I’m not really a fan of hot, sunny weather but I’m determined to not let that get in the way of making some great summer memories while she’s a baby. We’ll never get this time again.
The hottest day we’ve experienced together so far was just over 30 degrees Celsius. We made it through though despite all my worrying. The night was the worst. I think it was 27 degrees in Molly's bedroom when we put her to bed so she went to bed in a nappy and a 1 tog sleeping bag. It probably would have been a 0.5 tog if we’d had one but we didn’t so we made do with what we had. She was absolutely fine, as she always is. I do think I worry too much but I always think it’s better to worry a little too much than not enough.
Here’s how we stayed cool in the heat.
- Water - this one is actually in 3 parts. I’ll start with the most boring. Molly is partly breastfed and partly formula-fed (due to very painful nipples) so I make sure to offer Molly water in her sippy cup to make sure she’s staying well hydrated. For babies who are exclusively breastfed, extra feedings from the breast is recommended.
Part 2 is a wet towel. My husband decided to purchase a magic towel which claims to be 0 degrees when wet. Spoiler alert: it does not even get close to 0 degrees when wet. However, it does stay cool for a long time in the heat though and feels lovely on the skin. I’m sure any old wet towel or even a muslin would do the same job. This helped to keep all 3 of us cool when the mercury rises.
Part 3 is the most exciting and most definitely my favourite. PADDLING POOL. She loved it, once the water had warmed up a bit! A bit of advice, don’t try and put your baby in the water straight from the hosepipe. I’m speaking from experience here. Straight from the tap, the water is very cold and baby will probably hate it and cry (oops). Lots of splashing and plenty of toys, in the shade of course, and you’re probably set for at least a half an hour of fun with your little ones.
- Shade - Recommendations say that babies less than 6 months old should not wear sun cream and should stay out of direct sunlight. Hmmm, easier said than done when it’s the height of summer, the sun is directly above and there are no clouds whatsoever. We put up a gazebo in the garden so we had a place to put the paddling pool that was out of direct sunlight. That means we have somewhere to sit at all times of the day and be out of the sun's rays!
When out and about we use a muslin to shade her in her pram. You should never cover a baby’s pram with a blanket or a muslin as the temperature will rise putting your baby at risk. However, we use some buggy clips to clip one end of the muslin to the top of her buggy hood and the other to the handle so she’s shaded from the sun but still has good airflow inside her pram. Alternatively, you could just use a parasol. I like to make do with what I already have though to save a bit of money!
- Clothes - I think for most of the day Molly just wore a nappy which was great. We use cloth nappies which are a little more sturdy and stay in place better than a disposable in my opinion so she was quite happy. I think a light cotton summer dress or romper is needed to cover up their bare skin from the sun's rays if you’re going to be out and about.
And don’t forget your sun hats! Molly wears a fireman’s hat which is perfect for keeping the sun out of her eyes and off her face and neck.
- Fans- These are an absolute godsend. Obviously, I’d never want molly directly in front of a fan, especially all night. We placed a fan outside of her bedroom door just before we put her to bed and it worked brilliantly at creating an airflow around her room without putting her in a draft, she loved the constant white noise too!
I’ll never be a fan of the really hot weather that comes in the summer but having a baby to spend it with definitely makes it more fun (and more stressful. Maybe that’s just me.). These are the ways we tried to stay cool during the hot weather we’ve been having recently. I am in no way qualified to be giving out advice, I just wanted to share my tricks for keeping cool and enjoying the sunshine.
