If you’re new to Flagstaff, or new to babies, you might be feeling a little apprehensive about snow. After a few years of trial and error, I feel confident that I’ve found a pretty good system to help you dress your baby to stay toasty.
Winter Base Layers
Start with wool base layers. It sounds itchy but I swear to you, wool is magical. It is moisture wicking, odor resistant, and naturally antibacterial. Wool will keep your babies warm, even when wet. It’s worth it to invest in some nice wool base layers and socks. And knit or crochet wool hats are a fun DIY project. Not only can it be used as a cozy base layer, we use our wool pants as cloth diaper covers, making one less layer to fuss with.
Fleece
The next layer should be fleece. Like wool, it stays warm even when wet. Many baby buntings are fleece or have a fleece layer. For older kids, we often just use fleece footy pajamas under a snow suit.
Water Resistant Layer
These can run really expensive, but if your kids are well layered underneath you don’t really need to invest in a super waterproof snowsuit. Whatever they have at the thrift store will be fine. I got lucky and found a Patagonia bunting at a garage sale but you don’t need something so fancy.
Gloves
Older kids who want to sled and build snow forts will need some good gloves. And honestly, I have yet to try anything that I was really happy about. Kid gloves are hard to get on, too easy to get off and rarely very warm. But someone recommended these to me and I am excited to try them this winter.
Keep Them Close
If you are taking your infant for a long winter adventure (or even just a stroll downtown on an especially frigid night) it is critical to keep them close so you can tell if they are getting cold. Don’t be tempted to put them in a backpack style carrier or stroller where you can’t easily feel their temperature. Keep them tightly against your body in a soft-structure carrier or a wrap style carrier. I made a video tutorial on how to tie a wrap.