Going outside with the baby in winter

Baby skin is more sensitive than the skin of adults because it is thinner and more delicate. The sebaceous gland is not yet working like those of an adult, and therefore, baby skin dries out more easily and can become rough and scaly. With the right clothing and a coat of baby cream, a walk in the snow will still be fun.

The winter cold can get pretty harsh even for adult skin because the sebaceous glands work less well when it is very cold. Many women have to apply cream especially generously in winter, so their skin doesn’t dry out. With babies, it’s no different. Often children are dressed warmly on the body, but the face remains unprotected. Before taking a walk in the fresh winter air, baby’s face should be well moisturized with a rehydrating skin cream. Also, sunscreen is important in winter. The lips may require appropriate care, too, for example with a balm with a high content of natural beeswax.

Hot and Cold

After the walk outside, when the family arrives in the well-heated living room, skin is typically exposed to warm, dry heating air, which can dry it out further. While a warm bath feels comforting after the cold, it also brings the risk of drying out skin. Chose a bath additive that contains oil and don’t forget to moisturize baby’s skin well afterwards.

The right clothing

Of course, every mother and father are worried that the little ones might be cold and so we wrap them up neatly in the cutest baby and children's winter clothing with a pretty baby hat on top. Don’t forget to put on gloves - in our latitudes winter gloves are needed even if children lose them often, but there are several methods to tie gloves to children’s clothes.

Despite thick winter clothing, children should not sweat. Especially newborn babies run a risk to overheat in winter clothing. Babies cannot self-regulate their body temperature very well and they can also lose warmth very quickly. Hypothermia or even frostbite is possible.

Layering

As with adult clothing, layering is a popular and suitable technique for European winters: you put on several layers of clothing on top of each other. As a rough guide, you could always put one more layer on your baby than on yourself. If you put on many layers, you can easily remove a layer. From time to time, check if your baby sweats. You can easily check that between the shoulder blades. Also, consider removing a layer or two when you are in a warm grocery store, on public transport or in your car. It may be necessary to remove layers gradually. Make sure your baby does not have to go back outside into the cold weather in wet sweaty clothes

Wool regulates humidity and temperature

A great solution are all natural materials such as wool, which automatically regulate humidity and temperature. In wool, you sweat less and you don’t become hot or cold as easily – if you have made that experience as an adult, you might want to consider letting your child benefit from this advantage, for instance with a cotton baby sleeping bag, filled with cuddly wool.