The British climate can be so changeable at this time of year, and even when the weather is cold outside, homes and shops can be very warm inside, so dressing your baby suitably for the cold weather conditions can be tricky.

We recommend using thin layers as they are easy to add to or remove when the temperature changes and easier to wrap over than bulky coats etc. As with warm weather, we suggest that you consider the heat sources and manage those sensibly. So on a cold day, the warmest thing near your baby is likely to be your own body. Keeping layers light in points of contact between the two of you allows you to share your body heat, then having layers that go round both of you helps to trap the warmth inside them.

Very small babies find it harder to regulate their own temperature, so treating the two of you as one single unit and using things that cover the both of you is helpful. They can be dressed pretty much as normal then tucked into your own cardigan/coat so that they are essentially an extension of your own body still.
By the time your children are older and more independent, it becomes easier to dress the two of you separately, wrap them over the top of your own coat etc, especially if they are in a phase of wanting to frequently switch between walking and being carried. A wool wrap like Heather Glasto Tentacular Spectacular helps to regulate temperature by trapping warm air when the external temperature is cool.

Here are pictures of 6 month old Ciaran ‘layering up’. He has trousers designed especially for babywearing by Swing & Rock baby clothes; they have extra length below the knee that cleverly stops the trouser from riding up and uncovering the lower leg whilst the baby is being carried. On colder days we would team trousers with tights (for both boys and girls). Whilst sleepsuits can pull on the foot and compress the toes of a baby in a sling, the stretchy, tights are not affected by the carrier in the same manner.

You can add more or fewer layers depending on the relative temperature. Extremities (hands, feet, head) need more protection from the cold but heads must be uncovered as soon as you go indoors.
Legwarmers and hats are handier than integrated layers as they can be removed without having to unwrap the baby; there is nothing more frustrating than having to unwrap a sleeping baby and risk waking them in order to avoid them overheating when you go back indoors!
If Ciaran was going underneath an enclosed babywearing coat then he wouldn’t need any more layers than this as he has his mum’s body heat available. 

We would add an extra layer if he wasn’t being fully enclosed by his mum’s clothes

 

George is four, and only needs the occasional carry from his dad, so they are both layered up independently

Heather Glasto Tentacular Spectacular is a 25% merino wool, 75% combed cotton wrap, and will be available in our shop from 3pm on Saturday 5th November 2016