Newborn hats - Page 2

[MyBoysBlue]

There is science to it but I don't think a hat is the only answer just a convenient way to prevent a bit more heat loss. Skin to skin is really the best way to prevent them from loosing too much heat. They go from warm inside their mama to being exposed to air for the first time.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.or...tract/49/4/504

[CEG]

I'm a former L & D nurse and the reason it is so cold in those rooms is because laboring women tend to get sooooo hot. I usually wore scrubs with a long sleeve shirt underneath and a scrub jacket on top and was still cold! Meanwhile the patient would be saying she was hot! Same was true of me with my births. So it isn't an evil hospital/nurse ploy to cause babies to need hats In fact the hospital would probably save considerably on less air conditioning. Also chiming in with, we got our homebirth baby's hat from cascade medical and it was also really cute.

[TzippityDoulah]

we never really do the hat unless it's really cold or something. we hold the bay most of the time and keep in reasonably warm indoors... so I dunno. I dont see the pointof a hat unless it's a drafty place. true babies loose their heat through their heads0 but ALL humans do. I don't walk aroundin a hat all day unless it's cold yk?

I guess it depends on the warmth of your homes/season the baby is born in etc...

[Carson]

I think the hat is good to have on hand - in our situation DS had trouble regulating his temperature and that was with skin-to-skin, sitting near a fireplace and with a hat on. So the last thing he needed was to be losing heat out of the top of his head.

[boheime]

I just keep baby on me, and that keeps them warm. We bought a couple of hats for our first because you are supposed to, along with a bunch of receiving blankets that were never used. We tried one on once, and it really affected how much I could smell and kiss his head, so it came right back off. Subsequent children have never worn them.

[gabeyho]

Originally Posted by Gray's Mommy

If you know someone that knits or crochets, I would ask them to make a few as a baby gift. Handmade hats are wonderful!

I am lucky since my mom is beginning to crochet & from what I understand--newborn hats are super easy to make.

I knit one for my ds1 and have used it for each baby since. It is the perfect tiny size, and baby hats are easy and fast to make.....that's the only thing I ever managed to finish when I learned how to knit!

[averlee]

If you really want hats for your baby (and I did too, it was an item on the list I obsessed over) I'd check a second hand shop. I remember buying several from the big bin of bibs and booties. I also would suggest checking at Target, Kmart, walmart type stores. I recently noticed them carrying tons of those thin, cozy, tiny hats only in newborn size. They were winnie the pooh, but mostly mellow colors like olive green.

[StrawberryFields]

We used one of these little organic hats for our homebirth (although my birth kit ended up coming with one of the stretchy hospital hats):

http://www.purebeginnings.com/Mercha...gory_Code=CAPS

looks like they are on clearance for $2.70 right now.

[mango*mama]

Originally Posted by Bea

I get confused about this one too. It's an American thing apparently.

My son was born in the States, in hospital, and they shoved a hat on his head within minutes of birth. I think it might be another odd Americanism like eye drops for neonates.

Apparently, a newborns survival here is dependant on his wearing a hat despite no one else in the vicinity wearing one. ....
I have no idea how babies in other countries manage without it but somehow they struggle through.

With all due respect, hats can be very helpful in the survival of underweight babies; in parts of the world (even warm parts of the world) where this is common, one sees many babies (even toddlers) with wooly hats on, in all sorts of weather.

Amanda Soule, for example, the "Soule Mama" blogger, was involved in sending hats to Haiti as part of a project with Konbit Sante, which has said that neonatal hypoethermia is actually a leading cause of babies' death. On a day when so many of us are thinking of Haiti, I thought this would be worth remembering.

I have found many nice, soft hats at Target, Gap, and similar children's stores.

[perditafoster]

FWIW, the newborn hats at the hosp with my first dd were too small. They kept popping off the top of her head like a rubber band. It was hilarious! We gave up after the first day and she had a nekkid head. Fortunately, she had a ton of hair to keep her warm. Better that than a hat flinging itself off her giant head at every available opportunity!

[Plummeting]

LOL, perdita!!!

I will do skin to skin just like I did with my daughter. However, it's going to be March and still cold where I live, and while I may keep the room where the baby's born warm (and I may not, given how hot I was when in labor with DD) I am quite sure I'm not going to have my house extra warm once the birth is over. There will definitely be times when someone is not holding the baby and I might think the little one would be warmer with a hat. I didn't keep hats on DD's head all day once we left the hospital, but I did at night. She seemed like she slept better with a hat on for the first few weeks, so I've always assumed her little nearly bald head did get cold.