Q&A: winterizing an infant

Robin writes:

"I am a huge fan of your site and am wondering if you or your readers can help me figure out what exactly I need for my 5 month old for the winter months. We live in Chicago and walk/train almost everywhere but on Tuesdays/Thursdays we drive in the car to my son’s daycare. He was born in May so I haven’t really had to think about ways to keep him warm but now I am starting to wonder how to dress an infant for the winter. I know you live in NYC – did you use some kind of bunting, or a snowsuit with legs, or a coat, or something else? Do baby mittens work? Should I buy a large size so it lasts through the whole winter (which in Chicago sometimes ends in late April) I don’t know where to start! I’m hoping that you & your readers can help steer me in the right direction."

Please share data points, everyone. At the beginning of your comment, please put whether you're primarily a car-user or public transportation-user, and what age group you're giving advice on (baby, toddler, preschooler, big kid).

I'll start:

Public transportation (NYC)

Baby:  Three choices: 1) Lightweight bunting for the baby inside a sling/Ergo/etc. inside your coat.  2)  Heavyweight bunting that can switch  from stroller to sling/Ergo/etc. outside your coat. 3) Baby bag for stroller with lightweight bunting inside that.  With child #1 I did option 2, and with child #2 I did options 1 and 3. I definitely think the baby bag for the stroller is worth the money, and that with the lightweight bunting makes a great flexible combo. FWIW, I got my amazing lightweight fleece bunting from Lands End for under $10 on Ebay, so it's worth a look. Buy everything for the size they'll be in the spring. Take photos of the baby swimming in the huge bunting in the fall, and then another one of the kid almost popping out of it in the spring. (The buntings all have those things that fold over the hands to act as mittens.)

Toddler: Baby bag for stroller with heavy winter coat on top. At this age they'll want their arms out of the bag, but you'll still want their legs to be warm. If it snows where you are and kids will play in the snow, then add bib snowpants and boots.

Preschool+: Winter coat plus bib snowpants plus boots. Clips to keep mittens attached or else they'll disappear before you turn around.

I love these posts where we all share what works in our vastly different situations.

Comments

[Melissa]

Live outside of Chicago, had a 5 to 8 month old during last winter. Car for transportation.
Used bunting in the car seat (Graco Infant Seat with a Bundle Me Bunting). This made not having a snowsuit possible (she didn't start crawling until the Spring, so we had no concerns about needing proper, "outdoor" wear).
In between car and building, threw a sythetic fleece blanket over her head (no breathe material was very useful for this; ironically she hated hats, but would deal with the blanket).
For clothes, we dressed her for indoors, but in layers. Normally put her in a onesie with a long-sleeve shirt or sweater over top. Kept to thicker knit and denim for pants. On really cold days (20 or below), I'd put tights on her underneath the pants.
When it was snowing, we'd put a light-weight breaker type jacket on her to help deal with the precipitation aspect of the day.

[Librarian PM]

Since he'll be in a carseat at least twice a week, I would focus on getting a warm, but thin, fleece bunting like the Land's End one Moxie mentioned. (LL Bean and Columbia are other good brands to try.) Its really important not to have too thick outerwear on under carseat straps, or babies will be at a higher risk of being ejected in a crash. Definitely avoid those puffy down and/or polyester filled winter coats and snowsuits marketed to babies. You can always add a blanket over the baby after they're strapped in for extra warmth.

For hands, I find most of the buntings come with flaps that fold over hands. Much easier than trying to get an infant to keep mittens on!

[Leah]

I'm in Chicago too (south side). I use the car and public transit about equally.

Last winter she was 3 months old in October. I got her a bunting but only used it like twice. Most of the time I put her in the Ergo. I actually figured out a way to combine a maternity coat and a down vest to keep the baby nice and warm in the Ergo - here is the run-down: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lakeline/sets/72157594554122154/

For the car I dressed her in sweaters and such, but I didn't use a bunting or anything, I just put a bunch of blankets on her in the bucket seat and clipped it into the car like that.

[SJ]

We live outside Boston, and mostly travel by car...

We did a lightweight bunting the first winter (he was born in May too) - and then blanket in the car. The bunting had a hood and also mitten type things for hands and feet.

Last winter, he had a winter coat (which btw, my mom bought him for the first year but was HUGE and we passed forward to a friend with a slightly older and larger kid for that year and then got it back) but not super puffy, again we always keep a blanket in the car or stroller. We were able to get him to wear a hat by pretending to wear it ourselves first (it was also a handme down from a bigger cousin, which also seemed to help - so I would consider enlisting help from an older kid to make hats 'cool') He mostly refused to wear gloves.

This year, we have a coat, and are hoping he will wear the hat he picked out, but so far (given the generally unseasonable weather we've been having) are still wearing spring coats with long sleeve shirts or sweaters.

[bec 37]

In lieu of baby mittens, if you don't have some sort of fold-over as mentioned above, just put socks on baby's hands. Looks weird, but works.

[Amanda]

I'm in St Paul - mostly car for transportation. Baby advice (mine was an early October baby).

Avoid anything that puts layers between the kid and the carseat/harness. It will compress in an accident, making the harness too loose to secure your child. BundleMe's are bad for this, but the shower-cap style covers are perfect (if still in infant seat). Last year we put the baby in the carseat in normal clothes, then a blanket, then the shower-cap cover. Rarely even used a jacket.

This year, with older baby in convertible carseat, we have a very very thin winter coat (Lands End Squall jacket) and keep blankets in the car. Older kids can take off their coats in the car and put them on backwards after the harness is secured. Lots of blankets in the car is good too. There are also car-seat ponchos that don't interfere with the harness and are pretty cool (and you could easily make yourself if you are crafty).

[michaela]

I'm in Maine, with another May baby. We did lots of walking and a fair amount of car time. Last winter (her first), we swore by a thin, one-piece fleece suit - I don't know what else to call it, but it had legs w/ footie bottoms, the fold-over cuffs for the hands and a hood. It was thin enough for her to wear it in the carseat, which was great. We'd cover her w/ a blanket until the car warmed up.

For walks outside, we used a down snowsuit in the sling or Bjorn (which my husband swore by). She couldn't really move her arms because of all the stuffing, but she didn't seem to mind. (Both of these, btw, were thrift-store finds courtesy of my mother-in-law. I don't think she spent more than $10 total.)

This year, my mom bought a ridiculously overpriced OshKosh jacket that has a zip-out fleece jacket and a more overcoat-like outer liner. We used it - and hat and mittens - for the first time this morning for the walk to daycare. Hello, 30-degree morning... We haven't gotten to snowpants or boots yet, but I've heard raves about the Bean and Lands End boots.

[electriclady]

Perfect timing, as usual--I've been in a tizzy over how to dress my 9mo daughter for the cold. She's right on that baby/toddler transition line, so I've been unsure...we've got a stroller bag, and I think she'll need a heavy winter coat and maybe mittens on a string, as she's definitely getting into hands-out mode. And a hat with a strap, since my formerly hat-friendly baby has just discovered how to pull her hats off and fling them from the stroller.

Re: dressing a newborn for cold weather, my daughter was born in early February, in the midst of the coldest cold snap, and we almost never used the baby bunting we received as a shower gift. The few times we were in a car, I had her in a blanket sleeper and hat with a couple blankets on top. Most of the time, I wore her in a Moby wrap with just a blanket sleeper (sometimes extra pants if it was really cold) and a hat, with my gigantic coat over both of us. The combination of body heat, the layers of the wrap, and coat kept her toasty warm on even long walks.

[flea]

I live in NC, and we actually get through entire winters without wearing more than a fleece jacket (bunting for teenies). It shocks me still, after 5 years here!

I do have a winter-related question, since we actually had our first cold night last night (in the 40s even!) - is there ANY way to keep blankets on a 15 month old who is sleeping in a crib? He wears fleece footie pajamas but still wakes up cold (ICE PAWS when nursing!). I have a vague memory of putting my first child down to sleep in her fleece snowsuit on top of pajamas sometimes. Is this insane? It's only 65 or so in the house, which seems like a reasonable nighttime temperature to me.

[Nutmeg]

We travel mostly by car in the northeast.

Last winter we had a newborn. I basically just had him in regular clothes and tucked one to three thick blankets around him depending on the length of time in the cold and obviously a hat. This was a VERY easy way to deal with the baby who could be transported by carrier and didn't involve taking off or putting on clothes when we transitioned from outside to inside, just pulling off the approrpriate number of blankets.

This wouldn't work for a 5 month old, obviously. This year we will have a toddler and so far we are going with a hat with flaps, a thin jacket, and a blanket over it all. I guess I haven't given up on the power of a well tucked blanket. Hands are a problem because don't know how to convince him to keep on his mittens and he's too old for tucking warm things around his hands and expecting them to stay that way.

My data points won't help the asker, but maybe someone else with a baby the age I had!

[swissmiss]

I live in Switzerland and gave birth in late January. I did a lot of walking and riding the train. Since he was a newborn he was flat on his back in the stroller. I lined the stroller bassinet with shearling, dressed baby in a snowsuit with attached mittens and a hat, covered him with a blanket, and put a wind/rain cover over the stroller. That boy was layered! But he was a newborn in Switzerland in January, so you know...

The following winter he was one and we had a down bag for the stroller with a winter jacket on top. He wasn't walking yet, so I didn't have to worry about how to dress his bottom half so that he was warm enough if he wanted to get out of the stroller and run around but not overheating if he stayed in the stroller. That's this year's challenge and I haven't figured it out yet.

Mittens/gloves are a constant battle because he's a big thumb-sucker.

What's bunting?

[Jan]

OK, since we're sharing different solutions ...

We travel almost exclusively by car (*sigh* no public transportation to speak of) and we do the coats on and off when we get out of and into the car. In the car, I am the queen of the heater. (Heat in the car is FREE, and even makes it run more efficiently. This is my story and I'm sticking to it. I love me some car heat.)

We did this even with our May baby (out of the infant carrier by winter). It's also what I generally do as an adult, so it seemed natural. Generally when we're leaving the house we just take coats with us, then when we arrive where we're going if we're going to be outside more than a couple of minutes, we put them on.

For our December baby, we just did onesie and socks under footie sleeper buckled into the seat and a warm blanket tucked in around him outside the buckles plus a hat.

We're Seattle-area, so 'cold' here is relative.

for flea: I'd try a sleep sack -- something like this:
http://www.babyinabag.com/ and for my little cold-sleeper, I did onesie under thin cotton under blanket sleeper (sometimes under sleep sack). FWIW, my ped told me that cold hands don't mean the baby is cold, to feel his upper back or his chest and if that's warm, not to worry.

[SarcastiCarrie]

Re: 15-month old and blankets. We used a XL sized Halo Sleep Sack until 18 months or something. That worked great.

Now, he is 2.5 yrs old and I have no idea how to keep blankets on him in the crib. I made him a fire truck sleeping bag thinking that would be "cool", but no. I mostly throw a ton of blankets in there and hope something sticks. I'm also using ridiculously large teddy bears to help snuggle him warm.

My son (now 2.5) is a May Baby as well and was definitely out of the infant carrier car seat by Fall that first year, so I don't knwo about the usefulness of a bunting on a rear facing convertible car seat when the seat is flush up against the back of the car. Maybe blankets. We wore a snowsuit underneath the car seat straps and then pulled them super tight. Like, afraid we were going to hurt him tight. The ride to day care wasn't more than 10 minutes so I figured he could handle it.

[flea]

Oh, it never occurred to me they made such big sleep sacks (their medium goes to 30 pounds!) Maybe we'll try it.

For the person who asked, a bunting is like a bag for a baby, that usually has sleeves for the arms, but just a bag for the lower body. They make fleece or down ones - probably other things, too. Can't work with many car seats because of the straps, though.

[rudyinparis]

We used a car primarily, and did what Amanda in St. Paul did--used the "shower cap" carseat cover (never heard it described that way, but I love it!). In very cold weather used maybe 2 thinnish fleece blankets over the buckled in baby. For very very cold weather, another blanket thrown over the whole deal. These are all layers that are very easy to remove one at a time, as needed. We used a great carseat cover--warm fleece-y inside with a wind resistant outer. The face opening had a flap, too, that could be lowered if necessary. I would say this item was one of the most useful items we had, which is saying a lot.

[julie]

For flea: We swear by the sleep sacks - they have light cotton for the summer and fleece for the winter. I also think it has helped keep our 2 y/o from attempting to climb out of the crib - it limits the range of motion in the legs. He can waddle around in it, but couldn't lift his leg up high enough to swing over the crib. He is 30 lbs and we have him in the XLs. I ordered them off off the bab*s R us website - couldn't find anything larger than M or L in the stores. When we got them there was an insert to order toddler sized ones. They are making 2T-4T sizes. Whoo hoo!!!!!

[Shanna]

Just outside Boston, walk almost everywhere, very occasional public transportation and car trips. We just bought Brooks Pond stroller bags/blankets for our 9-month-old twins. Definitely pricey ($135 each for the multi-season model with an extra Thinsulate insert), but based on recommendations from friends it will be useful until the kids completely outgrow the stroller. (This particular brand can be open or closed on the bottom, allowing wet/snowy boots to hang out.) I like this model because we are in and out of stores a lot, so I can just unzip and zip as needed, as opposed to last winter when I was constantly rearranging blankets and (un)snapping snowsuits.

Did not yet buy them (just used many layers this morning, plus fleece jackets), but I'm planning to combine the stroller bags with mittens-on-clips (too worried about strangulation hazards with a strip) plus a warm (possibly down-filled) coat that comes to about butt-length.

For the car, we'll probably just keep a couple of blankets in the back seat to toss over the kids after they are strapped in. If I find myself using the car more this winter than last, we'll have to figure out some other solution for getting from the parked car to the mall or whatever...

[Maria]

Up here in the UP, people swear by L-bow mittens:
http://lbow.com/
They have a long sleeve that can be pulled over a coat sleeve. Keeps the snow from getting under the cuffs, and they're harder to get off/lose for the little kids.

We walk and go by car, but in the car we just take off his snow suit (one piece from LL Beans). In the stoller, we layer under the snow suit and use a wind/rain cover for extra insulation. The boy is not quite 3 months and already too big for his infant seat, so I miss being able to use the car seat cover.

A sort-of related question: for rear facing babies in convertible car seats, how to you keep the sun out of their eyes? For my older son, I put those suction cup sun shades on the back window, but then I had a hard time seeing, and I'm afraid they'll interfere with the defroster.

[Cassie]

My little boy was born at the beginning of December in Scotland. We were almost exclusive Ergo users for the first 6 months, and my best purchase (after the Ergo itself) was something called a "babywearing cover" -- the one I got was made by a Finnish company called MaM: http://www.mamdesign.net/ -- I know they sell them in Canada, so they may also be available in the US. The best thing about the cover for me was that I could dress baby for indoors (Scottish indoors -- sweaters required) and carry him around indoors in the Ergo, and not have to take him out of the carrier (and invariably wake him up, when he was tiny) to get him all bundled up if we wanted to go outside. I just popped the cover over both baby and carrier, put my coat on, and we were good to go.

[electriclady]

For those of you using sleepsacks with older babies/toddlers--can the baby stand/pull up in them? I've got a fleece sleep sack but am worried about using it with my 9 month old because she's all about pulling up in the crib these days and I'm afraid she'll trip. :)

[Nutmeg]

My 10.5 month old's got no problem pulling up and acting like a maniac in his sleep sack.

[Nao]

Flea: I've got a pre-schooler in North Carolina. The blanket that Theo finally was willing to not kick off at about 15 months was a quilt made for him by his grandmother. We called it the grandma quilt, and told him that he could pretend she was hugging him while it was on. I imagine that a blanket sent by a favorite relative who doesn't live nearby might do a similar trick.

[Rosemary]

Car / Stroller (Infant in mid-west USA, toddler in Australia)

Here in Australia, we all line our prams with lambskins (good in winter, even better in summer as it keeps the air flowing under the baby!)

You can also get baby bags and wraps that have cut-outs for the car seat straps. They are very thin and safe for use in the car seat. I then tended to put a blanket over the top of the car seat. But, we also don't tend to use the lift out baby car seats either.

[heather]

I'm really liking the Kiddopotamus sleep sacks (http://www.kiddopotamus.com/p_dreammf.php) because they have arms too. The only downside is they only fit up to 24 lbs.

We're mainly car people, but I got Teddy Toes (http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2953086/0~2379292~2379293~2379299~6005297?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6005297&P=1 )as a gift and it works great car to stroller.

[heather]

Sorry...the paren got included in the previous link. Should be http://www.kiddopotamus.com/p_dreammf.php

[Another Erin]

I'm in Philadelphia, and my daughter was born at the end of October last year. We walk or take transit almost exclusively. We used a number of the strategies already mentioned, but no one has yet mentioned my secret weapon for happy outdoor excursions yet - vaseline. Smear a light coating on the baby's face on cold days to protect against chapping. (I use it myself on cold morning runs - really helps keep your face warm!)

My question - can anyone recommend real boots for a very petite toddler? My daughter is an avid walker and needs warm shoes, but most things in her size are just for show!

[Lisa]

Writing from Boston, had a December baby and spent maternity leave in the dead of winter, refusing to stay indoors. But I don't much like driving around so we did a lot of walking. When he was that small, the mei tai was great, and then over it I would put the kiddopotamus cover that conveniently doubled as a carseat cover as well.
http://www.kiddopotamus.com/p_pop.php
They make a less fancy one that I got on ebay for about 20 bucks and it lasted us quite well through the winter.
A couple things I also did when it was really cold: aquaphor on his cheeks and socks over his hands.
When it started to warm up a little, I realized that I could also use a maternity jacket as a cover up for us both.

I had wondered how I was going to pull this off this winter, now that we use the ergo and he sticks his legs out - so thanks Leah! That vest idea is genius!

[Treena]

I live in the northeast and travel equally by car, foot, and public transportation.

I use sweaters as outerwear a lot in cool (but not cold) weather. I just find them easier to get on my kids than jackets or buntings. If we're going out in the car, even if it's pretty cold, I'll just put them in sweaters and hats, run out to the car, and then tuck them under blanket in the carseat (which can then be removed when the car warms up).

When we're going out without the car, I like one piece buntings with foldover mittens with a sweater underneath. We also always have onesies/undershirts on in the winter, so this gives 4 layers of protection against the cold. I've found this works for kids ages 0-3, and probably beyond, but I haven't gotten there yet.

We'll be using our stroller more this winter, so I just got a stroller bag for the younger kid since he won't keep a blanket on. I think it's important to remember that if we're pushing a kid in a stroller, we're walking while they're just sitting there, so they definitely need more layers than we do.

I've never had success with regular winter jackets. My kids seem bothered by how little they can move, and I find them too bulky to use safely in the car. I found a 3T bunting and prefer that to a winter jacket.

I also use a large sleep sack for my 1-year-old and it seems to work well for him -- no problems pulling up. I've heard they're also good at keeping potential climbers in the crib.

[Shandra]

I live in Toronto and used a combination of walking, public transportation, and car during my son's first winter.

We mostly did the "inside my coat" when we were walking/public transport, and got a really good stroller bag.

But my tip is - don't be afraid of using the local thrift shop(s) both to try out different suits and to get oversized zip up sweaters and jackets if you are going the carrier route. Baby snowsuits hardly get scuffed up and we got to try them with the legs together, legs apart, etc. for like $5 each before investing.

Worked even better for the toddler year one; I thought I would prefer separate snowpants and jacket but we really ended up using the one-piece.

[Shandra]

Oh and in the car - he was still in the infant seat and we got a sort of sheepskin (fake) lined corduroy cover for it. I have since heard they can be dangerous (suffocation I guess) but ours didn't zip up all the way. We could tighten him down really well in that; there was just the one squishier layer under him and he couldn't kick it off.

[julie]

Re: walking/pulling up in sleep sack: Our son can waddle around in it just fine. It definitely limits his range of motion and/or speed (which I consider a good thing) but still allows him to move. It got to the point where he was wanting to leave it on and waddle around the house in it - like a little old man - until we decided that was just gross (we have two large, hairy dogs) and we didn't' want yucky dog hair in his bed with him. Luckily, he agreed. Halo makes XL and toddler sizes.

[pnuts mama]

when i was in college in the snowbelt of upstate NY, i always dreamed that the sweater vendors would someday bring matching sweater pants to keep my lower 1/2 as warm as my upper 1/2 walking across campus...but enough about me...

data: nyc, july baby (teeny, though, stayed in bucket carseat well after her 1st bday), mostly transported by car/stroller.

i don't have too much to add except that we had an awesome fleece thing that i can only describe as a whole-body-jacket. it almost looked like a sleeper, but with a hood, and no feet, and had snaps down the front and then up both legs in the crotch. kept her warm the first year, plus we buy the fleece hat/mitten sets (c*rters always have them) that attach under the chin, and mittens with elastic but no thumbs stay on little ones, if you tuck them up under the sleeves.

in the bucket seat (also stroller, cause we have the kind that snaps in), a flannel blankie, fleece blankie, homemade knit blankie depending on coldness. last year, we just got her a regular jacket with a hood and same hat/mitten sets at one of those discount dept stores (m*rshalls?) where we also found very teeny reasonable boots for the snow as well! (of course it only snowed like 3x here, boo!)

finally, about having a chilly kid- the pnut has always been chilly w/ cold hands. we layer her well throughout the day, lined pants, etc. even at night, i layer the snot out of her clothes- long sleeved onesie, (sometimes socks or stockings), fleece feetie jammies, and sleep sack. when we sleep at her grandparents who have windows older than moses (seriously, you can see the curtains rustle) we even put a hat on her at night. last year i discovered that if the kid is wearing fleece, that a fleece blanket sticks to it really well and is less likely to get kicked off. i'm thinking of getting her one of those tiny down 'throws' for the crib this winter. and making a duvet out of fleece. seriously.

[mama goose]

A fleece sling- we used it a lot for outside needs last winter (since strollers are often not great in the snow). I wore it inside my maternity coat.

[Melanie]

I have a 5 month old in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (where -30 to -40 degrees Celsius (-22 to -40 F) happens several times, for a week each time, every winter) and I've been agonizing over what to do! All the suggestions are really helpful, thanks everyone. :) The problem I have is that is can be -30C this week and +10C (50F) next week so I need versatility. Mostly car travel, but sometimes stroller if we walk.

I think I'll go with a layered approach... a fleecy snowsuit that's not too thick for the carseat straps with blankets over the top for those cold days. Munchkin is extremely tall for her age (95th percentile) and her feet hang over the end of her carseat so those "shower cap" style covers don't work, they squish her legs all up.

Also, I've been told that anything with slots in it (like buntings for example with the slot cut out for the between-the-legs strap) void any responsibility on the part of the carseat manufacturer should the seat fail during a crash. They claim that the garment could have prevented the strap from being where it was supposed to be (held it too far from the body for example if the slot is too low). I was told this at a carseat safety demonstration put on by the local government health authority so I think its probably legitimate. If my child was injured and needs expensive therapy due to a carseat malfunction I want to be able to legally take action against the manufacturer, so I'm not planning on using anything with a slot!

[JessA]

The down vest Ergo trick is brilliant!

It hasn't gotten really cold yet in Brooklyn, but my 4.5 year-old generally goes out with a BundleMe that lives in the stroller (we don't have a car), fleece coat & hat. He keeps his hands under the BundleMe for now, but we'll be adding mittens just as soon as I can find a pair that fit his absurdly large hands without falling off.

[JessA]

Er, 4.5 MONTH old, that should have been. D'oh!

[emily]

The best piece of advice I got about dressing an infant in cold weather is this: whether you're indoors or outdoors put one more layer on the infant than you wear yourself, because the infant doesn't have the benefit of moving around to stay warm.

So when we're in the stroller I put my son in his jacket, hat and a stroller blanket (aka baby footmuff).

When I put him to sleep, I put him in fleece footie pajamas and add an oversized long-sleeved shirt.

And during the day I almost always dress him in two shirts (t-shirt and long-sleeve).

If you have a big drooler on your hands make sure to carry extra bibs and shirts to swap. There's nothing worse than a cold, wet chin and chest.