Protecting your baby from the cold this Winter
Merino is the best place to start when dressing your newborn baby. With it’s warm, soft and breathable fibers baby will be comfortable and safe, creating the perfect atmosphere around your baby’s body with its incredible insulating qualities. Dimples merino features little pockets of air that can hold in the warmth on colder days and cool baby down on those warmer days. Dimples Merino is able to provide the insulation they need when they are little.
When your baby is a newborn, they struggle to regulate their own body temperature as efficiently as an adult and therefore are more affected by temperature fluctuations. The ideal environment for baby is a stable temperature between 16 and 20oC. Keeping this temperature regulated is important as it is harder to manage baby’s temperature with large fluctuations.
The best way to check if baby is warm enough is to place two fingers down the back of baby’s neck between their shoulder blades. You will know baby is warm enough if the back of their neck is warm. If baby feels hot or sweaty take a layer of clothing off. If baby is cold add an extra layer of clothing, then check the temperature of the room.
What to dress baby in when out and about?
New Zealand weather can be incredibly up and down particularly over Winter. A general rule to bear in mind when dressing your newborn is, they should be wearing one more layer than you. Much like us layering clothing is the key to staying warm. When heading out and about long sleeve merino bodysuit is the best item to begin with then layering up with long pants and a jacket such as our 2 ply merino cardigans. Finally adding a beanie, mittens and a pair of booties or merino socks as well as carrying a warm blanket to place over baby in their stroller. These layers will ensure your little one will be nicely bundled up and ready for an outing in the cold weather.
Clothes for the car
It is important to note when travelling by car that your child must not be dressed in a larger puffer jacket. If your child is wearing a puffer jacket when they are seated in their car seat it can result in the straps being too lose and therefore becoming a safety hazard. To keep baby warm whilst travelling by car it is best to match the temperature of the car to what baby is wearing underneath.
How to Dress your sleeping baby
Something to consider when dressing a sleeping baby is the TOG rating of a garment. TOG stands for ‘Thermal Overall Grade’. It measures the overall warmth and insulation of sleepwear. The higher the TOG rating means the garment is thicker and better insulated, compared to a lower TOG rating which means the fabric is on the lighter side and therefore more ideal for warmer seasons.
A Dimples sleeping bag is an ideal item to have for your little one especially when layering their clothing for sleeping. It is important to refrain from using a blanket until your baby is at least 12 months old to avoid asphyxiation. A sleeping bag is an ideal item as it stops you having to use any blankets. Dimples sleeping bags are made one size to last from newborn until 2 years old. We have solutions for summer as well as merino lined options for the colder months.
What we recommend you dress your sleeping baby in at a room temperature of 16°C would be a Dimples Duvet Lined Sleeping Bag where the TOG rating is 2-3, layered over a merino baby grow, a long-sleeve body suit and a pair of Dimples Merino Socks. If your room temperature is sitting at 18oC it is best to layer your baby with a Merino Lined Sleeping Bag that has a TOG rating of 1.5-2.5 over a long sleeve bodysuit and a babygrow. If your room temperature is sitting at 20oC the best garments to layer your baby with would be a Summer Sleeping Bag that has a TOG rating of 1-2 over a long-sleeved body suit and a babygrow. Dimples has sleepwear available for older kids until 3 years old also offering Merino Pyjamas in a range of colours.
Dimples offers winter solutions all the way from Prem size until 3 years old. All Dimples blankets and accessories are made using the highest quality, soft, warm New Zealand Merino and Pure organic cotton. Hand made with love, when purchasing the Dimples brand, you know you are providing baby with the best quality of clothing during their early stages of life.
