Everything You Need to Know about Dressing a February Baby
First step – choosing the size
In our climate, it’s not uncommon for winter clothes to be needed even in April. Therefore, when choosing winter clothes for a child, keep in mind that a February baby will be wearing a winter overall for at least two months. However, predicting a newborn’s height and weight is inevitably difficult, as there’s no universally applicable and valid sizing rule. The most reasonable approach is to use average height and weight charts for children. To help with your choice, an average two-month-old baby is 60 cm tall.
Option A
A newborn is, on average, 51 cm long. If you want outerwear to fit your baby perfectly right from birth, it’s recommended to choose size 50 and then gradually increase the size as the baby grows.
Option B
Choose a winter overall with fold-over cuffs in size 56. As your child grows, you can then purchase additional mittens and booties. The fold-over cuffs on Lenne baby overalls can be used until the child reaches the height indicated on the overall. Once they grow taller, you can add mittens and booties.
Option C
The third option is to choose size 62, as this provides plenty of room for dressing, and even a slightly larger newborn will certainly enjoy the newly purchased clothes until spring. However, the downside of a larger overall is that it might be too big when coming home from the hospital. It’s also worth considering that spring might arrive earlier than the winter overall becomes the right fit.
What to Dress your Baby in?
Once the size is known, then…
Mothers always want their baby to be warm and are therefore very careful when dressing their child. However, ideas about dressing babies can differ drastically, as the conditions parents create for outdoor sleeping are so varied.
Some parents use lighter, more breathable strollers, rocking their baby to sleep for a nap on a sheltered terrace or a glazed balcony. Others have children who fall asleep in a warm stroller in the yard of a country home. All these details influence a child’s dressing needs, and babies’ sensitivity to cold can also vary greatly.
It’s important to simply check your child regularly – make sure they are warm enough, but not too hot. The best way to do this is by feeling the skin on their neck – it should be warm, but not damp. There’s no need to panic about cold hands either, as this doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad immediately. However, a child’s cool hands do indicate that warmth should be added to the stroller as soon as possible.
Although the cold and crisp air is charmingly characteristic of a Nordic winter, it should be enjoyed with caution. After nine months of basking in a cozy warm womb, the baby now needs to start breathing icy winter air – this requires a bit of adjustment and adaptation. With a tiny newborn, it’s definitely advisable to spend the first few days indoors, and during cold weather, you might want to wait a week before going outside. Before venturing outdoors, it’s a good idea to accustom the baby to sleeping by an open window, and then – if the child is of normal weight and healthy – start with short outdoor excursions. Initially, it’s advisable to limit outings to up to 20-minute bursts, and only if the outdoor temperature is not too low. At temperatures below -5 degrees Celsius, it’s still sensible to stay indoors with a newborn.
The ABCs of Outdoor Sleeping in Cold Weather
For a baby napping outdoors in cold weather, a sheepskin or extra blankets are not necessarily needed if you dress the child in:
In warmer weather, layers should be reduced. To start, you can forgo the winter sleeping bag or remove the merino overall. In a mild winter, when the temperature is between zero and five degrees Celsius, only cotton indoor clothes, a merino wool hat, and a winter overall are sufficient.
Recommended Gear for Outdoor Sleeping in Very Cold Weather
But What if the Baby Sleeps in the Car Seat in the Car?
In that case, fewer layers are sufficient for the child:
How to Safely get from the Maternity Hospital to the Car with a Car Seat?
Since the baby is not yet accustomed to the outside temperature when leaving the maternity hospital, they will need slightly warmer clothing for the first trip than for subsequent car rides. The clothing itself is already warm, so there’s no need to set the car temperature too high. Dress the child in:
when moving to the car, to block the wind, add a winter footmuff or some other windproof winter clothing.
By following these simple tips, you can ensure your baby is comfortably warm while adapting to the new world, and you will have done your best to help your January baby gradually get accustomed to the winter frost.
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