Help me dress DS for winter!

[alkagift]

I feel like a complete idiot! I can't figure out what to buy DS to carry him through a mid-south winter! Right now I've got him in cotton pants, onesie and matching light jacket with socks and it was 50 degrees this morning so it seemed ok. Yesterday he was in sweatpants and a long-sleeve onesie and was hot! I live in Atlanta and the weather here is like NC. In the dead of winter the highs are in the 30's and before DS we kept the house cool at 68.

I have to go out and buy the wardrobe since all of DS's gifts were summer items. My stash: three pairs of knit wiggle-style pants, two overalls, five long-sleeve onesies, two pairs of sweatpants. I also have a fleece jacket and bunting. There are jeans and cords, but they won't fit him until January, probably. This just doesn't feel like enough. Lately, with the nights being 45 degrees or so this week, DS sleeps in a halo sack over a cotton sleeper. Should I get any of the following:
*shoes--robeez-type?
*fleece sleeper to wear under the sleep sack?
*more pants?
*Sweaters or sweatshirts for indoors?

Do your kids wear footed sleepers, perhaps velour or fleece, during the day?

I'm trying to be careful since I went crazy and over-bought for the summer...

Thanks for any advice!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew, 5/19/03

[cchavez]

OMG....I need the same advice. I live in N. Texas so I think we don't get quite as cold as you guys but I feel so clueless as to what to get DS for the Winter.....

Do I get him a coat and a bunting? He is a big boy and will no longer be in his infant seat in the winter so I will have to carry him around on errands...in the stroller, cart (or sling...no having much success w/ the sling right now)....so if he only has a coat his bottom half might get cold????

Do your sweatpants have snaps??? I don't want to have to pull them off and on all day long.....

I too would appreciate any advice.

Btw, DH keeps on telling me to hold on purchasing the Winter wardrobe b/c we don't know how quickly he is going to grow but I hate to be unprepared.

Right now al we have are 2 sleep sacksand a few cotton sleepers.

We are going to go to Old Navy this wkend to buy a few warmer clothes....

But do most people dress their infants in layers.....???

Thanks.

[alkagift]

Christine,
The sweatpants I bought in a craze in the 20 minutes I had after work on Monday when the temperatures dipped and I didn't have anything--I couldn't find sweatpants with snaps, no, but I know I've seen them.

I bought the bunting especially for the situation you describe--out of the infant seat, into the stroller. I think that it will be particularly handy when it gets really cold, but it seems like overkill right now. I bought it through Land's End in the 6 month size and is PLENTY big enough to carry him through the winter, I think--DS is 16 lbs and 26 inches now. I'm using just pants and a jacket now during the fall. The wiggle pants are thin, though.

Allison
Mom to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[nigele]

Allison,

* I wouldn't put him in a fleece sleeper AND a sleepsack. I used to put DS in something lighter weight, maybe cotton, under the sleepsack.
* Robeez and socks are great for little feet, or you can find baby slippers
* When Tom was an infant, I would frequently dress him in footed sleepers or outfits during the cold days

Good luck!

[egoldber]

Sarah's first winter she lived in either one piece cotton sleepers or in onesie/leggings combos from babyGap and Gymboree. For her first winter, I never even had a jacket or snowsuit, since she wasn't mobile. If we were outside in the stroller, I just used a carseat cover (like the Bundle Me) or fleece blankets to keep her warm.

HTH,

[sbaker]

Howdy! We live in North Texas also...
Last winter I dressed DS primarily in long sleeve onesies from Old Navy and the Gap. Then I bought him Hanes sweatpants from Target. I loved the sweatpants! I was concerned at first about their lack of snaps, but soon realized that because they were so soft and stretchy they were VERY easy to pull on and off. At $3.50 a pair they are very economical, too.

For outerwear I bought DS a sweatshirt jacket from Old Navy and a Landsend Squall Parka (on clearance). He wore the jacket alot more than the parka.

DS in November 2002 - dressed in Old Navy onesie and Hanes sweatpants.
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/887.jpg

Just my two cents...
:) :+ :)
Sara
Mom to Rayce 02/09/02
Baby #2 due 01/05/04

[lukkykatt]

For a N. Texas winter, I would definitely not get a bunting. Just get a coat, and if you do have a really cold day, throw a blanket on top of him in the stroller. For the amount of really cold days you are likely to have, the bunting would be overkill (and a waste of $) for you.

I've never seen sweatpants with snaps, but they are so easy to pull off and on you will not miss them. If your son isn't a wiggle-worm at diaper change, you can just pull them halfway down, too.

Layers are good for really cold days - onesies and then a shirt on top. I also like overalls in the winter, because it adds another layer on their chest. For my boys, I get light cotton long-sleeved shirts, heavier weight cotton long-sleeve shirts, and then sweatshirts or fleece shirts. For where you live, I can't imagine that you would need too many really heavy shirts either, though.

[brubeck]

I live in California where in the winter it's 45F in the morning and 60F in the hottest part of the day. My favourite toddler outfit (I did this for both my son and daughter) is overalls! I stock up on overalls with snaps down the legs and a bunch of onesies (long and short sleeved). I try to get them in colors that mix and match. For variety I get some one piece rompers and playsuits (long-sleeved). Carter's, Land's End and The Children's Place have some nice ones.

I only switched my daughter out of these kinds of clothes when she started to potty train.

For outings I usually get one hooded lighter jacket (sweats jacket, light fleece jacket?) and one light winter jacket for wearing when it rains.

This is what has worked for me!

[parkersmama]

I live in Columbus, Georgia, and grew up in Birmingham so I'm totally familiar with the Atlanta weather. For my boys for winter I loved one piece outfits and LS onesies and overalls. My all-time favorite winter boys outfits are the rugby suits from Lands' End! They are perfect for our weather. I usually buy one sweatpants/sweatshirt outfit per winter. A fleece jacket will be plenty warm enough since you'll usually have him covered with a blanket probably. My dd is the same age as your son and all I have for her winter "coat" is a heavy cardigan sweater from Gymboree. I bought a knit hat to keep her head warm and I'll have a fleece stroller blanket to use in the car or stroller. It's my opinion that a bunting is way too hot for around here and you won't use it at all. Even on the coldest day a jacket and blanket will be enough. I would take the bunting back. Also, warm socks were always enough footwear for my boys but I am considering a pair of Robeez for Amy Grace. Not really for warmth but because I like them! :-) I think a light sleeper under the sleep sack would be plenty. I think I'm going to buy a fleece sheet and then put her in a light sleeper with her flannel swaddle blanket around her. Velour and fleece are both okay for daytime but you'll probably find they are too warm for most days. HTH!!

[alkagift]

Thanks everyone! Denise, I so agree about the shoes--cuteness is motivating me, but as you know girls' stuff is so much cuter!

I got the bunting for $14 from LandsEnd overstocks, so I might keep it even though I agree it seems like a lot for here. Perhaps if we go up north for Christmas for a day or two I'll want it--DS would be in and out of the car more, etc.

Edited to say: that I have one of those rugby jumpsuits from LE and it is great! I wish I had more of them. I got it from my mom because they had my college colors...like it matters to me now at 36!

Allison
Mom to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[cchavez]

Thanks everyone! We went to Old Navy and got 2 packs of ls onesies, one pair of overalls and and a sweatshirt jacket. I really like the pea coast at Baby Gap....should we get this too. Plus, I want to pointy hat from Gymboree!! Fun! I also just remembered my Zooper stroller has a boot to use in cold weather.

I just need to go to Target and get some Hanes sweat pants and shirts....do they have them out yet? I was just there and did not look. ( I hadn't read this message yet).

Thanks.

[alkagift]

I saw sweatpants (Circo brand) out, as well as lots of jeans and overalls in their brand as well as their version of OshKosh that they carry now. They didn't have a big selection of sweatpants, though. It looked to me like they had those Circo ones out on clearance to make room...


Allison
Mom to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[parkersmama]

You're probably right about using the bunting when you go up north. Also, it'll come in handy on the few very cold days that we have. Plus, anything from LE is just so yummy...you have to keep it!! ;-) I suggest that you get a couple more of the one-piece outfits from LE. They are really terrific...no matching, wash extremely well, and fit great for the whole winter. I've been buying them for years and can't say enough good about them. And, a bonus...they are super-cute and any baby in them is in danger of being eaten up with kisses! :-)