Wearing Your Baby in the Heat
By Cassandra Fenton, Guest Contributor
Time to bring out the sunscreen, hang up your towel and jump in the water! Summer is finally here… but so is the hot weather. Although we love wearing our wrap all year round, the summer is definitely when we use it the most! Wearing our Beluga Wrap enables us to go for walks, splash around in the pool, help my eldest on the playground and soothe baby to sleep in the shade. It allows us to keep our adventurous spirits and enjoy the summer with our busy toddler and baby in tow!
If you have a little one, the summertime can bring on nerves of overheating, sunburns, and dehydration. The higher temperatures can make it tricky to judge whether your baby is just tired from a fun and busy day or have heat exhaustion so I have put together a list to help you feel confident while wearing your baby in the heat, despite rising temperatures. As always, remember that you are responsible for your baby, and this is not to be taken as medical advice.
6 ways to keep cool while wearing your baby:
- Frozen Teether on Pacifier Clip
I always have a teething toy clipped on to our Beluga Wrap, so when the summer rolled around I thought, why not switch it out for a frozen one? This helps keep your baby’s temperature down and also soothe those teething gums, all while safely clipped to your wrap so it won’t get dropped and dirty! -
Bonnet
Sometimes wearing a sun hat can be hard on the baby, moving their head back and forth. Wearing a bonnet with a brim can give your baby a little more room to look around but still keeps their precious little cheeks from burning! Boys can wear bonnets too!
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Spray Bottle
On the warmer days, carry a spray bottle in the pouch at the end of the Beluga Wrap and you can spray the baby’s neck and feet/legs for a quick cool down. Tip: you can find a cheap, small one at any dollar store!
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Dress Lightly
Most likely you are already wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and this will definitely help with lowering the temperature for both you and your baby. Dress your baby in lighter clothing as well, a onesie or even just a diaper if the temperatures are super high! The Beluga Wrap acts as a layer of sun protection, and will shield their skin where it’s covered.
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Nursing/Feeding
Being on the go can sometimes mean that you miss a feed when baby’s sleeping and you don’t want to wake them. Luckily with a few simple adjustments you’re able to nurse while wearing your baby!In the hot heat, you’re going to want to make sure they are feeding around every 2 hours. If they are not eating solids yet, this will help keep them hydrated and away from possible dehydration. If your baby is eating solids you can give them frozen yogurt tubes or ice cubes in a Mesh Fresh Food Feeder.
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Go in the Shade
This has to be one of the easiest ways to cool down baby. Taking your baby away from the sun rays and into the cool shade will not only protect their soft baby skin, but also help to bring their temperature down. Tip: try to find a spot that is underneath a structure or shade tent as this will help block the UV rays as well, standing in the shade of a tree will sometimes allow the UV rays to come through and counteract cooling down.
An important note about air conditioning safety
Air Conditioning Safety:
Be careful of air conditioning and your little one. Although you may think this is a great alternative to bring your baby’s temperature down or just a break for yourself, bringing a baby from 32 degrees outdoors into an area that is 21 degrees is a drastic change to their little bodies and they may not be able to keep up.
Let me illustrate with a personal, very scary story.
Our daughter, Ezra, was one year old in the summer of 2017. Temperatures were high, and we were well aware of what heat can do to a little body, so were looking for a way to cool down.
We figured we’d cross two things off our list at once - pick up some groceries and cool down at Walmart. Smart, right?
Wrong.
We sat our daughter in the cart and started to walk around, grabbing a few things for dinner and then headed to the check out. While standing in the check we noticed that she had fallen asleep and was slouched over. After a couple minutes I leaned over to check on her and saw something I will never forget.
Her eyes were open.
I immediately started to panic, telling my husband she wasn’t okay, we had to get out of there and I was calling 911. I picked her up and held her, talked to her, blew in her face, tickled her, said her name, nothing. She was limp. An ambulance pulled up in front of Walmart within minutes of me calling and they were able to hydrate her right away and bring her temperature up.
Yes, UP.
We were very educated that day on the affect heat can have on babies, even if they are hydrated and you keep them in the shade. Little bodies are not able to adapt to different temperatures as quickly as adults. Our daughter went from a high temperature car (with air conditioning) to an almost freezing cold grocery store within seconds, causing her body to go into shock and resulting in a heat induced seizure. She regained consciousness and was back to herself within a couple hours and I have never been so happy to see her smiling face!
Keeping your baby cool in the heat is no joke and is something you should always pay attention to.
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