Hello Tired Troopers,
My sister told me about Cold Naps. Cold napping is a Nordic practice of allowing babies and young children to nap outdoors in cold weather—often below freezing—to promote deeper sleep and strengthen the immune system. Children are heavily bundled in warm clothing/wool and kept in strollers, usually in temperatures around 23°F.
Now my twins were preemies born in August. They didn’t get to come home until September. Once they were home we couldn’t help but treat them like Faberge eggs for a little while, so the thought of cold naps was pretty daunting!
Especially since the doctors and nurses scared the crap out of us to help keep our kids safe. They literally told us not to have anyone over to meet them for the first 6 months, then not to let any other kids meet them for the first year! Um, what?! So, we got through the holiday season and into January. We had a very mild winter with hardly any snow. So in January we started taking the kids on short walks outside. It was brisk, but nothing close to 23 degrees, it was more in the 40s I think. We just bundled them up really good and checked on them constantly the first few times. Three of my absolute favorite items to use were Carhart coveralls, these booties & cloud 9 sleeping bag things!! And I’m telling you, these items are AWESOME! First of all, these booties actually stayed on my kids feet! They never kicked them off! Second of all these coveralls were amazing, they’re so cute and not too hot. Just a great mid-weight layer that you can adjust with blankets, etc. But my absolute favorite are these bags from Cloud 9!
When I purchased these bags I was actually thinking about how I could use them in the car in the winter in my kids car seats. Because I don’t care how old or young you are a super hot car or super cold car SUCKS when you first get in. So that’s why I got these. They have a back panel that velcro’s and let’s you bring the straps of the car seat or baby carrier through so your baby is still 100% safe. NEVER EVER EVER STRAP YOUR BABY IN WOTH THE STRAPS OVER A BIG JACKET OR BLANKET, ETC. IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH YOUR CHILD COULD BE EJECTED LIKE A ROCKET. ALWAYS STRAP YOUR KIDS IN PER THE MANUFACTURERS DIRECTIONS. That said, these bags allow you to strap your kid in safely, but also keep them totally bundled up. I also loved that if the kids get too hot they can kick them open if needed. Super cool! Well I haven’t used these in their car seats yet, but they work the same in their stroller AND I LOVE THEM!!!
Once my kids were all bundled up, I’d throw a beanie on each, give them their pacifiers and they were good to go! So much so that without fail our babies would fall asleep on the walk! This is how we ended up starting to do Cold Naps! Or our less extreme version of Cold Naps. But it got us outdoors as a family, got Hubby and I some much needed exercise and the babies some fresh, crisp air and sunshine! Bottom line, be careful, use common sense, but don’t be afraid of the cold… it could be just what your baby needs!
