Snowsuits neccesary?

[MoonStarFalling]

Help me get a handle on this clothing thing. Both my kids were late spring babies. I was just looking at snowsuits and buntings and other wintery clothing and wondering if we even need them and how much.

I know you can't use a snowsuit in the carseat. Would it be better to get a warm but thin fleece bodysuit and use a blanket over the straps? In the winter I just tucked my DD into my wrap w/ a warm hat on and that kept her warm while walking into the store. Is that enough for a newborn? It sometimes is below zero wind chill here and I'm not sure if I want to be home for the first two months!

I'll have a couple wool sleep sacks for sure. How many other warm outfits are needed? What are you getting?

[Jazzmin]

My first was a December baby and I had one of those blanket covers over the bucket seat. 12 years ago there wasn't as much carseat safety talk, so I'm not sure if those are still kosher, but it sure kept him warm.

ETA: I have a Patagonia Fleece suit that I plan on putting the baby in when we go out. It really isn't bulky so I don't think it will be an issue.

[nova22]

I never used a snowsuit on babies. I didn't see the point in packing up the baby in a big bulky suit or coat, taking him/her out to the car, taking off the suit, buckling in, putting on the suit when we had to get back out, etc. We had the kind of seat that you can take in and out of the car so I kept it in the house, dressed the baby in layers (onesie and a blanket sleeper, at the least, so feet are covered), buckle the baby, cover with a light receiving blanket, and cover that with a heavier fleece blanket. If it was raining or snowing, I'd pull the visor thingie over the baby and cover the entire seat with a thick fleece blanket so the baby would stay dry, then I took the fleece blanket off again once we got to the car.

If we decided to leave the carseat in the car for whatever reason, I'd put a sling on while I was still in the car, put the baby in it immediately, and then wrap the fleece blanket over the outside of the sling and the baby's head. I put my coat on over the sling so I could wrap my coat around for wind protection if necessary.

[lyterae]

DDC - My first was a February baby and we had a snowsuit but really it was useless.. You can't use a snowsuit in a carseat so it really was rather pointless to have one. If we went walking she was tucked up in a wrap against me and the added snowsuit made her melt.

[weezix]

All my babies were winter babies. It gets VERY cold here and I never used anything heavy. Even jackets, I kept pretty light - I prefer more of the sweatshirt type material for a jacket for when it's really cold. Other than that I just use blankets and make sure baby has a hat and always has feet covered.

[rad]

We have a snowsuit. We used it once maybe twice with my 4th DS who was a November baby. I stuck with heavier blankets and the lightweight fleece suit we have. I actually got alot more use out of the babywearing coat I had bought while pg with him than I did the snowsuit.

[Fat Scottish Gal]

Why can't you use a snowsuit in the carseat? I've never heard that before. I live in NE and we certainly need warm clothing in Winter here.

I only get the kind of snowsuits with individual legs, so you can still use the straps, and we make sure the buckles and straps are adjusted to fit with the extra clothing. Then we don't put the heating up too hot, since we all have our coats and things on anyway, plus I hate changing from extreme temps, so we try to keep it reasonable. Just warm enough that we don't think our fingers and noses will snap off.

Is there something else wrong with snowsuits in the car?

[MoonStarFalling]

FSG, you can't get a tight enough fit with the straps if the baby or child is wearing something puffy. Even if you crank them down as tight as possible they can still slip out in the event of an accident.

That's a really good idea about bringing the car seat carrier into the house! I've never used one of those carseats but this might be the time to get one.

I'm thinking I might need like 6 + onesies, several long sleeve onesies, 6 or more sweatpants, a fleece outfit for outings. We EC so some of the outfits are too complicated.

[WifeofAnt]

Yeah, its a 'compression' risk. In the event of a crash you want the straps to be snugly holding the baby (but not squeezing!). If there is bulky clothing, blankets, 'positioners', ect between the carseat, baby, and the straps then he/she can't get snug enough to be properly protected. Instead you can keep them warm by putting them in long sleeves, adding blankets on top of the straps, and using a car seat 'cover'.

[Fat Scottish Gal]

See, I'm terrified of those car seat covers, because there doesn't look like there's a whole lot of air circulation in there. We'll hopefully be doing a lot of hibernating this winter anyway, with a new baby Especially on the very cold days.

[MoonStarFalling]

I'm unsure about the seat covers and safety. I don't like baby's face covered. I see people in store with blankets over the whole thing they entire time they're eating or shopping, never checking on the baby. I might just use some felted wool to make something.

[Fat Scottish Gal]

I see that too, with the blankets. As a SIDS mom it just rubs me the wrong way. I'm sure it's safe enough, but it really scares me.

[quantumleap]

We lived in Canada's Arctic when dd was born in December. We also got more use out of a solid fleece suit with feet and a hood than we did out of our snow suit. DD would wear a short sleeved onesie under her clothes (often a shirt and overalls), wool socks, baby legs, winter robeez (the fleece lined ones) or padraigs, a sweater and a wool hat under the fleece suit. We wrapped her in a blanket to get her to the car, and then put the blanket over her once she was strapped in. Same deal for the wrap/sling, which I wore under a borrowed XL coat and could actually zip up over it all.
We also have an awesome Chariot stroller. Given our temps, I was actually more comfortable having her in the stroller for longer walks, because I was always afraid that she was either freezing her airways into shrivelled little bits or suffocating under a blanket over her head in the wrap. I used the full out snow suit in the stroller, and put a hot water bottle at her feet. The feet seemed to be the major problem area, and the hot water bottle totally solved the problem.
There is a youtube video that shows how to use a jacket under car seat straps safely, and I really think it could be adapted to use with a snowsuit. here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLTVPqn0aR8
Anyway, we're not in the arctic anymore, although we're still in Canada (East Coast - winter is still bitter and well below 0C for several months). This new babe already has a fleece suit, and I don't plan to buy a snow suit. We'll definitely do a few layers again though. All that to say, I think you can get away without a snow suit.

[mckittre]

I live in southcentral AK, and my son's a February baby. I think a snowsuit is really the thing for the following winter - for a mobile babe that can actually be out in the snow. I didn't use one until he was walking. For a newborn, I think the fleece suits with hoods and feet (and where you can tuck the hands under the flaps), are the best. They can go in the car, in the wrap, wherever... I had my son in them constantly (even good for cool spring and summer days) until he got old enough to be mobile. I just wore a big coat I could zip over the wrap. You might want a snowsuit if you are planning to have the baby in a stroller or otherwise wind-exposed place (fleece lets wind right through).
The one thing I'm really sad I gave away is my small fleece suits!

[MyFullHouse]

We've already decided to get a bucket car seat in order to avoid bulk/undressing issues (and I hate bucket seats, so that's saying a lot!). DO remember to undo those car seat covers once the heat gets going! My spring baby couldn't even tolerate a hat for more than 10 minutes in the car, and those covers are REALLY warm!

While I'm leaning away from getting the traditional "puffy snow suit", we will be looking for some sort of super warm bunting, since we tend to spend a lot of time outdoors, and have winter well into April!

[MamaMonica]

Moved to LWAB

[aerobrandi]

Definitely cover for the bucket seat. Ours had a flap to open up for their face and you could unzip the sides. I'd make sure to unzip it when we were in the vehicle with the heat going or in a store and then zip it when we were going outside. We bought a little fleece suit at a garage sale and maybe used it once.

[tzs]

hated the snowsuit for a newborn! she hated it and for me she would overheat as soon as we'd bee indoors.

mainly we just did blankets, hats, layers and taking the bucket seat in and out with us.

[Norasmomma]

Fleece suit lover here, we had for both our babies who were born in Sept. I also hated the bulky snowsuit, they are so impractical. Fleece suits work great, we are outside a lot in the winter with skiing and snowsports, so our babies need something nice and warm.

I actually asked for a fleece snowsuit for DS, but my stepmom got a snowsuit instead, the kid HATED it, he screamed. So we bought him a Columbia Fleece suit and he liked that so much more. I got it for like $20 bucks on Amazon.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

DS was born in the middle of a huge cold snap here in February - and it gets PLENTY cold here in winter LOL.

We do fleece suits and blankets over the legs in the car. Blankets are easy to pull off once inside without disturbing a newborn. I don't plan on buying a snowsuit for DS for this winter either - he likely won't be walking - I have two fleece suits (12mo and 18mo) waiting for him. Next year we'll need a snowsuit.