How to Keep Your Baby Warm During Their First Few Months

*Collaborative Post

Infants are unable to shiver, meaning they struggle to keep themselves warm. As a result, they are prone to feeling cold, particularly in the frosty winter months. For this reason, knowing how to keep your newborn nice and warm is essential as a parent. The first few months of your baby’s life are crucial, and it’s important to help them stay as comfortable as possible so they can focus on growing and developing their senses.

Maintaining the right body temperature is important in both directions. You should ensure your baby doesn’t get too cold but also doesn’t overheat, as both extremes can be detrimental to their health.

As scary and intimidating as all of this sounds, it’s relatively easy to keep infants at the right body temperature. In this article, we’ve covered some helpful steps on how to keep your baby warm during their first few months…

How to Know When Your Newborn is Too Hot or Cold

Being able to recognize the signs of your baby feeling too hot or cold enables you to take immediate action if your newborn is overheating or shivering.

You can get special neonatal thermometers to check your baby’s body temperature. However, you don’t necessarily need any equipment to tell if your little one is too hot or cold.

Place a hand gently on your infant’s tummy (skin to skin) to feel how warm or cold they are to the touch. If you feel that they are too warm, remove a layer of clothing or blanket to enable more heat to evaporate from their skin.

Conversely, if your baby’s skin feels cold, you might need to dress them in a cardigan or jacket, wrap them in a blanket, or consider warming up the room.

Top Tips for Keeping Your Infant Warm When They’re a Few Months Old

Thankfully, there are plenty of simple yet highly effective things you can do to maintain your infant’s body temperature within a healthy range. As this is particularly important in their first few months of life, our top tips below focus on this time period of their life.

Keep the room temperature stable

Very young babies are highly sensitive to changes in their environmental temperature. The temperature in your home can influence their body temperature significantly, so it’s important to take notice of it at all times.

The ideal room temperature for a baby is between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius or 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Aim for a room temperature in the middle of this temperature range, if possible.

Of course, keeping your home at a specific temperature can be difficult, especially if you live in an area that receives seasonal weather and is prone to unexpected temperature changes. However, getting yourself a thermostat can solve this problem!

You can connect a smart thermostat to your central heating system and turn your radiators on when the temperature drops below a pre-set threshold. You can set this threshold yourself and adjust it either on a thermostat control panel in your home or on your smartphone.

Consider using a humidifier in your home to maintain a steady humidity, too. Dry air can often irritate your baby, causing them to become distressed or overwhelmed and making their skin dry and flaky.

Use your body heat to warm your baby up on cold winter days

Your metabolism is much more efficient and mature than your newborn’s. You will release a lot more heat than they do, thanks to the many metabolic processes that are occurring in your body at any given moment.

You can use your body heat to warm your baby up by holding them close to your body. Whether you want to hold them in your hands, snuggle up with them on the sofa, or invest in some baby wraps that you can use as a hands-free method of keeping your baby close.

Using a baby wrap enables you to get on with your daily tasks and house chores while ensuring your baby stays warm. It also enables you to spend quality time with your newborn at the same time as getting through your to-do list.

Invest in a range of clothing for your newborn

It’s important to have a range of clothing options for your baby so you can dress them appropriately in different weather conditions and environmental temperatures. Make sure to have a selection of warm and cool clothes on hand, whether you’re at home, traveling with your baby, or taking your infant out and about in your local area.

An all-in-one (or a sleeper) is a great idea to keep your baby warm and provide a fluffy layer of insulation. These are great choices for winter months, alongside a baby coat, socks, boots, mittens, and a hat for outdoor activities.

For fall and springtime, consider dressing your baby in a cardigan or jacket that’s slightly cooler than a large coat or sleeper. Hot summer months mean you can dress your little one in a dress, shirt and shorts, or set of dungarees. Of course, if your local area tends to have colder weather all year around, you’ll need to consider this when dressing your young infant.

Purchase high-quality bedding

You’ll need to make your baby’s cot, bassinet, or crib as cozy and comfortable as possible to promote better sleep.

Here are some important things to keep in mind regarding your newborn’s sleeping environment:

• Make sure the mattress is well-fitted and has a fitted cotton sheet over the top.
• Add cotton blankets to provide extra warmth and comfort for your little one during naps. Check on your baby regularly when they’re asleep to check their temperature. If they’re too warm, remove a blanket.
• Consider getting a baby sleeping bag that keeps your infant well-covered but gives them more freedom than when they’re swaddled in a blanket.
• Dress your young baby in appropriate clothing, depending on the time of year and the weather.
• Make sure there are no drafts entering the room from doors or windows. Use blankets or sealants to get rid of drafts. Keep the crib or bassinet away from these drafts if you’re struggling to eliminate them completely.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.