Dressing your baby properly – tips for every situation

Dressing your baby properly is part of basic care, along with feeding and changing. However, this can raise a number of questions, especially for expectant or new parents: How do I dress a newborn? What do I dress my baby at night? How do I properly dress my baby in winter and summer? You’ll get a feel for it over time. Until then, our guide offers you an orientation on how to dress your baby in different situations.

What clothes does a newborn baby need?

Since a newborn cannot yet regulate its body temperature, it is usually wrapped in a blanket immediately after delivery and placed on the mother’s bare chest for bonding. Only later will your baby get the first clothes to wear. Clothing made of natural fibers such as wool or silk or cotton are particularly suitable. At the beginning, a newborn certainly does not need a full wardrobe with different outfits. A solid basic equipment of the following things is sufficient for the home:

• bodies . Long-sleeved bodysuits work better than camisole because they stay in place and keep your baby’s back and tummy warm. Wrap bodies are particularly popular because they are very easy to put on.

• romper . Rompers are more comfortable than pants for newborns because the tummy is still sensitive and they don’t constrict it. The romper is usually worn over the body. To make changing diapers easier, many models can be opened from the crotch down to the legs.

• jacket . Depending on the temperature in your home, you may want to put a light cotton jacket on your baby.

• socks . Keep your baby’s feet warm with socks. Small wool socks are particularly suitable.

• cap . Newborns lose a lot of body heat through their heads, so it makes sense to wear a hat at first. Indoors and in summer you can give your baby z. B. put on a thin cotton hat. In winter, however, your little one needs a hat that really keeps them warm.

What should you watch out for in newborns?

Newborns need a lot of warmth. This is especially true for very small babies or premature babies . With increasing age, your child can regulate its body temperature better and better. Until then, you must ensure sufficient warmth and dress accordingly. On the other hand, your baby should not get too warm either. So check the body temperature from time to time by touching your baby’s neck. If the skin there is about the same temperature as your warm hand, you did everything right when you put it on. Little cold hands and feet, on the other hand, are not immediately a cause for concern because it does not necessarily mean that your baby is freezing. You can keep baby’s feet warm with socks. Pay attention to the correct sock size. You can use the height of your child as a guide to the clothing size. There are always about six centimeters between the dress sizes. So if your baby was born at 52 centimetres, 56 would probably be the next size up. However, if your baby is in a hurry to see the light of day, you can dress it in special preemie clothes. Since you don’t know before the birth how big your baby will be , you shouldn’t buy too many baby clothes during your pregnancy.

How to dress a newborn properly: step by step

The first few times changing diapers and getting dressed may not be as easy for you as you observed with your midwife . Gradually, however, it will become routine. To get started, you can do the following step-by-step:

• Step 1: The Preparation . It is best to lay out the items of clothing in the correct order beforehand. Then you should check the fit of the diaper again. This minimizes the risk of the diaper leaking .

• Step 2: The body over the head . Place the untied changing body on the changing mat and then place your baby on it. If you don’t have a wrap body, first reach into the neckline of the body and stretch it apart with your fingers. Now pull the widened neckline over your face and then slip it over the back of your head.

• Step 3: The Sleeves . To put your baby’s arms through the sleeves, roll them up and put your hand through the cuff from the front. Now you hold the baby’s hand and carefully guide it, followed by the whole arm, from the inside out through the rolled-up sleeve.

• Step 4: The tights or the romper . After you have closed the snaps of the body in the crotch, you take the tights and roll up your legs to your feet. Gently slip it over one leg and then over the other of your baby’s legs.

Sweaters and trousers can be put on in the same way as with bodysuits or tights. Depending on the season, your baby can also wear these items of clothing.

Inside or outside: how to dress your baby properly

The older and more mobile your baby becomes, the more important it is that you have the right clothing ready for every situation.

What babies usually wear at home

Newborns often sleep during the day and during the recovery phase after birth they are likely to spend a lot of time with their mother in a warm bed, extra bed or bassinet. At around two months, your baby is already much more awake and may lie on a play mat more often. Still, indoors, you don’t necessarily have to dress him up more than yourself. But check regularly whether your baby is warm enough. When your little one starts to walk, soft stopper socks (socks with rubber nubs on the sole) are just the thing to keep your darling from slipping.

What babies usually wear in the summer

Summer time is barefoot time. Depending on their age and where you are, your child can wear sandals or simply walk barefoot. At the top, it is usually sufficient if your baby wears a bodysuit at high temperatures. To protect baby’s sensitive skin from the sun, you can also dress him in light, long-sleeved clothing. Many sports shops or even drugstores have special UV protection clothing for children that protects the body from too much sunlight. Nevertheless, you should also use sunscreen to prevent your baby from sunburn receives. A sun hat is part of the dress code in summer. Newborns usually wear a light cotton hat and lie in the shade, while older babies should wear a sun hat. Ideally, this extends over the back of the neck and has integrated UV protection.

What babies usually wear in spring/fall

Your baby should also wear a thin hat or headband in the transitional period – i.e. in autumn and spring. From now on, tights will also be needed more often. Getting dressed at these times of the year can be a challenge as the weather changes quickly. So you should be prepared for whatever the weather gods have in store. Rubber boots, a rain jacket and mud pants are part of the basic equipment by kindergarten age at the latest . Basically, it makes sense in the transitional period that you dress your baby according to the layering principle: several layers of clothing on top of each other that can be easily put on and taken off again.

What babies usually wear in winter

The colder it gets, the more you have to dress your baby outside. But you should never dress your child so warmly that they sweat, even in winter. An overall (depending on age, with or without feet) protects optimally against wind and cold. You will also need a neckerchief or scarf and warm gloves. A light hat is no longer sufficient, but should be replaced by a warm, well-fitting woolen hat (preferably with earflaps). If you want to go for a walk outside with your newborn when the temperature is below zero, there should be a winter footmuff in the pram in which you can also wrap your baby. If you use a sling, wrap a blanket around it or wear the sling under your own jacket so that you can close it over it. Especially in the sling you should pay attention to that the feet are dressed warm enough. You usually only need thick winter boots when your child can walk. let yourself in things Shoe size well advised, because shoes that are too small or too big can damage children’s feet.

Temperature table: what to wear to your baby

Children’s perception of temperature is just as individual as that of adults. Therefore, there are no general guidelines on how you should dress your baby. A rule of thumb is: always dress your baby in one more piece of clothing than you are wearing yourself. The following table can serve as a guide:

What babies wear at night

In the early days, you don’t necessarily have to dress your newborn in anything new when you put them to sleep at night. A romper suit is the perfect attire for day and night. When your baby has slowly found its way into a day-night rhythm, you can put pajamas on him at night. Changing clothes could then become part of your bedtime ritual become. Avoid blankets, pillows or cuddly toys in bed, as your baby could get caught in them or they could be accidentally pulled over your head. Put your child in a sleeping bag instead. For the winter there are lined models with long sleeves. If the temperature in the bedroom also rises above 20 degrees in summer, a very thin short-sleeved sleeping bag will probably be sufficient. When buying a sleeping bag, make sure that the neck opening is no larger than your baby’s head so that it doesn’t slip into the bag. It must also be neither too small nor too large. Here the formula applies: body length – head length + 10 cm. At night you should not dress your darling too thick. If you are unsure, check the temperature in the neck regularly.

Dressing your baby: tips & tricks

It’s normal for it to take a while to get into a routine of getting dressed and choosing the right clothes. The following tips may help you:

• Dressing aid : Some babies may cry while getting dressed and others will even fight against it with their hands and feet. Wrap bodysuits, sweaters with side buttons or jackets that tie make it easier to put on. In addition, snaps are easier to use than normal buttons.

• Wool-silk : Wool-silk garments are particularly popular, but also a little more expensive. The material is temperature-regulating and soft.

• No chemicals : Children’s clothing should be free of harmful substances. To be on the safe side, you should wash your clothes before you put them on for the first time. In addition to the cost factor, used clothing has the advantage that possible dyes and chemicals have already been washed out.

• The main thing is comfortable : When choosing baby clothes, it should be secondary what is printed on it or what color it is. The main thing is that the clothes are comfortable for your baby and that he feels good in them. Loose clothing is important, especially when they are crawling , so that the little ones have enough freedom of movement.

• Sock holders : To prevent the small socks from slipping off your feet and getting lost, you can simply put them on under your onesie. Some parents also make do with specially made sock holders that are pulled over the socks. You can find these e.g. B. in online trading.

• Change of clothes : Because babies may spit up from time to time or the diaper could leak, you should always have a change of clothes ready in the diaper bag for when you are out and about .

• Fever : Babies with a fever are often dressed too warmly. A long-sleeved bodysuit or long-sleeved T-shirt is a good choice for sleeping when the temperature is high.

• schedule time . Plan enough time to get dressed in winter. Especially toddlers in the defiance phase often have their own ideas about how something should be put on.

• Preheat clothes : Does your baby not want to get dressed in the morning in winter because it is so nice and warm in bed? Try preheating the clothes on the heater or with the hair dryer. Maybe then your little one will prefer to get dressed.

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