baby wearing in the winter

[ebbb]

Hi, just looking for some advice from babywearing mamas who live in colder climates in the winter ( ie. below freezing, snowstorm type temperatures). Do you wear your LOs in the winter? If so how, what type of carrier, what do you wear, what does baby wear for the cold?

Thanks for any tips

[goldenwillow]

I used my Moby last year when we went out with DS dressed in a winter suit (all in one) and I just used DP's larger jackets to go around both of us. Worked great for walks.

[lifeguard]

Ds' first winter we were in Costa Rica so it wasn't an issue. Last year he was too heavy (over 25lbs) to wear on my front & my go to carrier was an ergo. I made a babywearing jacket. I would dress both of us in a sweater & hat & then we both fit under the jacket - although it was not a particularly warm jacket so we couldn't go out like this on really cold days.

Alternatively I could put ds in his snowsuit while I wore my parka & put him in a backpack carrier. This worked well when we were going to be somewhere where I would actually be wanting to put him down while we were outside to play in the snow or whatnot.

If your dc is smaller & you're still able to wear them on the front it would be fairly easy to dress them warmish (sweater & hat) & then wear a large jacket zipped up over both of you.

Alternatively you can look into an inuit amauti. I haven't been able to find a source for one myself & I think they are quite expensive but imo that would be the ultimate way to babywear in our winters.

[almadianna]

The big key for me about babywearing in winter is making sure that the baby is properly dressed to begin with. Woolen garments underneath, a nice layer of fleece, etc. Making sure that hats are worn at all times and mittens too, to avoid the heat being released from their little brains is key.

Other than that I think that a good jacket that can cover you both and a good cozy carry is all you need.

My reference points are babywearing in Houston Texas, where winter is a joke.... and Norway where winter is hardcore and borderline unbearable.

[almadianna]

oh and I cant say enough about using wraps in winter. I wrap in winter.

[ABO Mama]

For a little baby, you can easily get away with wearing a larger jacket over the two of you (I used DH's jacket). With a bigger baby, you can use a babywearing vest or jacket, depending on how cold it is.

[justKate]

Here are great instructions for making a poncho to go over you and baby: Jan Andrea at home on the web

And here is a simple "no-sew" alternative: gypsymama.com

I made the first one for us last winter, and it wasn't too bad. I did a mock turtle neck instead of the roll-over neck. Definitely cheaper than trying to buy something and WARM.

[redvlagrl]

Depends on the age of the baby. When DD was tiny I would front wrap her and put my oversized puffy coat on us both.

I have an Amauti which is great.

I also made a babywearing coat which is put on us after she is up on my back in a wrap or mei tai. I modified an existing coat by making a horizontal slit across the back and adding a gusset.

[Lauren710]

Originally Posted by almadianna

oh and I cant say enough about using wraps in winter. I wrap in winter.

Yes yes yes : If you can do wool and don't mind the extra care wool wraps require, that's my ultimate for winter.. snuggly front carry in a thick wool wrap with a big jacket around us both!

My DD is approaching 2, so I may try to make my own BWing jacket for winter back carrying this year.. front carries are great but back carries are much more comfy for me for long periods of time now that she's bigger.

[Oliver's Mama]

this is more of a logistics question...
but how do you manage babywearing in the winter when you're running errands in and out of the car (and can't bundle up all your layers in the comfort of your house?) Like, if I'm in the parking lot and snow's blowing, I don't want to take off my coat, put on the carrier, put in baby, put on jacket, etc.. seems like that leaves us both exposed for quite some time. Does anyone wear their carrier OVER their own coat, with some sort of cover attached to their carrier (thinking SSC here). I have a three-year-old to tow along too, so even just in the summer it's a huge ordeal getting us all unloaded and loaded. The toddler must ride in the shopping cart too, so babywearing is always a must when we run errands/shop.
I guess this is the one situation I'll admit where a bucket car seat would have been nice.

[raqi]

Ergo just came out with these and used to make this. I haven't tried either, but I'm curious. I posted a little while ago to ask if anyone had tried the older one (the new one hadn't come out yet) but I didn't get any responses from any one that had.

[ABO Mama]

Those look similar to the Monkey Pocket covers I came across, but the monkey ones also come in wool. The monkey ones also come in toddler size, hmm...

[mckittre]

Agree that front wrap of a tiny one under a large coat is really easy. Back carries are more complicated, but doable. If you're practiced enough with your wrap or carry that you can do it quickly, it's really not much time to be exposed to put a coat over the top (assuming you're both wearing something more than a T-shirt under the coat). Cutting a slit in the coat works well. On the other hand, the Inuit way is pretty slick. Having just spent some time with Eskimo villagers in NW Alaska, I observed that they put their babies on under all sorts of coats (without ever using any sort of carrier), and just didn't zip the coats up all the way (hood hangs back behind baby). No expensive coat required. If the coat didn't have a tight waist, a scarf was tied around the waist to keep the baby in. Everyone seemed to be able to manage this in about 30 seconds flat. It made me feel so contraption-ish and clunky using a wrap - I'm going to try their way this winter.

[redvlagrl]

mckittre - are you sure they weren't wearing Amauti? There's actually a built in place for the baby and then it nips in at the waist and has a belt so the baby doesn't slip out the bottom. I couldn't imagine how you could do this with a normal coat - or did they mock up an Amauti by belting in an oversized coat?

[justKate]

Originally Posted by Oliver's Mama

this is more of a logistics question...
but how do you manage babywearing in the winter when you're running errands in and out of the car (and can't bundle up all your layers in the comfort of your house?) Like, if I'm in the parking lot and snow's blowing, I don't want to take off my coat, put on the carrier, put in baby, put on jacket, etc.. seems like that leaves us both exposed for quite some time. Does anyone wear their carrier OVER their own coat, with some sort of cover attached to their carrier (thinking SSC here). I have a three-year-old to tow along too, so even just in the summer it's a huge ordeal getting us all unloaded and loaded. The toddler must ride in the shopping cart too, so babywearing is always a must when we run errands/shop.
I guess this is the one situation I'll admit where a bucket car seat would have been nice.

What I do on cold days (bearing in mind I live in TX, so its not that cold): Wear my ergo like belt around my waist, park, leave car running. Lay seat back and get DD out of her seat (RF passenger side). Put her in ergo and put babywearing poncho over us. Getting back to car, I start the car, then get in back seat before pulling DD out of the ergo. This probably wouldn't work as well with another car seat in the back, but it works for us for now.