Friday, August 24, 2007

cold weather babywearing

We snowshoe in the winter, even when it is below zero. We have a couple of different approaches to it.
I dress Cormac and myself pretty warmly, Cormac a bit more so because he's not moving about, and then have a babywearing garment over us. I think that's important because it is a much better fit.
DH dresses them both warmly and wraps those glove insert heaters in socks and puts them inside Cormac's boots and top mittens. The carrier is always shown this way while with my way it's covered.

The most important things are:
  • NO cotton next to baby's skin. The mantra from safety experts is "cotton kills" (I used to have that on my site in the winter babywearing article but my brother said it was too morbid) because it will get damp and refreeze, causing hypothermia before you know it.
  • Dress in layers and do continual checks on baby's extremities. They will feel cooler than yours but watch for cold and clammy.
  • Be very careful if you are getting sweaty, especially of your baby is sweaty, on winter walks and adjust your layers so you are not too warm.
  • Watch exposed skin carefully. You can coat your baby's skin with a bit of lanolin for extra protection but watch obsessively for signs of frost nip and frost bite.

Getting outside in the winter is essential. Once you figure out a system that works for you it is really easy and refreshing whether a walk through the neighborhood or snowshoeing on the trails.

2 comments:

Scribbit said...

Dressing in layers is something we're always hearing about here. The more the better.

Larissa Wright-Elson said...

Layers are good! I wish I had a coat with me now! Sunny and chilly today!