✓ The clothing of the newborn

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The clothing of the newborn in the first year of life

Will it be hot or too cold? Should I use garments in natural material or is synthetic also okay? Here is the opinion of the pediatrician onclothing of the newborn in the first year of life.

"It is always advisable to put in contact with the skin of the newborn a cotton bodysuit"says Elena Calcinai, pediatrician at the Macedonio Melloni Hospital in our city." This advice also applies to the winter season, as the skin is very delicate and the wool could cause irritation. All year round i half sleeve bodysuit, but if the birth is foreseen in the colder months it is better to have the newborn wear a long-sleeved bodysuit, for the rest the half-sleeve and over the onesie is just fine ".

It is also important to choose simple clothing with lacing reduced to a minimum and that allow you to change the diaper without having to undress the baby completely. Also avoid rigid fabrics, buckles, laces and buttons that could become dangerous.

The choice of shoes for the newborn

As for the shoes, for the newborn they are useless (although there are delightful models on the market): to protect the feet from the cold, just a few practices socks. The shoes will be used from the first steps onwards, therefore around the first year of age.

Does the baby need a hat?

Even the hat, usually much loved by mothers but hated unreservedly by the little ones. How to find a compromise? Just use it only when it is really necessary, when it is really cold in winter or in summer to protect it from the sun, especially if the baby has fair skin and hair.

Children dressed "onion"

Furthermore, unlike those of the northern countries, the Del Paesene mothers have the habit of covering children too much in the belief that they are better protected from the cold. Is this a correct attitude?

"You must never over-cover the newborn baby" continues Calcinai. "Normally we adjust as for an adult, so it is useless to think that since he is small he needs to be covered more because we only get the result not only of making him nervous, but also of making him sweat and therefore making him sick more easily. The old dressing" a onion ", that is, overlapping medium-weight clothing over a light T-shirt, can be useful in some seasons (autumn or spring) in which the climate changes constantly: it will thus be possible to lighten the little one if the temperature at home or outside rises. however, it always helps. "

The temperature of the child's room

And what about the temperature of the room where the baby sleeps? And in the house?

"Of course, even the temperature of the room where the baby sleeps would be better if it did not exceed 20 ° C", continues the pediatrician. "It is also good to remember that the increased temperature in the cot is one of the risk factors of SIDS (or sudden death in the cot in the first year of life)".

Infants, in fact, do not yet have the ability to use well the "natural thermostat" we have in the brain and which allows us to maintain a constant temperature around 36 ° C. Therefore they are much more likely to be hot than cold.

How to tell if the baby is hot or cold?

But how can an inexperienced new mother regulate herself if her baby is hot or cold?

"You can do it easily even without a thermometer: you should never feel your little hands or feet, which especially in small children, due to a natural phenomenon of vasoconstriction, are always cold, but simply by placing a hand on the neck and assessing the temperature" advises Calcinai.

Infants and changes in temperature

Furthermore, children are also very affected by sudden changes in temperature: they must be adequately protected when passing from one very heated environment to another with different degrees of difference (for example in summer from a supermarket with air conditioning outside, or vice versa. in winter). In short, changes in temperature are the main cause of cooling.

When the heating is turned on in winter, the environment becomes very dry, so the use of humidifiers is effective. It is good to check, however, that humidity does not exceed 60/65% because in this case it favors the growth of molds and mites that predispose to allergic manifestations. Of course, we must avoid the use of perfumed essences in the humidifier, deodorants for the environment and insecticides because they can be irritating for the newborn.