As a huge fan of babywearing in all seasons, the most difficult season to babywear is definitely winter.
Spring, summer and fall don’t offer as many roadblocks or issues. The worst you can get is really hot, and in that case you need to make sure to dress yourself and baby appropriately, all the other details fall into place.
The most common questions relating to babywearing in the winter are:
1) How can I make sure that baby and I are not going to freeze our butts off?
2) Is it safe? Won’t I fall on the icy sidewalks and hurt my baby?
3) Will I have to wear some terrible looking garbage bag type of coat?
There are so many options to look good and stay warm when babywearing.
The first option would be to buy a coat that is specially made for babywearing. There are many options that you can find online, the most popular of which is the M Coat. The M Coat is made to be worn as a maternity coat, a babywearing coat and a coat for mom (for those rare outings when she isn’t pregnant or babywearing! ….yes, those do happen!). The coat has a panel that zips in that you can attach to fit either a belly or a baby. The jacket is made in Canada and made with lovely goose down, so you and baby can stay snuggly and warm. The idea is simple- put baby into your carrier, then put your jacket on top, zip up the panel and off you go.
The next option would be to get an attachment for your current coat. The one I’m most familiar with is the Kokoala attachment. This is made in Quebec and the premise is simply genius: match your current jacket’s zipper with one of Kokoala’s many zippers and then zip their panel right onto your current jacket. This means you don’t need to buy an entirely new jacket, and you’re ready to carry baby right next to you in whatever weather your jacket allows. Only drawback- they only come in 3 colours, so it might not match your coat perfectly.
One final option is to buy a cover that goes over your carrier. In this case you wear your baby in your carrier over, not under, your jacket. Then you attach the cover to your carrier so baby is almost in a cocoon-style bag. The drawbacks to this is that you are wearing your baby over your already bulky winter coat and you must dress baby very warmly. This is a cheaper option though, and allows anyone to use it, no matter what jacket they have. Many brands make these, such as Ergo, Infantino, etc.
As for not slipping on our icy Montreal sidewalks- my doula instinct tells me that most mothers will be hyper vigilant when carrying their baby in the winter and 99.9% of the time if a fall happens we take the brunt of it while making sure that baby doesn’t even flinch. BUT- it’s best to be safe and wear proper winter footwear with appropriate treads and if in doubt, don’t babywear if the sidewalks are reported to be skating rinks!
Happy Babywearing!
If you’d like a babywearing consult, need help with a new carrier or have questions about babywearing in Montreal- simply contact me!
Perfect timing for this post, I was just researching this! I have been loving my Ergo so much this summer/fall with my second baby and want to have something a bit more stylish as a cover up for winter this time (rather than the oversized sweatshirt that we cut a hole at the top of last time…..). Thanks Meg 🙂
Glad I could help 🙂 Come see me and I’ll help you find something that works! Bring your winter coat!
Hi!
I am wondering if you know anything about Tula baby carriers. Are they worth the hype and the price tag? I currently have an Ergo original and I really only ever use it for travelling in an airport and to take my son back and forth to daycare on the bus, which only happens when my husband travels for work a few weeks a year. But my son is almost 18 months old, 22 lbs and about 31-32 inches tall and I am starting to worry that the Ergo doesn’t come up high enough on his back. Especially when I take him to daycare, where I have to take off my boots at the door, go get him, dress him, put him in the Ergo, then go back to the door and lean over with a squirmy toddler strapped to my front and try to pull on my big heavy winter boots. At those times I worry that he might not have enough back support. I know the Tula’s back panel is a bit longer so I wondered if it would be worth the money, considering how little I really use it. If I did buy it I would sell my ergo and eventually I know I could resell the Tula and I hear they both get good resale value.
Any advice?
Thanks!
Hi Marie-Chantal,
Honestly, I think for the amount that you use it and the tiny difference in the size of the regular Tula vs the Ergo, it’s not really worth it. If you want to, you could likely size up into the Tula Toddler which would be much bigger and that wold solve most of your problems. But, it is an expense for only a few weeks out of the year.
It’s up to you really! Both carriers are easily sold on the second handmarket, so I wouldn’t let that discourage you.
Good luck!
Megan