Silly question about slings

[lovepiggie]

I know it's August and it's silly to be thinking about winter already, but...

When it's winter, do you wear your baby sling over or underneath your winter coat? I would worry about the baby getting cold outside of the coat, and I worry about the baby overheating underneath it!

[D'sMama]

I dress baby in normal clothes and wear him under my coat (or rather, my husband's ski jacket!) If you're comfortable, baby will be comfortable.

[sapphire_chan]

:
Although I'd generally zip the coat over her head in particularly inclement weather. Got the best looks on the bus when I unzipped the coat, let me tell you.

[spmamma]

I think it would depend on whether you're doing a front or back carry. With DD, I could comfortably put my coat on over the sling when she was front carried, but that didn't really work for a back carry.

Of course, I live in CA so we never really faced super cold winter weather here. I'm not sure how I would have managed to back carry her in a snowy climate. I'm sure she would have been super bundled!!

[funkymamajoy]

Originally Posted by spmamma

I think it would depend on whether you're doing a front or back carry. With DD, I could comfortably put my coat on over the sling when she was front carried, but that didn't really work for a back carry.

Of course, I live in CA so we never really faced super cold winter weather here. I'm not sure how I would have managed to back carry her in a snowy climate. I'm sure she would have been super bundled!!

:

Babylegs are great for keeping them warm, as their pant legs get pulled up when being worn.

[baturay]

We are in Chicago area, so we get really cold winters. When doing a front carry, I like using a two shoulder one and then I wear my maternity coat that I bought from Old Navy for $40 like 4 years ago. I button that over baby and me. I then put a hat and a scarf (if baby is big enough) around baby. No coat for baby, since he has the woven wrap (I wear wraps a lot in the winter) around him, my body heat and also the coat - plenty warm!.

[Quirky]

I prefer a two-shoulder carrier under a coat for small babies in winter weather -- or for bigger babies when you're not going to be taking them out and putting them down. I think a one-shoulder carrier is a lot more challenging under a coat because baby is more off to the side and the coat fastens in the middle.

A one-shoulder carrier like a ring sling can work with both you and child in your winter clothes if your child is going to want to get down and run around, but you need to be careful to get a secure seat in a hip carry with all the extra layers confusing things. A ring sling is better than a pouch in this instance.

There are some very cool cold-weather babywearing solutions out there, both ones you can buy and ones you can make. For example, there's the Peekaru vest and Peekaru coat, by TogetherBe, the Suse's KinderCoat, the MamaJacket, and more along those lines for wearing baby under.

For "over" solutions, CatBirdBaby makes a great fleece snap-on cover, and Monkey Pockets makes snap-ons in wool etc.

If you are crafty, you can make your own. My sister got a bargain on a down coat off ebay and made her own bw jacket (for NYC winters) and she's also made lighterweight BW jackets from fleece jackets.

There is a whole sub-forum on babywearing clothing at The Babywearer:

http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/f...play.php?f=169

And a DIY forum, too; here's a link to the thread with my sister and the coat she made:

http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/s...d.php?t=185869

HTH!

[pixiepunk]

when it's super cold i do a two-shouldered carrier under a babywearing jacket or babywearing poncho. if it's not super cold, i wear a fleece sweater, put baby in babylegs and warm pants/fleece sweater/hat as warranted and just don't wear a jacket over top.

[erika978]

On the cool days this summer (I live in Ireland and we've had a crappy July), I've put my newborn in a ring sling and zipped up my jacket around her.

For winter though I have a MAM babywearing cover. Used with dd1 and will use it with dd2. Love it and it comes iwth a really cute hat. And it is very warm and snuggly for baby.

[kitikatuka]

Here in Vermont this past winter, I wore my baby under my coat in a Moby D that had a fleece center panel so it was pretty cozy for her. I had a fleece hat with ear flaps for her that came down low in the back, and would pull up the fabric to cover her neck/head a bit more. Underneath it all, she was in regular clothes - usually something with footies, especially when she got longer and her feet/legs demanded to be free.

Another nice thing about wearing the babe under your coat is when you get where you're going, you can easily take off your coat and not totally disturb the baby.