This week’s The Prompt immediately reminded me of when Monkey was a tiny baby and it has led me to thinking a lot about those days.
The Prompt, if you don’t already know, is a linky hosted by Mum Turned Mom, and this week’s prompt is the following quote:
Sweater, n. Garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. Ambrose Bierce
This quote reminded me of what we were told by health visitors and midwives about dressing our Newborn Monkey. They said he should wear a vest – which we should count as his skin, then he should wear the same number of layers as us, plus an extra layer. So if I was wearing a t-shirt, he should wear a vest, a t-shirt, and then another layer. If I was wearing a tshirt and a jumper, Monkey should wear 4 layers. You get the idea.
In reality, we soon realised that for Monkey, this was completely wrong. I know it’s just a rule of thumb and that it is probably perfectly accurate for a lot of babies, but for Monkey this was waaaaay too many layers. He was one warm baby! Still is in truth.
In summers, especially the first summer when he was born, he was basically in nappies most of the time, slept with a fan in his room and actually his favourite thing on a hot day was to be positioned in front of a fan (at a safe distance) to get a nice breeze, he has always loved feeling the wind in his face!
Just found this cute clip of Monkey very much enjoying lying in front of the fan 🙂
Occasionally we have forgotten what a hot baby he is … with disastrous results.
For example, his first Christmas, we bought him a really cute fleecy baby-grow for him to sleep in with the idea that he would look really cute on Christmas morning. We forgot how warm he is naturally and oh. dear. lord. He went to bed fine, then about an hour and a half later he was screaming, we went upstairs and he was on fire, just completely overheating (cue us feeling like the worst parents in the world) so we had to strip him down to his nappy and basically held him up in front of the open window (and it was cold!) to cool him down. Thankfully this worked and he slept fine for the rest of the night in one of his normal baby-grows. But that pretty much put paid to our relaxed Christmas Eve! He still looked cute on Christmas morning though and we will never make that mistake again!
So, honestly, Monkey hardly ever wears sweaters (or Jumpers) because I know he would completely overheat in one. I can be really chilly and in a big jumper with a t-shirt under and he’ll be in two thin layers, perfectly happy. He is in a sleepy bag at the moment but he is still in the summer Tog one, we have bought a lovely winter one but it seems so thick and it just hasn’t been cold enough for him to wear it.
I really like the quote, but for us it is very much untrue!
It’s amazing how kids don’t feel the cold like we do. My 2 will happily run around with their jackets unzipped, no hats or scarfs and I’m wrapped up in a million layers LOL
it’s crazy isn’t it? It just doesn’t bother them as much. Monkey hardly ever wants to wear a hat and he’s always so warm! Me, I’m freezing, gloves and scarves on from autumn to spring! 🙂
My kids always seem to be warm, too – always have delightfully sweaty feet!
Ha ha sounds lovely! hehe 🙂
Awww hes sooo cute… my oldest is the exact same, hes always been a very hot baby and now hes 9 years old and in the height of winter sleeps in shorts only with sometimes a blanket covering him. No idea where he gets it from, because im a cold bum and need layers upon layers hehe
http://www.suggys.co.uk/Leanne
Thank you, tis lovely looking back on the baby pics! Some of them just are warm blooded aren’t they, though think Monkey gets it from his daddy as he’s usually quite warm too! xx
He just doesn’t feel the cold always on the move!
haha very true mama xx
Well that’s a piece of advice I’ve never heard before and it sounds like an awful lot of layers for a little one! #ThePrompt
Its bonkers isn’t it? I vaguely remember expressing doubts at the time but as we were a bit rabbit in the headlights did as we were told… Not for long though! Xx
My kids are the same! They have all completely overheated in the recommended number of layers 🙂 If I can get the boys to wear PJs at all I’m doing well! Thanks so much for linking to #ThePrompt xx
Oh interesting, not just us then, weird that they recommend so many layers. Aww bless them. No problem it’s a great link! xx
Pretty much the same with J too! He has mum-2 layers most days. Perhaps the midwives need to recalculate this equation 🙂
I think they do! 🙂 xx
i really do not think that children feel the cold like adults do. i remember my Mum forever telling me to do my coat up as i went out with it open and i was never cold. But now as a mum myself i am forver asking my two to do their coats up while i am freezing!
what a lovely theme to prompt your flashback and your monkey looks so cute and i did feel for you with regards to that xmas eve incident – at least he got your attention to cool him down
thank you for linking up x x
Thank you 🙂
You make a fantastic point here, they’re all different aren’t they! It can be quite annoying when the so-called professionals give one size fits all advice. We had a similar scary experience when our 4yo was about one. Overheating is so dangerous when the little monkeys can’t regulate their own body temps #ThePrompt
It really is surely just as dangerous as them being too cold so it does seem strange that you are told to put them in so many layers – we just assumed that Monkey was just warmer than the norm but with so many of the comments on here I now I am not so sure!
This sounds exactly like my son, and daughter. Neither of them like layers and I am forever making them sweat it out because I don’t want them to catch a cold. lol
Ha Ha love it, mummy knows best 🙂 Does feeling cold actually give you a cold though? It’s one of those things I’ve heard a lot from my mum and mother in law but always doubted! 🙂
Kids don’t seem to feel the cold as much as us adults do hey. My two are forever trying to go out in just a t-shirt. Brrr!!
Lovely snaps xx
#FlashbackFriday
Lol very true! Thanks! Xx
It is funny how warm kids are, my little one is the same. She use to hate being wrapped up and liked nothing better then crawling around the house in just a nappy! #ThePrompt
It is funny isn’t it? You’d think being so small they would be colder – but I guess they have less surface area to keep warm haha!xx
G hates wearing layres and always has, I was alwaystold to dress him in more but he would over heat and get uncomfortable. They’re all different 🙂
Exactly the same as Monkey! There is a lot more warm babies than I thought but you are right they are all so different in different ways! xx
I’m equally surprised by the number of other people who also had/have hot babies!
It’s crazy isn’t it? I’m glad to know we aren’t the only ones but I am definitely surprised! xx
It’s so hard to know at first what they should be wearing isn’t it? Toby was born last summer when it was really hot. I remember it being 28 degrees in our bedroom and I didn’t know what to do. Toby was pretty tiny so he would just sleep in his vest and nappy but now he’s always warm. He always has really sweaty feet in the mornings too!
It can be really hard – especially as you say when they are summer babies and it’s hot. SO difficult to know what the best thing is, time to trust the mummy instincts I guess! Ha ha ooh lovely 🙂 xx