Summertime gives not only positive emotions from the sun, variety of colors and warmth. A hot period can be associated with numerous inconveniences in caring for a newborn. One of the most common questions is the issue of swaddling crumbs in the heat. How to do this, taking into account climatic conditions, so as not to harm the baby, we will tell in this article.
What is the danger?
Swaddling, especially tight and closed ones, increases the likelihood of overheating the baby. In newborns, thermoregulation has its own characteristics - the baby loses heat quickly, but just as quickly it can overheat. Overheating for a child who has recently been born is dangerous with a variety of unpleasant consequences: an increase in temperature, increased sweating, the formation of diaper rash, eczema, prickly heat, the development of atopic dermatitis.
And the overheated baby will not feel in the best way, which will immediately affect his appetite, sleep quality, behavior and mood.
Parents decide whether to swaddle or not. And if the decision is made to swaddle, then you should do it right. Swaddling in itself does not harm the baby, does not disrupt blood circulation, does not squeeze the joints, does not form from him a tight and suppressed personality, a driven and obedient person, as some fashionable psychologists describe it. Therefore, for a newborn in the heat from swaddling, there is only one danger - a violation of heat transfer.
How to proceed?
First you need to choose the right diapers. Thick flannel nappies are not suitable for summer changing. It will be too hot in them. It is also worth refusing to swaddle in a diaper with a water-absorbing membrane layer. She doesn't breathe very well.
In summer, it is better to use chintz diapers for the baby. They are thin enough not to interfere with heat transfer, and at the same time, the child will not freeze in them. You can also use velcro diapers, but you should choose thin and light options again.
Swaddling in the heat has its own characteristics, which you should definitely familiarize yourself with.
- Before each swaddling, without fail, the baby's skin, folds should be wiped with a cloth dampened in warm water without soap. You can use wet wipes, but only on condition that they are hypoallergenic and do not have a pronounced perfume smell. Sweat glands in the heat, even without overheating, produce more secretion, so before you swaddle your baby, you must definitely cleanse his skin.
- As far as possible in the heat, it is worth limiting swaddling, wrapping the baby in a diaper only for sleep. The rest of the time it will be better for him in a light undershirt or without any clothes at all (summer time should be actively used to take air baths).
- In hot weather, diapers should be washed after each change, regardless of whether they are dry or wet. I am glad that in the heat they dry faster, but less optimism is inspired by the fact that they still need to be ironed with an iron after each drying.
- When choosing a method, you need to give preference to more free types, abandon tight swaddling, and also pay attention to the fact that a layer of fabric always passes between the arms and the child's body, this will prevent diaper rash.
- Avoid swaddling with your head, the baby's head gives off most of the heat of his body, and therefore it is unacceptable to close it in hot weather. It is best to refuse bonnets during the summer heat, using them only during a walk.
How to swaddle?
You should not wear your child in shirts or undershirts under a diaper. This will create an extra layer of fabric and sweat your baby. Free or partial swaddling is also considered acceptable. If the child can sleep with open arms, only the legs can be wrapped. If he waves his arms and wakes himself up, frightens himself, it is worth swaddling the baby in the classic way, but without pulling, so that the fabric fits the baby's body freely.
If the child has dysplasia of the hip joint and the doctor prescribed a wide swaddle, use only one diaper so as not to overheat the child. Performing this method using two or three diapers in hot weather is unacceptable.
Useful Tips
Simple tips will help to avoid diaper rash and other unpleasant consequences of thermoregulation disorders.
- Keep the temperature in the house no higher than 21 degrees Celsius, use an air conditioner if necessary, but exclude the child in a room where the air conditioner is operating in cooling mode.
- Discard the blanket in the crib during the heat; put the children's orthopedic double-sided mattress upside down.
- Do not forget that the baby, in addition to your milk, also needs drinking water. The hotter it is outside, the more the baby should drink.
- For discharge in the summer, buy only light sets without an abundance of silk and lace elements.
- For walks, add another one of the same to your home thin diaper, warmer things are not needed in the heat.
Do not give up swaddling just because the temperatures are high. If a child is waving his arms chaotically, he will be calmer and more pleasant in a diaper than without it. In any case, in the first months after birth. The fact is that the baby “remembers” the tightness inside the mother's womb, he had to spend several months in it, and the psychologically spacious outside world, into which he came on his birthday, is a great stress for him. The diaper partially reduces this stress, makes the transition softer and more painless for the little one.
If a child can fall asleep with open arms (all children are large individuals, and it is possible that you have just such a baby), leave him without a diaper. In rompers and a shirt made of natural fabric, it is much more difficult to overheat in summer than in a diaper.
For information on how to properly swaddle a newborn in the heat, see the next video.
