Keep Your Baby Warm and Healthy This Winter

I am excited to have recruited help from a non-Floridian writer for this particular topic! Jennifer Taylor from MomTricks is guest writing. You will need her tips if you live anywhere but South Florida, so please read and share this with your other cold-weather friends.

Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Baby Warm and Health This Winter: 

I was a winter worrier. That is, I managed to stress myself out a lot leading up to our first winter with my son Alex. Facing the cold and snow with a baby in tow wasn’t exactly something I was prepared for, and I was very afraid of not dealing with it properly. I don’t particularly like winter, and the idea of having Alex with me made it even worse.

If you live in the colder areas of the country like I do, you might know exactly what I felt! But in the end, it really wasn’t a big deal. There were a few bumps along the road, but the winter experience wasn’t that bad. I decided to write about my experience in the hopes that it will help others be prepared for the coming winter! The following is everything you need to know to keep your baby warm and healthy this winter!

Layers, layers, layers:

• The biggest and most obvious challenge during your first winter with your little one is keeping them warm. Thankfully, as long as you know one simple rule, it’s easy. I call it the “plus-one” rule. And it’s basically this:
  • For every layer you yourself wear when you go outside, give them one more than that.
  • If you’re dressing up in a simple t-shirt, a nice hooded sweatshirt and your winter jacket, that’s 3 layers. Give them 4: a cute little onesie, an adorable little sweater on top of that, then a warm winter jacket. Top it off with a nice, warm blanket, and you have the perfect winter outfit.
• All of those layers work their magic and keep the heat trapped close to your little one’s body, keeping them nice and toasty.
• Don’t forget the little gloves, socks and booties!

[bctt tweet=”How will you keep your #baby #healthy and warm this #winter? Here is everything you need to know! #Parenting”]

Keeping cozy during bedtime:
So, now that we have daytime sorted out, it’s time to tackle nighttime. How is nighttime different from daytime, you ask?

Well, experts recommend not using blankets in cribs, because they can cause suffocation, and are a known cause of SIDS. Therefore, we have to compensate for losing one of the warmest things we can use to keep our little ones warm!

I’m a huge fan of sleep sacks and swaddle blankets, in particular the Miracle Blanket, which has the added benefit of being the most amazing baby soother I’ve tried. They’re really great for keeping warm, and they’re totally safe to use in a crib.
Dealing with the dry winter air:
Have you ever noticed how dry the air gets in your house during the winter? I don’t know about you, but I find it downright nasty sometimes. It gets so itchy and scratchy (and I’m not talking about the Simpsons characters!)

• What’s even worse is that gross, dry air is the perfect breeding ground for viruses. Because our teeny babies have underdeveloped immune systems, it doesn’t take very much for them to get sick.
• The easiest way to deal with this is by setting up a nursery humidifier in your child’s room. These work by dispersing a mist of water into the air, increasing the humidity and making it much more comfortable and safe!
• Just watch out for one thing: be sure to get a cool mist humidifier and not a warm-mist one. To make a long story short, warm-mist humidifiers can be warm to the touch, which is an obvious danger when we have young children in the room.

Comfy and cozy car cruises:
Unfortunately, all of the bulky (but warm) winter gear causes another issue when it’s time to go for a drive. Experts warn that all of the bulk can nullify the protection that the car seat offers in the event of an accident.

Not only that, but we need to make sure that any blankets used go on top of the restraints, and not under. The reason being that blankets under the straps can be a suffocation hazard.

I also highly recommend picking up a nice car seat liner online. They make the cold car seat much more comfy and warm to ride in during the cold winter months!

Keeping lips in tip top shape:
Do you ever get dry, chapped lips in the winter?

Well, your little one is going to get them too, and probably even worse than you. All of the drool and runny noses is the (unfortunately) perfect recipe for chapped lips.

The easy solution is to coat them with a good, chemical-free lip balm. This is sure to keep the dry, cracked and chapped lips away. And you can even use it yourself!

When the winter takes its toll on skin:
Another unpleasant side-effect of being out in the cold winter air is red irritation on the areas that are exposed to the cold. In particular, you might notice it on your child’s face. The cool winter air combined with the friction of clothes on the skin is the recipe for irritation and dry skin.

To deal with this, all you need to do is apply a thin layer of moisturizer to the affected areas. Don’t put it on too thick; just put enough to get the job done. And don’t get it near the eyes or mouth!

Sunscreen in the winter?
Going out for a day in the winter means slapping on the sunscreen.

Say whaaaat?

Yes, it’s true: sun protection is just as important in the winter as it is in the summer!

• A common misconception is that this isn’t the case, but in fact the sun is just as damaging in the winter.
• Be sure to apply a layer of sunscreen on any areas of your child’s skin that will be exposed to the sun if you plan on going outside that day.
• Getting 5 sunburns gives you an 80% higher chance of developing melanoma, which is a scary statistic.
• Lather them up with sunblock!

Sorting out the sniffles:
One of the most unpleasant things that can happen during a long winter is getting sick. Imagine how bad it must be if you’re a baby. It’s by far one of the most awful things to experience, when there’s little you can do to ease your little one’s suffering.

• If your child is having a hard time breathing, I highly recommend getting a nasal aspirator. But don’t get one of the typical bulb aspirators you might find; get a FridaBaby Nasal Aspirator. They work in a completely different way, and they work really well.
• In fact, I’d recommend all parents have one in their arsenal!
• Along with a FridaBaby Nasal Aspirator, I’d also recommend having saline nasal drops. You can just put a drop or two in each nostril, and it works wonders at clearing up the nasal passages.

In Conclusion:
I hope that this winter proves to be stress-free for your whole family! Do you have any tips that I missed? Please let me know in the comments section!

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