Your questions answered by Caroline Cosgrove of Greatvine.com
What is the best way to keep baby warm in winter without the fear of overheating?
Keeping a baby warm enough but not too warm is one of the key preoccupations of any new parent with winter babies.
In colder months, always remove hats and extra layers of clothing from your baby when you come in from outdoors, or go into warm places such as a car, bus, train or shop - even if it means waking them up.
Some garments are easier to undo without disturbing your baby than others. At Baby Concierge, we always recommend a polar fleece wrap for winter babies as they are so much easier than jackets and snowsuits to undo but are still practical (shaped so that they can be used in car seats and prams with harnesses) and still keep them cosy and snug when outdoors.
Natural fibres such as sheepskin and merino wool can be valuable all year round, keeping your baby warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Researchers have also found that wool has a soothing, swaddling effect on babies*, resulting in better sleep, reduced stress, greater contentment and improved weight gain.
Products to look out for include:
Top buys include Merino wool sleeping bags, swaddling wraps and other clothing as well as sheepskin mats, stroller liners and foot muffs. When it comes to sheepskin mats, be sure to get baby friendly ones which have been tested and certified as free of any harmful chemicals.
How useful are air quality products such as air purifiers and humidifiers in the nursery in winter months?
As the temperature continues to drop we will be doing all we can to keep our homes warm and cosy and the warmer and more cosy our homes are, the more polluted they become. Double glazing, fitted carpets and draft excluders all contribute to the build up of pollutants as they limit natural draughts which change and freshen our indoor air. The increase in air borne allergens, dust mites, pollen, chemicals from cleaning solutions, pet hair etc is linked to the increasing levels of asthma, eczema, hay fever and other allergies affecting children today.
The air in our homes can also be dry. Additional heating can mean humidity levels are often low and dry air can cause itchy eyes, dry skin and tiredness.
Air purifiers and humidifiers can help by cleansing the air and restoring moisture:
- Air purifiers work to remove pollutants which will in turn help relieve symptoms associated with asthma, hay fever and other allergies.
- Humidifiers come in warm mist and cool mist varieties. The warm mist ones are excellent in the winter months, releasing warm steam into the atmosphere which helps relieve congestion and alleviate cough and cold symptoms especially at night. It really can be the difference between a contented night’s sleep and a disturbed night sleep for a child with a cold or a cough. Cool mist humidifiers work to put lost moisture back into the air alleviating dry skin, itchy eyes and tiredness.
How to sleep your baby safely in the winter months?
It is well known that babies who get too hot are at increased risk of cot death so it is important to ensure that the room they sleep in is not too hot and that the bedding and clothing you choose is lightweight and, if necessary, in multiple layers rather than a single heavy weight blanket.
The ideal room temperature is between 16-20ºC. Adults can find it difficult to judge the temperature in the room, so having a room thermometer can be useful. Room thermometers are available from £2.75 for the most basic type but there are also lots more hi tech digital thermometers, some of which glow different colours according to the temperature, some that combine being a room thermometer and a baby thermometer and others that are integrated into the actual baby audio monitor.
In terms of bedding and clothing, layering is the way to go, as it is then easy to adjust to any temperature changes by removing or adding lightweight blankets as necessary. It is important to remember that a folded blanket counts as two blankets.
A baby loses excess heat from their heads, so no matter how cold a night it is, never cover your baby’s head in bed.
If you decide to swaddle your baby for the first few months, don’t cover their head and only use thin materials for swaddling such as cotton or merino wool (see question 1).
If you are using a sheepskin to sleep your baby on (see question 1), take it away as soon as your baby starts to roll on to their tummy.
Sleeping bags are an ideal sleeping aid as they come in different tog weights according to the season and you can layer your baby’s clothing underneath (nappy only in hot months, body and sleepsuit for cold nights and just body or just sleepsuit for milder nights). A lightweight / summer weight sleeping bag is useful in winter for daytime naps when baby is fully clothed. If you use a baby sleeping bag, it needs to be without a hood, lightweight and the right size around the neck so your baby won’t slip down inside the bag.
Sleeping bags ensure that baby can not slip underneath the bedding and suffocate and are consequently the more popular choice nowadays when it comes to bedding. If you are using the more traditional flat sheets and blankets method of bedding, be sure to sleep your baby in the feet to foot position at the bottom of the cot so that they can’t wriggle down under the covers.
Do not use a duvet, quilt or pillow for babies under 12 months.
Remember it is normal for babies’ hands and feet to feel cold, however if they are sweating or their tummy feels hot, then you need to lower the heat or remove some layers.
Top 5 recommended winter buys
- Kaiser Sheepskin footmuff £95
- Merino Kids Go Go Merino Wool sleeping bag £59.99
- Baby Essentials Combi cool/warm mist humidifier £59.99
- Brother Max 3 in 1 room and baby thermometer £34.99
- RC Polar fleece winter wrap £36.99
Top 5 innovative baby products launched this season (winter 2009)
- The Wean machine £19.99
- Skip Hop Swipe Portable Wipes holder £8.00
- Sophie la Girafe (non toxic teething toy) £12.99
- Hippychick waterproof duvet protector £46.00
- Cares Fly Safe Child Harness for Aeroplanes £79.99
Caroline Cosgrove
Caroline Cosgrove is founder of Baby Concierge (www.babyconcierge.co.uk), the personal baby shopping service that helps parents to be select and source everything they need for their newborn baby. She is also the co-Author of ‘What to Buy for your Baby’ and Greatvine.com’s Baby Products Specialist. She has helped advise hundreds of parents to be on what to buy and what not to buy and how to decipher between what you ‘need’ versus what you ‘want’. For individual advice from Caroline, by phone, book a private call at www.greatvine.com/caroline_cosgrove
For help with baby equipment, speak with Caroline Cosgrove and other parenting experts at Greatvine.com
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