Mommy Said So Baby: Too Cold, Too Hot, or Just Fine? Sheesh!

Is Baby Hot or Cold?
Sheesh!

It seems that everyone in my life cannot agree on whether my little 12-month-old daughter is "too hot," "too cold" or "just fine" at any given moment. Each person in the room has a completely different opinion on my little one's body temperature. In my right ear, I'll have my mom trying to convince me to take off my daughter's little sweater because, "Her cheeks are rosy! She must be so hot! It's toasty in here!"....while right behind me, my sister and grandma are scolding me for not having any socks on her feet (the socks that my baby daughter had just ripped off of her feet for the fifth time that day) because, "She must be freezing! Did you see how cold it is out there today?!"

This was the constant topic of conversation, and debate, during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Theme song that I now can't get out of my head: Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold."

Sigh.

According to some of my mommy friends, the best way to determine if your baby is too hot or too cold is to feel the back of her neck with your wrists - using your hands is apparently not a good way to determine temperature. if your baby's neck feels cold to the touch of your wrist, then she might be cold; if your baby's neck is sweaty, then she is probably too hot.

I am not a doctor, but every bit of advice that I have read strongly urges you to make sure that your baby does not overhead (risk of SIDS). For me, I err on the side of safety - I would rather her be too cold than too hot when I'm trying to decide.

One tip that our pediatrician taught me for determining whether your baby is cold is to look at baby's thighs - do you notice a marble-like pattern underneath the skin? If so, this is an indicator that your baby is cold. I will post a photo of my daughter's legs next time this happens and I have a camera handy.

My "rule of thumb" is to just ask myself how I feel temperature wise. Also note to yourself whether you are the type of person who is typically warmer than other people in general (or the opposite). I purchased a white-noise alarm clock (the white noise helps with sleep when the dogs bark non-stop) for my daughter's bedroom, and it has a built-in indoor temperature gauge. I personally think that buying an alarm clock with white noise is more practical than buying a "baby white noise machine" because they do the exact same thing (unless your white noise machine projects stars on the ceiling...because those things are awesome; however, those devices cannot tell you what time it is the way a clock can).

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