a month or so.

atalante · August 2017

FTM here too who thinks this is a good question.

ashhsa · August 2017

I just used a blanket with dd, keeping in mind not too rug them up in too much stuff that's not easy to take off as they overheat easy and once you go back inside everything is so heated. Blankets are also good if you have a power spewer like I did and baby wipes simply don't cut it!! (It always happens at the most inappropriate time!) So I alway brought a few just incase! Lmao!

Aeml1985 · August 2017

No coats or snow suits in the car seat! And no after market (as in didn't come with the car seat) insert/blanket things
put baby in a long sleeve/warm pants, strap in then layer blankets on top. I live in Canada so it will 100% be cold when LO arrives

jessilee15 · August 2017

They do make car seat covers as well - they're pretty awesome for super cold places (from MI)

marissajc · August 2017

Melissa9481 said:

We just layered dd in a few things (onsie/shirt/sweater/pants, socks), used a blanket and car seat cover. You aren't supposed to put a bulky coat on in the seat.

Yup! We did the same thing with DD (she was also a Feb baby). It gets pretty cold in MI but we only had baby out to get to/from the car. Thank goodness for those car seat covers!

sabriel1 · August 2017

They make light fleece sits for the winter that are thin enough for a car seat. I always just put my kids in layers with a blanket ticked around them after they were buckled in.

If you purchase a car seat cover make sure you pick one like a car seat canopy or a shower cap style. Absolutely do not get one that the straps go through. You can't have anything between the baby and the back of the seat

the_other_mother · August 2017

Hold up in your house and don't leave. Lol jk. Sort of. Last year I bought some fleece snow suits front old Navy at the end of the season for like 0.97 cents. I just grabbed a few and figured if they don't fit any of my kids in season I didn't waste much. So hopefully those work! Lol. Last year DD was a bit older but I just piled blankets on over top of all the straps with regular clothes on her.

meatballs37 · August 2017

We just dressed DD in a fleece sleeper, tucked her in a blanket, and used the above car seat cover. Definitely busting it out for baby number 2...and will purchase another for 3.

msunshine123 · August 2017

Ditto on the skip hop cover - we used ours with DD and will for this LO. I'd echo the PPs who said do not use a jacket or snowsuit with the car seat - putting that much layering on your LO places them at risk of not staying in the car seat during an accident.

JandJ62914 · August 2017

DD was a January baby and we live in the
North East so we have cold, snowy winters. We had success with the skip hop cover too. Also HATS. You'll want a few warm winter hats.

Eta- typo

TattoosandLace · August 2017

I love that your name is ChristmasCookie and you started a winter thread.

I would put newborn in long sleeve, long pants, and then blankets tucked in around baby in car seat. Maybe a hat also. Please don't put aftermarket products on car* seats.

ladybug0088 · August 2017

We definitely plan on hibernating inside for awhile. With my DD I had 3 newborn outfits that she wore on repeat for the first few weeks. I loved having some more fitted clothes to show off her tiny size and now swim on her body. I'll probably get a few new ones that are knit or warmer for this little one.

mpp06 · August 2017

You'll be amazed how warm they stay with a long sleeved onesie and a blanket and then a cover for carseat. A flannel onesie would be good too for when it's really cold. You'll be able to tell though. My last baby would get SO hot! Poor guy would sweat, it was crazy. To this day he is like that and is so peaceful when cool. Lol! Also the little beanies help since they lose a lot of heat out of their noggin.

Starynightsky24 · August 2017

LO has to come with me to take DS to school and to all those early baby well visits. Otherwise we will be staying home! I'm thinking fleece sleepers, a hat, and a blanket will be plenty. Thankfully it usually warms up mid march. So I it won't be long LO will need to be so bundled.

lainikins · August 2017

I am going to get a little snow suit thing because I will have to take the baby to the bus stop every morning and afternoon. For the car seat, I am planning on doing sleep and plays and a warm blanket.

GoogleMD · August 2017

I could potientially seengetting one of you have to do a lot of walking or public transit. As others have said though you cannot use a snow suit or coat with a car seat, and they can actually start to over heat once you are in the warm car.
With my November baby we did a sleeper, cotton blanket and thicker blanket, hat, and the little shower cap looking cover over the car seat. Once in the car I opened the car seat cover, and removed the thick blanket.

sgio7485 · August 2017

My January LO used to roast in his car seat. I over bundled him! I would just do layers- onesie, long sleeves and pants, socks and a warm hat- and then one of the car seat covers @meatballs37 posted- kept him plenty warm. I'll likely do the same this time. We did have a fleece snowsuit and a jacket someone bought us that we literally never used. He didn't need a jacket until the following winter when he was close to a year old, but never in the car seat!

karcerplus3 · August 2017

Both my kids were December so BTDT. Don't overachieve on the layers. Put them in what is comfortable in the house, then when going outside use blankets and a hat to cover up. On blanket the baby and one over the seat to protect from the cold air. The infant seats are hot so too much and the baby will be sweating. If you're just carrying them outside I'd recommend a fleece onesie type thing and a blanket over them and your shoulder. You don't need a bulky coat.

lainikins · August 2017

karcerplus3 said:

Both my kids were December so BTDT. Don't overachieve on the layers. Put them in what is comfortable in the house, then when going outside use blankets and a hat to cover up. On blanket the baby and one over the seat to protect from the cold air. The infant seats are hot so too much and the baby will be sweating. If you're just carrying them outside I'd recommend a fleece onesie type thing and a blanket over them and your shoulder. You don't need a bulky coat.

Out of curiosity, what geographical area are you located in? I feel like fleece onesie and a blanket would not be enough for carrying outside (unless of course it was directly to the car or back inside some place). I have never had a winter baby though. Mine was July. I am in New England, so it can be brutal in February here.

sabriel1 · August 2017

lainikins said:

karcerplus3 said:

Both my kids were December so BTDT. Don't overachieve on the layers. Put them in what is comfortable in the house, then when going outside use blankets and a hat to cover up. On blanket the baby and one over the seat to protect from the cold air. The infant seats are hot so too much and the baby will be sweating. If you're just carrying them outside I'd recommend a fleece onesie type thing and a blanket over them and your shoulder. You don't need a bulky coat.

Out of curiosity, what geographical area are you located in? I feel like fleece onesie and a blanket would not be enough for carrying outside (unless of course it was directly to the car or back inside some place). I have never had a winter baby though. Mine was July. I am in New England, so it can be brutal in February here.

I am in Eastern Canada, North of you, and I can attest that that is enough for sure. With a hat too of course

lainikins · August 2017

sabriel1 said:

lainikins said:

karcerplus3 said:

Both my kids were December so BTDT. Don't overachieve on the layers. Put them in what is comfortable in the house, then when going outside use blankets and a hat to cover up. On blanket the baby and one over the seat to protect from the cold air. The infant seats are hot so too much and the baby will be sweating. If you're just carrying them outside I'd recommend a fleece onesie type thing and a blanket over them and your shoulder. You don't need a bulky coat.

Out of curiosity, what geographical area are you located in? I feel like fleece onesie and a blanket would not be enough for carrying outside (unless of course it was directly to the car or back inside some place). I have never had a winter baby though. Mine was July. I am in New England, so it can be brutal in February here.

I am in Eastern Canada, North of you, and I can attest that that is enough for sure. With a hat too of course

Good to hear. That is why I was curious. I have to walk my kindergartener to the bus stop each day, starting as soon as I am home. I wanted to have a plan for that. Thanks.

masopust · August 2017

FTM due end of February, I have heard good things about just getting the convertible car seats like the Britax Boulevard but now I see all the discussion on keeping baby warm I'm considering an infant carrier at least until summer. What do you guys think?

magnolia305 · August 2017

masopust said:

FTM due end of February, I have heard good things about just getting the convertible car seats like the Britax Boulevard but now I see all the discussion on keeping baby warm I'm considering an infant carrier at least until summer. What do you guys think?

For me, I preferred the carrier bc it was convenient. DS was born at the end of October, so it was nice bc it kept him warm. We were on the go a lot, dinner, shopping, visiting friends--so it was nice to carry that everywhere and DS could sleep in it (at a restaurant or shopping).

meatballs37 · August 2017

masopust said:

FTM due end of February, I have heard good things about just getting the convertible car seats like the Britax Boulevard but now I see all the discussion on keeping baby warm I'm considering an infant carrier at least until summer. What do you guys think?

I prefer the infant carrier for at least the very first 6 months. Mostly because it is so handy to click it into a stroller and run errands without waking them up. They sleep a lot during those first few months. I would personally fork out the extra money to get one. I can't remember the lower end of the weight limit for our convertible seat for DD. But also, if your baby is born early or happens to be a peanut, the infant seats generally go down to a lower weight limit to start off with.

lainikins · August 2017

masopust said:

FTM due end of February, I have heard good things about just getting the convertible car seats like the Britax Boulevard but now I see all the discussion on keeping baby warm I'm considering an infant carrier at least until summer. What do you guys think?

I see both sides to this. For my son, I wish I skipped the carrier. It was heavy and we lived on a 3rd floor walk up at the time. Plus my kid never slept and he hated the carrier. We switched out of the carrier into a convertible within a few months. We have since moved and I am going to try the infant carrier again (a new one, the old one has since expired) because it has the potential of being so convenient. Hopefully it goes much smoother having a door directly to my garage and not needing to climb 3 flights of stairs with the carrier and anything else I needed to bring up stairs. My son was a summer baby, so having it for warmth was not really an issue in the beginning. Come the winter time, he was fine with blankets over the convertible car seat. I think either way you go, it is workable. Having a convertible car seat was never an issue for us. I do not think I ever woke home up transferring him to a stroller. The minimum weight on the one we got was 5lbs, so most newborns should fit without issue.

winnie1122 · August 2017

I definitely liked having the carrier for the first six months, but DS was a gem in the car seat so of course that helped. It was nice to have a safe place to set him when we had him out and about, and he slept through errands nicely. Also I liked having the car seat cover to keep strangers hands out and the sun off his face (July baby). We got his convertible seat around six months and I liked it better once he was bigger since I couldn't carry him anymore, but DH still uses the carrier sometimes and DS is 13 months (still within the weight limit of the seat). Another plus of the infant seat was that the grandmas could get extra bases to have in their cars and it made it easy to click him into whoever's car.

magnolia305 · August 2017

@winnie1122 Yesssss about the extra bases. I had one, DH had one, and my mom (who watched DS a few days a week) had one. So nice not to have to worry about moving carseats around!

sabriel1 · August 2017

winnie1122 said:

I definitely liked having the carrier for the first six months, but DS was a gem in the car seat so of course that helped. It was nice to have a safe place to set him when we had him out and about, and he slept through errands nicely. Also I liked having the car seat cover to keep strangers hands out and the sun off his face (July baby). We got his convertible seat around six months and I liked it better once he was bigger since I couldn't carry him anymore, but DH still uses the carrier sometimes and DS is 13 months (still within the weight limit of the seat). Another plus of the infant seat was that the grandmas could get extra bases to have in their cars and it made it easy to click him into whoever's car.

Be sure you check the length of your baby as well. Baby's pretty much always outgrow thier seat in length before weight and people don't realize because they are just focused on weight. DS2 was very petite and his car seat straps were not even at the top slots and he has outgrown in length. I believe some of the standard seats only go to 29.5 inches.

I'm sure you have this under control. Just wanted to mention since I was shocked that he has outgrown the seat where the straps weren't even in the highest position

winnie1122 · August 2017

@sabriel1 True, DS isn't super long so he's still in the range but I am always feeling like he'll outgrow it any time! Definitely a good point though, some babies will outgrow it much sooner than others!

lucylou214 · August 2017

This is such a helpful thread! I live in the northeast, where it will be cold until mid-April or so, so being prepared for a couple of months of cold weather is important. Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences and suggestions!

diesel11111 · August 2017

I had 3 bulky snow suits for my first.. He went in one of them once for 5 minutes - just long enough for me to take him out in the snow and snap a pic lol.

They can't be in bulky jackets in the car seat anyways so we just always dressed him normal and layered blankets over him. We also had a shower cap style cover for the infant carrier that worked great.

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