How To Dress Your Baby In The Fall: 5 Useful Tips

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Most moms dread fall and winter and stay indoors when it gets colder outside. However, babies and children in general love being outside, and once you master the art of layering clothes to perfection, no cold weather will pose a threat to you and your little bundle of joy. 

Follow these tips to make sure your baby is perfectly comfortable, not overly dressed, but not cold either, and enjoy your time outside worry-free. 

Layers

The most important skill as a parent that you’ll need is the art of layering the clothes on your baby. Most mothers tend to overdo it with the layers, but the point of layering is to keep the heat in between layers. Once the fall starts, and the mornings, as well as evenings, are a little colder than the midday, layers are perfect to add or remove as needed. In the morning, your baby will need two to three thinner layers to keep warm, but as the temperature rises, you’ll remove one layer to prevent excessive perspiration and the potential that the baby catches a cold. 

For example, start with a short-sleeved onesie, add on a long-sleeved onesie or a long-sleeved shirt, warm socks, and leggings, or warm pants. If the temperature outside is less than the one inside the house, add on a jacket when going outside, and don’t forget a hat, mittens, and fuzzy boots!

Blankets when in a stroller

If you are planning a long walk in a stroller, be aware that a still baby can be very cold at a low temperature. So, warm them up using blankets, as an additional layer. If it is very cold, use a blanket beneath the baby, if the baby is under 6 months old, and laying down flat, with little to no movement. Additionally, if the baby is over 6 months old, and sitting up, watching the world around them, moving, exploring, a blanket beneath them would only be a distraction. However, adding a blanket on top of them, to keep their feet and legs snug and cozy is always a great idea. 

Another useful layer to add on is a rain cover, that can keep out the elements, as well as provide some additional warmth. 

Fewer clothes in the car

Most parents make a mistake and put the bundled up baby in the car seat with all their layers. Even if it is just for a short car ride, don’t be fooled – the baby can overheat, causing them to be cold once you take them out of the heated car. So, before putting the baby in the car seat, take off the most outer layer, like a jacket, or a coat. Make sure you take off the hat, too, and mittens. Make sure your baby wears hats and mittens only when outside. 

Another reason to take off bulky coats and jackets is safety. Having a bulky jacket can loosen the harness, or compress beneath it, leaving too much room for something to happen to the baby in the case of a car accident. 

Beware of overheating

Even though baby clothes seem thin and you may think your baby needs more layers than it actually does, as stated before, layers are useful for keeping the heat in. However, do not use this literally – adding more than three layers when dressing the baby for being inside is too much. Three layers when going outside can be just right, if the temperature outside is not too low, or if it is not dark outside. 

A good tip to follow is to dress your baby as you would yourself. If you are stepping out in just a shirt and a jumper, your baby definitely does not need three layers plus a coat or a jacket. 

Avoid blankets during nap time 

Even though you instinctively want to cover your baby with a blanket when they sleep, try not to. This will increase the possibility for them to overheat, or experience SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). 

If, however, the room temperature in the baby’s room is too low, you can put them in a sleeper sack. 

Now that you know more about layers, and how to dress your baby in the fall, you no longer have an excuse to stay inside!

Author Bio :

Jasmine Anderson is a Sydney-based lifestyle blogger and a toddler mom. She loves to spend quality time with her family, go thrifting, and spend just a little bit too much time on the internet.

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