Q&A: keeping a baby warm in the cold winter

MC writes:

"A semi-ridiculous question for you: How in the world does one keep a baby warm in the winter? I get that when we go outside for a walk we need to put our daughter, who's now five-and-a-half months old, in a snowsuit or some such thing once it gets really cold. In the meantime, we've been putting her in a sweater and a hat for the chilly Maine fall, and that seems to be working, although her hands and cheeks get quite cold. But I'm mainly wondering about keeping her warm inside the house. I tend to run cold, and I think she does, too; from November until March or so, I wear that silky long underwear pretty constantly. Is there a version of this for babies? If not, how do you keep their little legs warm? We can pile on the layers on top, but I have no idea how to keep her ankles and calves warm; they're already chilly and it's only October!

Other cold-weather related questions that make me wonder how humans have survived in the frigid north lo these many years:
~At what temperature should we keep the house? Last year we had the thermostat set to 65 when we were home and just piled on the sweaters and blankets. And it goes down to 57 at night. (We are cheap, and oil is expensive.) Is this too cold for the girl?
~What do we dress her in when we go out in the car when it's cold? I know she's not supposed to wear a coat when she's buckled into the carseat, so does that mean if we're out and about doing errands that we warm the car up, bundle her up, get in the car, take the coat off, put her in the seat, then put the coat back on before we get out of the car again?
~How much exposure to cold weather is ok for babies? If she could get up and run around I'd feel fine about taking long walks with her in the winter, but this year she is just going to sit in the stroller (we are having trouble transitioning to the front carry in our various slings...), which I would think means that we're going to end up with a baby popsicle before too long.

I feel like a complete moron for asking these questions, but in the hopes that I'm not the only moron out there thought I would run them by you."

I love winter, but it does present a whole new set of dressing questions for parents.

Bear in mind, please, that my answers are based on my experience living in NYC where it rarely gets below 25 degrees F (-4 degrees C), we have limited control over the heat in our apartment (it blasts all winter and the only way for us to control the temperature is to open or close our windows), and we don't have a car but use strollers or slings all the time. Those of you who live in cold houses, super-cold climates (MN, WI, the UP, ME, ND, SD, IL, and everyone in Canada except Vancouverites), and have cars are all specifically invited to comment on MC's questions.

Inside the house
You could do pants with feet on them, blanket sleepers, stretchy cotton sleepers with feet (sometimes called "sleep 'n' play"s so you won't think the baby can only be in them while asleep--Could we Americans be bigger idiots?). Or you could get those shoes/slippers that are like knit socks but with leather bottoms. I think if her feet are warm then her hands will be fine, and she's probably too old to accept having her hands covered, although for a tiny baby I'd use the cotton long-sleeved shirts with the cuffs that fold over to cover the baby's hands.

More suggestions than that, I do not have. Our problem has always been fighting the stifling heat from our landlord's overzealous cranking of the furnace. But I should be grateful because there are tons of people in this city whose landlords turn off the heat as much as they can.

Ideal house temperature
My dad is what some would term "frugal" with his money, so the thermostat in our house was always low while I was growing up. I was cold often as a kid, and all my dad said was "put on a sweater." Do you know what this does to a person? It turns her into the kind of adult who turns the thermostat down (if given the option) and tells the people living with her "put on a sweater."

What I'm trying to say is that she'll adjust to the temperature you have the thermostat on. Just make sure that you've got her layered up good. You do know the place to check a baby's body temperature is the back of the neck? (I'm mentioning this because I didn't actually know this until my second child--I'd been checking the hands. When I found out I felt like a cold-weather incompetent. But at least I can drive on ice.) If the back of the neck is warm, even if the hands are cold the baby is warm. If it's cold, she needs to be snuggled for a few minutes and another layer of clothes put on. If you're really worried about the cold, watch some soothing TV and snuggle under an afghan on the couch for awhile.

The general rule is that babies should have one more layer on than the adults in the same room do.

In the car
There are these cool down covers that you can pop over the carseat or zip up with the baby in them (there's a hole for the head to stick out). You put the baby in and zip it up in the house, then click the seat in and warm up the car, then take off the cover.

Of course you could get the same effect by putting a heavy folded blanket over her in the car seat to take her to the car. When the car is warm, take off the blanket.

Once she's old enough for the convertible carseat, you can dress her in a fleece snowsuit (you can get really nice LL Bean or Lands' End ones on Ebay--search in the "Baby" category on "snowsuit" and "bunting"--since babies grow out of them so quickly that people only use them for one season) over her clothes, then pop her into the carseat and cover her with a blanket. When the car's warm, take off the blanket. The fleece snowsuit is light enough that it doesn't interfere with the carseat straps and not so warm that you can't have the heat opn lightly in the car.

When you get out of the car, wrap her in the blanket or pop the quilted cover on again.

Being outside
Human babies are adaptable. Get a stroller bunting bag to zip her in, or dress her in a snowsuit and blanket, and go. As long as you're not replicating the Iditarod, she'll be OK for walks in the cold that are OK for you. If the hair in your nostrils starts to crackle, both of you should be in the hosue anyway.

One sling carry that I never see anyone else doing (but that both of my boys liked in that phase when they were too big to lie down but not big enough for the hip carry) was sitting and facing out. I'd put the baby with his back to my chest, and cross his legs so he was sitting Indian-style in the sling, facing out. The front edge of the sling was up over the tops of his feet so he couldn't roll out, and I'd shift the baby's weight so he was leaning back into me. The baby could look out, but was still sitting supported.

This carry also has the benefit of putting the baby's face right below your neck, so you can wear a baby this way under your coat, and zip the coat up just to under the baby's face and both of you will still be warm.

A note about snowsuits
Buy big, if your baby is under 15 months or so. You'll be using this thing for 4-7 months, depending on where you live, and even if your baby is swimming in it now, s/he will grow a lot this winter and you don't want to have to buy a new one in March. Check local consignment shops, thrift stores, and Ebay for good deals on newish snowsuits/buntings.

This post is making me want some hot cocoa.

Comments

[Jessica]

I have one thing to add. I'm an American who moved to Norway within the past year. I had my first baby in March. It's been really interesting to see the differences with dressing babies in winter here from the US (but I did move from NC, so maybe the differences are not as apparent further north in the US). You can buy baby-sized onesies and long underwear made from wool. We got ours at Cubus here, but maybe H&M or even Target would have them in the States? They are made of really soft, non-irritable wool. You can also find them lined in cotton so the wool is not right up against their skin. Also, Moxie alluded to this- their hands and feet should feel a little bit cooler than the rest of their bodies. Totally normal and healthy.

[Moxie]

Jessica, I have never once seen wool underthings (or anythings, for that matter) for babies in the U.S., and certainly not at chain stores. It would be too civilized. Got to keep those kids sweating it out in polyester, you know.:)

When I was last looking for wool things for babies I could only find a few online stores that imported them from Europe.

[Leah]

I grew up in northern MI with a house heated by woodstoves in two rooms. The bedrooms weren't heated. We always just piled on the blankets, but with the SIDS recommendations that wasn't an option anymore. Here in Chicago, it doesn't feel quite as cold to me and we have central heating. We co-sleep, so I just dress her in some extra layers (a onesie and socks under her footie pajamas) and figure body heat will do the rest - though we did turn the heat at night up from 62 to 64. For the car - I just use a blanket. It seems to work just as well as a cover would and is a lot more versatile! When I carry her in the Ergo, I've just been wearing my maternity jacket. pulling it around both of us, and putting a blanket around her as well. Her face gets pink, but we're never out for THAT long...

[Maria]

My son was born in February in central Mass, and now we live in the UP, so we've gotten good at keeping him warm! I put onesies on first, then whatever fleecy outfit he was going to wear. I also put two layers of PJs on him at night, one long john style, and footie pjs. I also used the sleep sacks from one step ahead for a while. For walks outside, I bundle him well, and if it is windy, I put the plastic rain cover over the stroller to block some of the wind.

[erika]

We put tights on under our daughter's pants. Or leggings, but the tights are great because she's always pulling her socks off. I don't see why they wouldn't work for boys, too.

[Stephanie]

Well, this is not exactly wool underwear, exactly, but you can get wool pants online by searching for cloth diapering websites. They aren't cheap, but knit goods stretch so well that they often last for two winters. They're soft, durable, warm, and cute!

[Deirdre]

There are always leg warmers (sort of) - http://www.babylegs.net/

We keep most of our house fairly cool during the night, but we have put a space heater in our older son's room since he was a baby. Our younger son cosleeps with us so he just stays close to my body heat throughout the night.

For going out and about, we use a fleece pouch (sling) that I usually just put on under my own jacket. My older son loved the "facing out" position that Moxie recommends. The fleece + body heat combination is very warm.

[Beth]

I know how incredibly expensive oil is up in the North Country (my fiance is from upper NH) but I'm not sure everyone can just, "put on a sweater."

My mother went through some serious menopause when I was 8 and she kept the house freezing every after. I found the sensation of constant coldness to be really misery producing -- I felt tired and sad for at least two months of the winter unless I went and huddled in my bedroom where it was warmer. We were using full spectrum bulbs so I definitely didn't have seasonal affective disorder and I felt fine as soon as I got warm enough air around me. I wore wool sweaters with turtlenecks under them all the time but more clothes than that made me feel stiff and uncomfortable from so much fabric ( looking at it now, I wonder if I didn't have some sensitivity issues). I could see how that feeling might be a serious problem for a baby who is needing to learn by moving.

I'm not saying that everyone would feel this way so your baby might be totally fine with cool hands and extra clothes but I know the, "put on a sweater" people sometimes don't understand how really wretched being cold can make some of us. That space heater idea has some definite merit. Good luck! I hope your baby has none of my issues!

-Beth

[Mammacheryl]

Our doctor told us to keep the house at 70-72 in the winter. Our son tends to kick off his blankets frequently in the middle of the night, and then wakes up screaming because he's cold, so we try to keep the heat up. (We're in Central Wisconsin).

I bought thermal underwear (longjohn) type jammies for my son. On cold days this winter, I'll put a long-sleeve onesie on, the bottoms of his jammies, and then his outfit on top.

Buy some socks that are too big for your daughter. Pull them up high, and that'll keep her ankles and feet warm. If you don't want to invest in some soft winter boots yet, you can add another pair of socks to replicate the warmth.

And a must... a hat with ear flaps that ties under the chin.

As for the hands, good luck. I can't keep mittens on my boy. We had a click-in car seat for Ben as an infant. We would strap him in, put a blanket around him, and then add the carseat cover on top. He stayed nice and cozy.

If you're worried about stroller rides, you could try those heat-pack mitten warmers. Put them in a pair of gloves and tuck them around her as you're bundling her into the stroller. Her nose and cheeks will get cold, but her core temperature will stay up.

[hedra]

For very cold weather, if you *really* have to be out (or you're concerned that your options aren't warm enough), put on two layers of light-to-midweight tights under the pants. This is a tip my dad got from his Special Forces friends (who wear two pair of Queen size pantyhose under their pants in extremely cold weather). He says it works really well. So yes, that means my dad wears pantyhose, LOL! It is the layering thing taken up one more notch.

For the car and stroller, we bought some thin fleece from the fabric store, and cut it into rectangles about twice the dimensions of the car seat. That size seems to work pretty well as a layer in car seat and stroller, and the two layer thing seems to reduce the amount of wind that gets through. Two layers are light enough (and configurable enough - layers work!) that the kids don't overheat, and the light-weight fleece is easy to tie to the stroller frame, so it doesn't get kicked off and end up under the wheels. For very windy weather (especially if it was damp cold), we had a third blanket that was more wind-proof.

Oh, and I also did the 'kangaroo pouch' carry with my oldest, sitting cross-legged, facing out. That was the only carry he liked. He ended up being a backpack and stroller kid more than a sling kid - just didn't like being snuggled up against something warm. (and still can't bear being really warm, any time of year.)

[happy]

Thank you mamacheryl. I was starting to believe that we were the only ones who kept their house temp at 70F and last night at 71F. I am also in Wisconsin (SE). However this will be our first winter here having just moved from Philly. But back to the question at hand. My son was born in March 05, footie pajamas with onesie underneath and getting swaddled plus a temp of 69 at night in the house got him through that winter. Then last winter we kept 69-70 during the day and night. Also we used those blanket sleepers. I think those are great and if you are concerned about her arms long-sleeve onesies under pajamas should be comfy enough. I am a person that usually runs cold and I also hate being cold (coming from tropical weather myself), my standard for how warm it should be in the house is how cold I feel. And although my hubby is usually hot I tell him to take the blanket off because our son is still a baby and he kicks off his blanket during the night so we need the house to be warmer for him. I also put him in a onesie and footie fleece pajamas. We cosleep too but he's over the blankets so I am hoping he's comfortable enough. I still keep a small blanket for him with us, so sometimes if I feel cold during the night I wake up to cover him with it even if it is for a short time. I seriously couldn't imagine keeping my son at a temp of 64. But that's because I couldn't stand it. I am sure people get used to colder rooms but I don't intend to be one of those people.

[deezydubya]

I come from Saskatchewan, Canada, where the average winter temperature is about -20 C and it can get as cold as -40 C (which is -40 F, basically). My son was born in July 05, so we went from +20 to +40 C weather when he was born to -20 to -40. Welcome to Saskatchewan, land of the 80 degree temperature variation!

You're lucky you have a girl! That way you can put on tights. She can wear tights under regular outfits if it gets too cold. My husband wouldn't let me do this to our son. I wouldn't have bought pink ones or anything! ; )

I second the fleece snowsuit. I don't know too much about Maine's climate but I'm suspecting it's similar to Quebec (not too-too cold in winter, -15 or so, and wet?) and my eastern friends swear by them. We have one for this type of weather (today it's -8 Celsius) and it works pretty well.

I live somewhere where you cannot remove a child's snowsuit to put them in the carseat, so what we do is: loosen the straps, install the baby, fasten the straps, and then tighten the straps to the baby's girth, not the snowsuit's. You will think you are squashing them, but you're not. They're so padded they don't feel it. You just pull and pull until you can't get a finger between the straps and the baby. The snowsuit will squoosh out of the sides and they'll look upholstered, which is funny. (You'll never be able to get the straps fastened if you don't loosen them first, though! Too much bulk.)

I was lucky if I could keep socks on my son at 5.5 months. I was never able to find any shoes that he couldn't get off, either. And baby mitts? Talk about a useless product. So what we did was take thick adult socks (wool or those fleecy ones that look like a Muppet) and put them on the kid's hands or feet, then put on the snowsuit. The adult socks pull up to their armpits or waist. They can't get them off as quickly because they go up too high. And by the time they get them off you're already wherever you needed to be. (I think those baby legwarmers are the same principle, but I'm cheap and old socks in my drawer were much more economical.)

My son sucked his fists, so his hands were always cold. But it's winter #2 for him, and they didn't fall off, so I figure a little chill on the hands isn't going to be fatal.

As for the house - if you dress them in layers, they're usually warm enough even if the thermostat is lower. At night those fleece bunting bags are great. I used to supplement these with a loosely knit afghan if it was really cold. (My son could roll over by 2 months, though - I wouldn't have used them otherwise. And I'm still paranoid about using thick, solid blankets rather than knit ones with air holes.) On nights when it was super-cold (-30 or lower) we would put a space heater in his room for an hour before bed, and close the door. By the time he went to bed his room would be toasty warm, and then we'd turn the heater off. (BTW you should never leave a space heater running in a child's room when the kid's in there. Electric ones are fire hazards, gas powered ones are suffocation hazards.)

[Meira]

Just seconding the tights & babylegs.net recommendations!

[Kate]

I second Dierdre; BabyLegs are great for covering that space between baby's pants and socks. Make sure to go to babylegs.NET and not .COM especially if you are at work!!

These leggings are especially awesome once your baby gets big enough to go in the hip carry or straddle you in the front carry, because then their pants really ride up.

[Jennifer]

From the mountains of northern Utah...

My daughter was born last November and we had grandparents from Florida and Texas here freaking out about the cold and whether or not the baby was adequately dressed, etc. But, according to our ped and other longtime residents of this climate, you really don't need to keep your heat cranked if you don't want to. We kept the house at 68 during the day and 61 at night. DD slept in a fleece Sleep Sack by Halo and a footed cotton sleep-n-play. Sometimes her cheeks would be a bit cold, but when you unzipped her sack, she was totally toasty warm in there. We're doing the same thing this winter (it was in the teens last night and as I write, only 20 degrees). You really don't want to overheat as thats a SIDS danger.

As for outdoors, I took LOTS of LONG (like 1-2 hours) walks last winter after she was about 2 months old. I would put her in a sling and cover her up with a fleece--in addition to an undershirt and fleecey suit. A hat with a chin strap to keep it on is great. Once again, cold cheeks but otherwise fine. You can get fleecy suits that have foldover wrists acting as mittens. I tend to just put a blanket over her in the car and know that the heater will kick in pretty quickly.

My baby has never seemed to suffer from the cold, so all of this has worked for us. That said, I might be a little less cavalier if she seemed at all cold.

[mc]

Gah, Typepad ate my comment, so apologies if this posts twice.

This is awesome info, y'all - thank you. We can definitely do the tights and/or Babylegs, and a couple friends have offered us fleecy suits and snowsuits their little ones have outgrown since I've started asking questions about how they keep the kiddos warm in these parts.

We may turn the heat up a bit -- and we do have a space heater, and a smoke detector, in her room at night -- but I have to admit that I'm having coronaries thinking about what our oil bill would look like with the house at 72...

[Jessica]

Hi again-
They must have the wool things somewhere, probably a specialty babyshop or natural products store- organic, etc. It stinks that it's not more widely available. But in leiu of that, I second the tights, and btw they sell them for boys here in Norway as well. :)

[sweetisu]

Living in MN, we did jackets and blankets when our kids were still using the click-in carseats. I seriously did not know you aren't suppose to use jackets with the carseats. Why is that?!

My daughter and I seem to run cold too (is this more of a female trait than male??) and we wear in layers, day and night, fleece works really well. And we use the oil-filled plug-in space heaters in her room at night, smoke detectors in every room of course, and she seems to be much happier and sleeps better after we put the space heater in there.

[Maria]

On mittens that won't stay on--my son's babysitter told me about L-Bow mittens, and they are great (www.lbow.com). While I prefer the fold-over mits for the little guys, these are great for toddlers because they pull up to their elbows and don't come off!

[Nikki]

am i the only one who has a child that runs hot?!?!?!? we live in MI in an old drafty house . we keep the house in the mid-60's during the night and my son just sleeps in footy fleece jammies. it's worked for the last 2 years. if i layered on more clothes i usually had a very sweaty kid waking up in the middle of the night. just make sure you know how your kid runs (hot/cold) before you pile on the extra clothes at night. over-heating them is a big no-no.

[erika]

My daughter also runs hot. We co-sleep and she's a little furnace. We don't layer very much for sleeping, but we do for going outside. (living in Mass)

[Leah]

I'm in Interior Alaska. At my house, I keep min of 65 at night, 68-70 during the day. My 10 mo son goes around in long sleeve shirts (over a onesie) and sweats or jeans, plus I buy his socks big so they'll go all the way over his meaty little calves. He won't wear boots but I found at a specialty baby store, some knitted boots with (real) fleece bottoms...he wears these outside. I'm knitting him big chunky tube socks to go over his normal socks and jeans up to the calves - just as a little extra for nippy days around the house or when it's more than 10 below outside. He has a winter coat with thumbless-mittens strung through it, and a fleece earflap hat. It's still warm here (20 deg) so he gets by with not having his mittens on all the time when out (we're in garaged car). When we're more than 10 miles out he has a complete winter emergency kit - full snowsuit, more blankets, extra everything. I have noticed that keeping him in a fleece vest while he's playing in the house, helps to keep the rest of him warm. Baby girls are easier because you can put her in tights - I'd check Hanna Andersen (sic?) for some thick cotton (wool blend?) tights. I'd also stock up on some largish turtlenecks and fleece lined jeans (Gymboree and Old Navy carried these). I also suggest finding some slippers that securely tie or strap over the ankles (not just a cuff). I like the idea of babylegs - just not for my son (seems kinda girly legwarmerish). My boy and I both run hot. Good luck

[flea]

A hat in the house is a good way to 'add a layer' without actually adding a layer. I often wear one myself.

And for both warmth and to keep socks on, Robeez or similar leather mocs - buy big if you have bulky/wool socks.

(now live in NC but grew up in Maine!)

[Anita]

Hi from Northern Ontario! Our boy (18months) has been in a 2.5 tog Grobag since he was a baby and just wears a onesie underneath. This keeps him toasty all night. Around the house and under pants if we are in the stroller we use Babylegs. Another great product that you can put over the boots and snowsuit and/or pants is "Babyspats" available at www.jamtots.com.

[Ally]

You can make wool longies from recycled sweaters, I'm hunting for the info and it must be bookmarked at home. I'll post it later.

We kept our thermostat at 71 Jamie's first winter. I wish I had known about longies and babylegs!

[deezydubya]

To Sweetisu and MC - it's not so much fire that's the risk with the gas or oil-powered space heaters - though that is a concern. It's carbon monoxide. You can buy a detector for that too, either a plug-in kind or a free-hanging one that runs on batteries. (They look kind of like a smoke detector.)

A minimum of once a year here, someone dies or has a near-death with carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty heater or uninspected furnace. I remember reading that Weird Al Yankovic's parents died of it last year.

[cagey]

I think the carseat safety factor needs to stressed a bit more. If there are too many layers between the child and the straps, those layers will compress in the event of an accident, thus creating "space" between the child and the strap. Here are some good resources for this:
http://www.babypolargear.com/car_seat_safety.html

http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/a/carseatcoat.htm

What I do with my son is this, we have a light cotton hoodie that he wears while in the carseat. I bought a heavier coat that we take off and on as we get out of the car. Yes, it is a pain, but we are on the highways a lot.

[libraryhead]

My daughter was born Feb 06, in Northern California. As a midwest native, *I* didn't think it was very cold, but living in a rickety midcentury house with lots of glass and a very inefficient heating system, it did get a bit nippy. One night when she was a few weeks old, she was napping in the swing while my husband and I ate dinner. He looked over at her and noted, say, doesn't she look a bit pale? When we checked her her cheeks were freezing. We'd heard you can't tell by extremities, so we took her temp and it was something like 95! I started nursing her while my husband called the pediatric panic line. The advice nurse warned us that, yes, their temps can drop quick when they're brand new, and we needed to warm her up right away. The cuddling and warm milk did the trick, and we made sure to put a hat on her even inside till spring came along.

We've moved to Massachusetts, so I'll definitely be using the tips above to keep her warm through her first New England winter.

[Mandy]

In CO we often have to dress in layers, as you might start your day in the 30s, warm up to the 60s then have a night in the 20s.

Onesies are great for layering underneath a footed fleece "sleeper" or "sleep n play". The Children's Place has some nice soft ones that aren't very expensive. So does Carters. TCP sleepers zip up so you can easily unzip it then undo the onesie snaps to change a diaper.

If you're going to be going outside, you could layer the onesie, sleeper and warm (but not thick) coat.

I have this - http://www.jjcoleusa.com/obm.php It's the JJ Cole Bundle Me - I got mine at Toys R US, but anyway, you can use it in your stroller OR convertible carseat. The bottom layer goes onto the seat and you thread the straps through it. Put baby in, secure, (straps are directly on baby, not over a thick coat) then you zip it up to create a warm little cocoon. When the car heats up, you can unzip the blanket part. It also works in a stroller.

[Caroline]

Yes, Bjorn or sling under a coat is a great thing. Not to mention unbearably cute.

I also thing that hoodies are the best thing ever for babies. They keep the head, neck and ears covered, and keep their neck from getting chafed by carseat or stroller straps. And a thin cotton one can be worn inside comfortably. I found a few at Target.

[SprengBlingBling]

I had no idea about the no-snowsuits in the car thing. We put out son in his snowsuit in his carseat all the time last year.

We have a two-hour drive twice a week that we do at night when he goes to sleep. We usually keep the car warm and just put him in his seat in a sleeper so there's no coat to remove when we put him in the crib.

We do keep our house pretty warm. Between 68-70. He sleeps in a cotton footed sleeper. He seems fine and warm. I am always cold, even with a sweater, so we tend to keep it warm.

[Kate]

Oh no, hot, hot kids here! Both of them (2y4m amd 6m) are happiest just in a diaper while I wear a long-sleeve T and have a blanket over my legs. But we share Moxie's overheated apartment/open window dilemma.

We bought the little one a blanket sleeper so we can sleep with the windows open--and he prefers/sleeps better in a short-sleeve onesie, legs but not arms under a blanket (co-sleeping). His arms get a little cold (to me), but he seems comfortable.

The Lands End fleece bunting was great for the car or a sling/mei tai. And I seem to be literally the only person in my neighborhood that doesn't have a Bundle Me--I rarely used the stroller during dd's first winter, and during her second I just used blankets--but I am guessing it is a good product.

After they were a month or so old (and it was clear they were hot-natured, like my husband and my MIL) I dressed them as I would myself for outside instead of in an extra layer.

Has anyone seen gloves with articulated fingers for toddlers? My daughter will only keep her mittens on for a minute or two; we had this problem last winter, too, when she was heavily into signing (what do little deaf kids do?).

[meghan]

Kids aren't supposed to wear coats in the car seat??? Someone should have told me that sooner! Is that true for 1.5 y olds? Cole hates wearing his coat anyhow... :)

[alecia]

REI (online at www.rei.com) has thermal one-piece outfits for babies, as well as other long-underwear type things for little ones. Expensive, though, so you might check out ebay. Building up a rotation of 4 or 5 things she could wear to bed especially (depends on how much laundry you want to do!) would still be cheaper than keeping the house at 70!

We live in MN and keep the house at 65 at night - my son's room is the coldest in the house, so he wears footed PJs and we have an electric space heater in his room.

[Emmie (Better Make It A Double)]

Last winter (in Minnesota!) I was really irritated not to be able to find anything for my infant twins that wasn't fleece. The wind whips right through fleece, which isn't really meant for much more than house-to-car use. The truth is, most folks in the US don't go out with babies in the winter unless they have to. Me, I need to walk to stay sane, my dog needs it, and if the babies are warm, there's nothing wrong with taking them out as long as there's no frostbite risk. Even now, in November, we're the only ones at the playground most days unless it's in the md 40's or higher. Drives me nuts. Last winter, I finally ordered 2 Lands End down buntings. They were spendy, but wonderful, and resell well on Ebay. Sinced they're down, they also "stuff" well into a diaper bag or such, which was great when we took a mid-winter plane trip. This year, we're using mitten strings, and the'yre learning to put their own gloves on, which sure beats chasing them all over the place with stray gloves.

[rachel]

I love the Robeez booties that come to mid-calf and are lined with faux-shearling.

[Jo Ann]

I strongly recommend a pair of Swedish moccasins from Hanna Andersson. They were the only footwear that my 6mo (now 2.5) would keep on. Also, a fleece sling under your coat will keep Baby close and both of you warm!

[Amy F]

Try ruskavilla.fi for wool undergarments. It seems like shipping to the U.S. isn't standard, but is possible.

I'm all about the Babylegs this winter.

[Melis]

Target has thermal union suits as well as long undies for VERY reasonable prices. I got some for the little man to wear to bed but I'm thinking they'll be good under other clothes too. If you've got a Carter's outlet, they had the footie jammies dirt cheap (we loaded up).

We were HUGE users of the Bundle Me last year when he was small enough to be in the snap-in carseat. We're in Nebraska and it gets really danged cold here too. They do make a toddler size Bundle Me-I just need to check with where I bought the last one and see if they can get a bigger one for me to use in his convertible seat.

[Emilin]

The Bundle Me is *not* safe in carseats and should not be used with them. You have no way of knowing if your carseat was tested with any after-market products, so they should not be used.

[wookie]

Hailing from Canada... but Ontario, so nothing horribly frigid. We are generally 0-30 F in the winter, but it's the wet and the wind that make our winter challenging.

We do a lot of layering. We keep our thermostat at 63 (a compromise... my husband wants 65-70, I want 60, so we middle of the road it at 63) during the day and 58 at night. However, when the baby was still a newborn, we kept a portable heater in her room (she kicks off covers and hated the sleeping bag). It had one of those auto-off temperature sensor, so it was quite a bit warmer in her room than the rest of the house, but not overheating.

The kids have fleece, footed pjs and in the winter will wear undershirts/onesies underneath those. The youngest wears a snowsuit in her carseat, we adjust the straps to be as snug as possible. I've never used the extra covers over the seat, we just keep a couple of small fleece blankets in the car for the kids to use until the car warms up.

I appreciate that seats are supposedly unsafe with snowsuits and jackets, but I cannot justify taking a non-bundled kid from the house to the car and then have them freeze their little buns off while the car warms up. Something in my common sense detector makes me think the cold and wet and wind are the greater of the two evils. I would appreciate if the automanufacturers and carseat manufacturers would bloody well make a better product. It's ridiculous.

I would suggest some kind of wind-sheild (like a rain cover) for the stroller if you want to go out. If you're bundled up properly, you won't be too bad, but the wind can really make it a zillion times worse.

Basically, remember to keep your core warm. Cool hands and toes and cheeks and noses are okay (but obviously, not to the frostbite or discomfort level), but you have to keep their torso warm. Everything else tends to be okay as long as you keep moving and stay out of the wind :-)

[laura]

Maybe I'm the only Canadian (from Alberta, currenly blogging in Newfoundland) who doesn't dress her child in a puffy snowsuits for car travel. My daughter wears polar fleece pants or overalls outside, with Babylegs underneath. We even have fleece onesies and shirts. Her outer layer is also polar fleece, though I've noticed that a windproof layer is a practical addition for my temporary home here in St. John's). Most of her warm winter stuff comes from Mountain Equipment Co-op (to check it out, follow the "Kids" link on the main menu, then "Infant & Toddler"). I can add blankets on top of her carseat harness for more warmth. I just can't sacrifice vehicular safety for warmth, so I've had to find a way to get it right on both fronts.

[bobo]

Coming from Europe it sound kinda silly that an infant boy would not be allowed to wear cotton or wool tights/pantyhose. I think most of the kids (girls and boys) wear them in central Europe, where it gets quite cold in winter. They are practical (no socks to kick off) and keep them warm. If the feet get too cold just but on one or two pairs of socks! There even are thermo-tights: They are really thick and really warm. Just put normal trousers over them and you can go out at -15C without any problems. In the house: no trousers or the child will get too hot even if it is chilly. When going out: Put some fat-creme (Dunno the correct english term) onto the face to not freeze the baby skin and off you go. And actually such cold air often has positive effects in case the baby is caughing a little - this often comes from overheated rooms. By the way: overheatinig is said to be one reason for getting a cold. By not going out and breeding germs in the warm insode-climate we pick up a cold.

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I like the whole article that you have posted above and I must say, in cold winters there are more chances for a baby to get cough and cold and it needs proper and extra care.

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