Winter Clothing for My Newborn - What to Buy and How to Dress

those onesies... little undershirts that snap at the bottom over diapers are the best for under clothes.. they keep them warm... then a crawler outfits.. they are the one piece with footsie attached.. these are great for indoors.... you will need a snow suit... Don't know if you have a Marshalls or tj maxx.. but they sell really nice ones.. for about 30 dollars.. buy the 6 mo. size.. you want it to last until beg. of april... or end of march... buy 3 mo size clothes.. they grow out of newborn quickly.. they usually grow out of newborn within 6 weeks.. then they are into 3 - 6 mo clothes... so buy only a very little newborn... buy some sleepers.. they have the gowns that tie at the feet... or onesie type pj's.... buy one fleece jacket or snuggie type thing. for the warmer days.. good luck

I had a winter baby, and expecting my next winter baby in November. We live in Michigan, so get the same weather system as you. What I found most helpful was a blanket especially made for the carseat (like bundle me... but there are a lot of different kinds out there)... you can add a blanket under/in it, etc. With this, I could avoid putting on a winter coat and all the hassle that came with that! Hats would be important. Blanket sleepers were my favorite when she was a baby since you are not suppose to use a blanket until they are older. I found some heavier fleece ones and LOVED them for the winter. We keep our house around 65 degrees in the winter... which would be cold for a lot of people, but we are use to it and don't think it is good to have too warm of a house! You will most likely never have your baby out in the elements long enough to risk any type of frostbite issues, etc. We were always more careful not to overheat the baby... not to overdress or get too carried away getting them all bundled up!

My daughter was born in mid october and we did a lot of layering. Generally at home we kept her in a sleep and play outfit. When we went out it was a long sleeved onsie and leggings. we would layer that depending on the weather with a short sleeved onsie over it, a sweater over it, or a coat.

as far as car seats, i never took my infant one out of my car! i always opted for a baby carrier on my front. i would just have it on under my coat. then i would get her out of the car. hold her tight on wrap my coat around her, and then rush into the store. Then i would put her in the carrier once i was inside the store. I did that with both my kids. They loved it!

Congrats! My daugher was born in Oct as well. If you're in Chicago like me, the JJ Cole Bundle Me was a godsend. So that you don't overheat her, keep the next layer lighterweight. I kept my daughter in a lighterweight fleece one-piece hooded and footed piece for her "coat". For daily use, don't bother about clothes. Keep her in cozy footed sleepers. There is plenty of time ahead for clothes. The sleepers are just what she needs right now.

I live in Texas, so our winters aren't as bad. My little one was born a week before halloween and I always put her in a white onesie with a slightly warmer outfit than I had on and always socks and a hat if we were going out of the house. I too wish I would have had a car seat cover. Carters makes some really cute fleece outfits for a girl. They're always on sale at Khols too. :)

Newborns spend a lot of time swaddled in blankets in your arms! O. piece sleep-n-plays will be great. You can buy cotton jersey ones, fuzzy ones, flannel ones, etc. Natural fibers are always best.
You can add a bottom snapping undershirt and socks under them if needed.
A sleep sack would be great for use in bassinet and/or crib.
You might want to look into a warm baby bunting for outings.
And hats, of course.
Congratulations!

I second the Bundle Me (JJ Cole, available at babies R us, Target, etc.). We live in Chicago and my son was born in November last year. This was worth the money, because I never had to worry about my son getting cold, it was so warm! Plus, you can always put him in warmer clothes or use another blanket if it's especially harsh out there. I like it better than the ones that stretch over the top because you can flip it down if it gets too warm, but the underneath layer is still there. Definitely loved the blanket sleepers too, easy for diaper changes in the night, but kept baby nice and snuggly without the worry about blankets in the crib. Once my son was a little bigger, we just switched to the footed sleepers. I especially liked the ones with zippers as opposed to snaps, because it made diapers changes quicker. How you dress her when you go out is entirely up to you and your budget. My son lived in those sleepers, and in the summer we just did cute onesies, with pants if it was chilly. You can do little outfits if you want, especially for special occasions, but keep in mind that they grow really fast, and you probably won't want to take your baby out a whole lot when she's really small. Good luck though, I know if mine had been a girl I probably would have bought out the store, they have so many CUTE things for baby girls!!! Congrats on your little one!

My daughter is a November baby. We bought her a newborn bunting suit to keep her warm when we went out in the cold weather. Here is one similar to what we got her on ebay as an example..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Baby-Gap-NWT-Tan-Shearling-Bunting-Sn...

Kept our little princess very warm. :)

i wish i had bought a car seat cover for my babies. we improvised by putting a thick blanket over the handle, creating a sort of tent while we carried the car seat carrier to and from the car. but i wish we had gotten one of the covers that is specifically made for the carrier, with the opening for the handle and the elastic that makes it fit around the carrier. you have so much to handle with an infant that anything to make things simpler is worth it.

Your baby will likely be indoors most of the time, so set your thermostat to 72 or higher. If you are comfortable in the house without a lot of of layers (like, jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt), then the baby will be okay as long as he/she is clothed.

We loved sleepers at that age. We dressed our little guy in sleepers pretty much 24/7, since it's so much easier to do diaper changes without having to worry about shirt/pants. We also kept him wrapped out in a thin flannel blanket (our little guy liked to be swaddled as a newborn).

For the car, a good "bunny suit" (where they are zipped in and the only thing that shows is their face) is good for short distance car travel, and it's a good idea to warm up the car first and get the heat running, but that's not really necessary if you can't get it done.

There's usually more risk of overdressing/over-swaddling them and underdressing them and having them be too cold. :) Be aware that a lot of the fleece blankets can be too warm for the baby when used indoors in a house or building that has the thermostat set at a normal temp.

I would be careful not to overdress the baby, you will also try not to spend much time outside, so it will be mostlly running into places. We are in FL, and we had our coldest winter in 20 years last year, (in the teens and 20! Ice on the ground this is absurd for us!) but I know that is nothing compared to what you are going to be dealing with :) I would just put on the onesie and BabyLegs or little sweatpants, a fleece jacked and then if she was going to be hanging outside (at the little christmas fairs and whatever) we did the Old Navy one piece little fleece bear outfit thing it was adorable and it kept her warm. For you I would also suggest a carseat blanket and cover that attach to the carrier and stay in place.
http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=54054&vi...

Just follow your instinct you'll get through this winter!

Its great that these days they make the bundle me's or car seats covers so you dont have to stuff your baby in a snow suit or bulky winter coat. They are GREAT, I highly recommend them. I would go with onsie underneath, and really just a little warmer then you'd dress yourself if you use the bundle me or car seat cover. then of course keep a hat on her. You dont need to to layer her in tons of clothes, she'll get too warm. Congrats!

One thing I read is always dress infants in 1 more layer than you would your self. I also also had (and still do) put them in a carter's undershirt/onesie. That keeps in the body heat. Then usually a one piece with feet and a pair of Zutano fleece slippers.

We had our son in the beginning of December last year. He lived in footie fleece PJs! They are so warm! Good luck!

Buy a Bundle Me by JJ Cole. It fits into a bucket carseat and was a lifesaver for me. It is a carseat insert that surrounds the baby with soft faux lamb's wool and it eliminates the need for a bulky snowsuit. I couldn't have lived with out my Bundle Me!