You Be The Parent

Because you're going slightly stir crazy inside (and it's only really been winter weather for a week), you bundle your fussy, nap-resistant, nearly 15 week old son into a snowsuit and load him into the Bjorn for a spin around the neighborhood.

During the walk, The Boy continues to fuss so much that passersby cast wary glances at you, wondering just what exactly you could be doing to him.  Eventually--and suddenly--he falls asleep, collapsing dramatically against your sternum.

Since The Boy is finally sleeping, you continue to walk around the neighborhood until you lose feeling in your fingertips and gain an unrelenting ache in your lower back.   You go home and delicately maneuver The Boy out of the Bjorn, and he continues to sleep.

Your dilemma:

Do you let The Boy sleep in his snowsuit even though he will most certainly become overheated or do you extricate The Boy from the poorly constructed snowsuit that requires such elaborate contortions to remove him that he will almost certainly awake?

I eagerly await your response.

Comments

[MistyD]

Leave him in it and turn on a fan!

[eli]

Maybe leave him outside on the doorstep?

Just kidding. I'd probably agonize for awhile, or maybe take him out again after a break. Will he wake from overheating?

[Alexa]

(whispering)Could you just unzip it a little to give him some air?

[Carla Hinkle]

Let him sleep -- open a window if you must -- but leave him be! :-)

CH

[Christine]

The issue here is:

1. How did you get one of those sleeping babies?

and

2. Would you like to trade?

[gretchen]

Leave him in it! I always followed "the never wake a sleeping baby" business.

[Moxie]

1. Ditch the Bjorn and get a carrier that doesn't cut off the circulation to your fingertips (either the Ellaroo or the Ergo get my votes).

2. Polarfleece snowsuit, not full-on snowsuit,

3. Under your coat.

4. And always let them sleep. Always.

[daysgoby]

Unzip! And tiptoe!

[Frances]

Hmm, I've been having the same dilemma with my 16 week old boy. He wears a polar fleece suit and I put a Cozy Topper over the Bjorn (it's a wool flannel sack for infant carriers. I think Babycenter.com has them). If he falls asleep, I remove the Cozy Topper, gently take him out of the Bjorn , lay him down and unzip the suit, but under no circumstances do I remove it until he screams himself awake because he's probably still too hot anyway....

[Frances]

Oh, and here's a question....what the hell are we going to do when it's the middle of January and it's consistently 12 degrees or so? Yikes. Talk about stir crazy.....

[Mindy]

Put him near an open window, take off his hood/hat.

Funny, I have a baby almost your baby's age - he'll be 15 weeks on monday.

But he's a preemie, so he's not acting his age yet.

[andrea]

Leave him in it. Take off the hat or hood or unzip it if you can.

But I live where it's rarely cold, so our dilemma is always the diaper change-- how full is too full to just plunk him in bed?

[Amie]

Leave him in the snowsuit. I have always done it.

[kate]

What did you do?? I always say that I wouldn't wake my son unless the house was on fire. And then, it would have to be a pretty good sized fire.

[Shamhat]

Shoot, I can't post a direct link. Go to http://japaneseweekend.com/ and click on coats, then look at the MamaCoat. It covers the baby while you are wearing him.

[Linda]

The snowsuit stays on. Definitely.

[Cat, Galloping]

ooh ooh, i know this one! you unzip it and crack the window in his room. at least that's what i do.

you can also try the papooska (www.papooska.com), you can wear it over your bjorn, no snowsuit required. i just got it and haven't tried it yet, but it seems like a good idea. goes over car seat and stroller as well. (if this interests you, let me know and i'll report back on how it goes.)

[Christine]

Keep the snowsuit on and open a window!

[Meredith]

Leave him in the snowsuit and turn down your heat. Unzip the front quietly and take his hat off.

[Lissie]

I always put him down in his snowsuit. :)

[Sara]

Leave him in, for sure.
I read in "The Happiest Baby on the Block" that it actually takes a lot for babies to become overheated; the snowsuit is most likely okay. I used to worry about this when we were swaddling.
Maybe you got a nap in too?

[Menita]

Definitely leave him in the suit and in a cool place (park bench? window sill? near open fridge?). Let him sleep, oh yes, let him sleep.

[Heather Ann]

i have been letting my babes sleep in their snowsuits since 1999. I do the following things to ensure continued sleep
1) Remove boots. I actually often take these off in the car before I struggle the child out of the car seat or while I am still holding the child upright.
2) Open suit all the way and spread wide to allow air in.
3) If child is still not stirring at all, remove hat +/- mitts.
4) If in Bjorn, do not remove from, but lie down on top of the Bjorn so you jiggle him less.
4) If bringing in from the car, run in the house first, remove everything you are going to trip over from your path, turn down covers on bed, close blinds, untie your own snow boots and slip back on (or buy slide on snow shoes for just this purpose), take off coat, and return to the car to pick up child.
5) Hold the child until they become limp in your arms again after removing them from the car.
6) Lower the child down to the bed/crib with your body pressed against theirs, and do not remove your body until you feel them relax again after lying on the bed.
Hope that helps!
Follow the mantra "Never wake a sleeping baby" and you can never go wrong - I don't care how much poop or pee is leaking out, if the child is warm and sleeping I just let them sleep.

[eli]

Several people mentioned expandable coats that enclose baby, so I figured I'd share this website:
http://www.kiddiesgames.com/jacketinserts/
It has a free pattern/ideas for sewing an insert for any coat. I imagine you could commission one of these for much less than buying a new jacket.

[Emma Jane]

Just seconding some recommendations: the Ergo carrier is fabulous, so much better than the Bjorn omigod, and easier to get sleeping baby out of. (Your mouse should be just about big enough to not need the infant insert; or, the snowsuit is probably fluffy enough to act as the infant insert.)

The Mamacoat is a good thing, but not really up to Northeast winter. I'd say it can really go down to about 40 degrees; it's a San Francisco coat. You and baby would both need some layers underneath these days. On the other hand, I do really like both the snuggling and the direct knowledge of the baby's temperature. Since the baby is bigger than when one was pregnant, one does look like a house in a Mamacoat. I try to make sure the baby has a brightly colored hat so it's clear there are really two people underneath.

Also: I leave Miss T. in her suits if she's asleep after a walk, and I've noticed that Miss T. naps much, much longer in winterwear than she usually does without it. It's made me wonder if she should be in blankets for all her naps (she's swaddled at night, but so far not during the day).

[Rebekah]

Let 'im sleep. Do whatever you can to help him not get too hot, and then walk away veeeery quiiietly. =)