Clothes - Asheville,NC

You mentioned that you are cold natured. You should take that into account when dressing him. When my daughter was first born, I asked the pediatrician about how to determine whether she was properly dressed and she told me to go by what made ME comfortable. I'm cold natured, like you, so I had to take that into account when dressing my little girl. She's 3 now and can tell me when she's hot/cold, and she isn't as cold natured as I am. Of course you want to keep him out of the wind, etc. and will need hats and/or blankets for that, but otherwise, I'd look at what you're wearing to keep comfortable as a gauge for what he will be comfortable wearing.

Hi H.!
Have you tried to touch his hands, nose and feet? If they are cold, almost certainly he is too. Try and let me know how it goes...cheerio

S.

I know exactly where you are coming from, I get cold easily too. I would LOVE the house to stay at 75 (anything lower and I HAVE to wear pants and sometimes a jacket but hubby would love it to stay at 65 or lower. Anyhow I dress our son like I dress, unless if I feel him and he feels warm, then I take the jacket or whatever off...or I would dress him like hubby and if he felt too cold, I would add a layer. I always bring extra clothing for warmth no matter what because our son likes to copy either myself or my husband and it helps to just have that on hand. lol

So to sum that up, I just go by how he feels body wise unless if he is sick obviously. :)

If you ever wonder if he's hot or cold, feel the back of his neck. His temp there is indicative of how the rest of him feels. I would say a onesie and a sleep-and-play outfit is good for now, plus a sweater or something outside (unless in the sun). The sleeper jammies (pus a onesie) are GREAT for night, because then you don't have to worry about even using a blanket.

You just simply dress the baby as you would yourself. I have a two year old and have been working in child care for six years. i always recommend a undershirt/onesie under their clothes and a hat. The problem with winter time is over dressing and over heating a baby. Other then that, if you are still worried about being cold...cover them with a blanket.

Hi H.,

Well if you normally dress very warm even if it's 70 degrees you must really be sensitive to the cold. At 70 degrees I'm still wearing shorts because I'm warm..haha. If you dress really warmly I would suggest not dressing your child just like you would dress yourself. My pediatrician told me that an infant's room for sleeping is ideally kept at between 65 and 68 degrees. She recommended sleepers with feeties or socks just in case the baby kicked off the covers. They do not want you to keep the baby's room too hot and I would think its the same with being outside. Now if its 40 degrees outside and he's going outside of course dress him really warmly...layered and stuff. But not in the house where it's cooler. At least that's what I was advised by my pediatrician. You don't want to overheat your baby either because that can cause seizures. A friend of mine working in a day care warned me of this when she saw a young baby go into a seizure fit because he was dressed to warmly and he couldnt get cool by himself. So be wary of that.

My son is now 2 years old and he wears a long t shirt to bed with no socks usually and wears a blanket if he doesnt kick it off and we keep the house at about 68 degrees. No problems. He sleeps well and doesn't sweat. You don't want your child to be too hot during the day or night. It's not good for them.

Good Luck! You can also check out baby websites like www.pampers.com, www.americanbaby.com, www.huggies.com, etc... They all usually have parenting pages and tons of information. I used to get a weekly newsletter from them all because I was a first time Mom too with my son and needed advice all the time! Good Luck again!

Generally they say one more layer than what you are comfortable in, but that wouldn't work too well for you since you get cold easily. I would say that on these 60-70 days a long sleeve shirt and a romper and socks would be good, and carry a blanket, a hat would not be necessary unless he just feels really cold. When it gets colder, you will probably want to have an undershirt on and a long sleeve shirt and pants/romper with socks, and a blanket for the trips outside to inside, hats are good too, when it gets below 40, he will need a winter coat, they make them with legs and arms all one little suit, and that is good for the really cold winter months. But layers are always good so that you can remove if it is too warm and add when it is colder.

Sounds like you are doing a great job! Basically your child will let you know if they are cold or hot, and there are signs to look for also. If his little face is getting all red or he seems to be sweating, most likely he is hot. If he constantly feels cold then you may want to add to the attire he is already wearing.

My son and my daughter are as different as night and day where this is concerned. My son, who is will be 6 this week, used to get much hotter than I would. He would cry a lot and I couldn't figure out why, until I noticed that his face was red a lot. I tried dressing him a little cooler then (trading in the long sleeves for short sleeves and not wrapping him when he slept). This improved it. However, he still woke up sweating at night. I then started letting him sleep in nothing but his diaper and it worked!! He slept great! He just seemed to always be hot! He is still one that likes to wear shorts outside when it is below 70.

My daughter on the other hand gets cold very easily. Her little legs and her feet are almost always cold. I normally keep a pair of socks on her and she wears pants a lot. She even sleeps in long johns, and sleepers. She is almost 11 months old now, but she has been this way since day one.

Basically, your child will let you know if they are uncomfortable. If they are not bothered by what they are wearing, or the temperature, then they won't show the signs of discomfort as much as if they were too hot or too cold.

Sounds like you are doing good. Like my mother always told me..."dress your kids like you would dress yourself to start with and if they are uncomfortable, then they will let you know."

H.,
First, congratulations on having your son! I think that definitely one layer of clothes would be enough when it's 70 outside. The general guideline for clothes is usually to dress your child in whatever you would wear, but if you're always cold, you might want to back off a little on the clothes. Little ones should probably wear at least a light hat outside, at least for the first couple of months (and since we're now heading into winter, he'll probably have one on until March!). I would check some websites or books-- BabyCenter.com and Parents.com (and Parents magazine) are good ones-- for guidelines about clothes, especially at night. One thing to note is that babies sleep better when it's cool (I think they say 64-68 degrees) and that really warm temperatures can raise risks for SIDS, so you might want to check on that. I usually just feel my son's arms and legs-- as long as they feel warm to the touch, I assume he's warm enough. Good luck with your new little one!
Becca

I think that a one piece cotton outfit would be fine now. When you go anywhere just bring a thin blanket with you to cover him up from there car to the building.

Dress him as you do, but in layers, and carry an extra outfit or two in case you need a lighter outfit or a coat until you figure out his preferences. He is your child and may be as cold natured as you, maybe not. You need to figure this out. Watch for sweating which indicates he's too hot. Feel his arms and legs on a regular basis to see if they feel cool which indicates he is cold and needs more clothing. He should feel room temp to the touch, not cold, and not hot. You'll need to try different things until you learn what he needs.
A young baby, up until at least 6 months should always wear a hat when it is windy, and definately when it is cold to protect their ears for one, and also to help retain heat. It doesn't have to be a heavy hat if it is warm, just enough to help keep the wind away. Baby's loose a lot of heat through their head though, so a warm hat if it is cold. Your doing a great job! We all have to go through this trial and error thing with each new child we have because they are all different.

Hi H.,
I was always told to layer my children. That worked great for me because I could always remove something if they felt warm. Not sure where you are but I would think that a fuzzy sleeper would be fine for right now. You can always put on a hat. The dr. always told me that babys loose most of their body heat out the top of their heads. Good luck. I know you are doing a wonderful job.
Hope it helps
M.

I would just put him in a long sleeve body suit and socks during the day. If you go out just put a blanket on him. At night a fuzzy sleeper is just fine with a flannel blanket. That is what I do for my 6 month old son. There is nothing wrong with taking him out in his fuzzy sleeper. I used to do it all the time with my daughter, not to mention they look so cute in those sleepers.

Hi H.! I think that you should dress your baby how you would dress if you were him, maybe slightly warmer.I know how you feel-- I too get cold easily. So.. I'd dress my baby warm unless he seems uncomfortable and hot. How old is your baby?I know I'd especially make sure to have a hat on in the cold and even more especially when going outside to protect from the wind and prevent them from getting an ear infection.

I have that same problem too...
I NEVER know how to dress my little boy.
My husband is always hot and I always think its too cold.
I started putting him in long sleeve sleepers to sleep until
his sweat glands came in and I noticed he was sweating so now I just play it by ear. If he is sweating I will take more clothes off and if any of his body parts feel cold I will add clothes. That seems to work so far. I always pack a blanket in my diaper bag just in case it's cold when we go anywhere.
My doctor said that was the way to go...
Hope this helps! :)