How to dress a baby for fall in NYC: babywearing filter

September 20, 2016 12:46 PM

My partner and I are visiting family in NYC for Thanksgiving from San Diego with our 7-month old son. How do we dress him to stay warm while babywearing as we navigate the city?

I would prefer not to buy a babywearing coat, as both my partner and I will be wearing him. We use a Lillebaby carrier, and have tried ring slings and wraps to no avail (Baby Ville dislikes those with a passion despite several attempts.) Footie fleece pajamas would be the warmest but those might be uncomfortable while babywearing if they 'pull' on his feet. Regular pants, socks and shoes may create windy gaps. What are some other options? How do New Yorkers babywear in the rain? Links to recommended options would be great.

In case it matters - we will rent a stroller if necessary, and are bringing a car seat but plan to do most of our getting around by foot/ subway. Is this a feasible option? Am I overlooking other possibilities? Any general tips on navigating the city with a baby are greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance, MeFites! We are excited to take our baby on his first flight/ trip!

posted by Everydayville to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (17 answers total)

What you want is a fleece bunting, loose enough not to pull on the baby's feet (and also loose enough for layering as needed). You can find ones at all different price points, and you can also find them a lot cheaper on ebay or in consignment. If you're worried about wind/rain resistance you can search for snowsuits, but I think that's overkill for Thanksgiving. You may also want a hat in addition to the hood, but the sleeve foldovers should be fine instead of mittens.
posted by Kriesa at 12:55 PM on September 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

I also had a baby carrier cover sort of like this one.
posted by Kriesa at 1:03 PM on September 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

November will likely be 40-50 degrees. Not too sold so I won't point you to wool, etc.
Just layer. Make sure you some cozy long socks, a couple pair of cozy sweats/leggings, and long sleeve shirts (the snap down kind will be great in case the top layer rides up) and little fleece hoodies, or baby jacket. Beside that little mittens in case it's chilly/raw and a soft warm hat - an ear flap one.

I would suggest a second pair of warm socks on top the base layer socks. You can tuck pants into these.

I am not suggesting the full little cozy suits because I suspect you will be in and out places - you can peel a hoodie off or the second set of socks without having to pull the baby out of the Lillebaby. I'm not suggesting little booties or shoes because 1) the number of baby shoes on the side walk I see that came off and the parent never saw drop. 2) so much easier to tuck in a purse.

The baby carrier provides lots of warmth. I would worry most about getting something warm for ears, head, and hands.
posted by ReluctantViking at 1:06 PM on September 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

Philly, not New York but for fall/winter baby wearing I mostly see weather appropriate clothes, a hat, and a thick fleece baby blanket over everything if it's really cold.

But I agree it is likely not to be that cold at Thanksgiving unless there's a freak storm. My Fall set up was fall clothes and a hat, and leg warmers for the extra wriggly. Thick socks,no shoes, baby hands tucked under parent's coat if it's really chilly. In fall weather I'm probably wearing my coat open and the body heat means an extra layer isn't necessary. Footed clothes don't work well for carrying unless they are really loose.

Get a big umbrella for the rain and front carry.
posted by sputzie at 1:14 PM on September 20, 2016

By the way, you only need one or two pairs of leg warmers. Online prices seem high, baby stores have them for $3-5
posted by sputzie at 1:15 PM on September 20, 2016

We found that a coat one size too big could be zipped around the kiddo and the Ergo.
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:15 PM on September 20, 2016 [2 favorites]

A wide scarf can be a good impromptu baby cover to keep any extra chill out, and as a bonus it's not another specialized only-useful-for-three-months baby accessory. I used one of these scarves when I carried and it worked really well.

Baby Metroid Baby wore mostly footed buntings/pajamas/etc. when we carried him in cold weather, and he was fine. YMMV.
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:24 PM on September 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yes, I came in to say big pashmina shawl. You can wear it as a scarf or shawl, and it wraps baby in a variety of ways, either solo or wrapping both of you. I often just kept mine around my neck in a store and then quickly toss it around baby to protect to from wind and rain. Still wear it myself, much more versatile than a specific baby wearing coat or cover.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:28 PM on September 20, 2016 [1 favorite]

as for rain: umbrella keeps everybody dry, skip the ponchos. also remember that baby wearing brings everybody's temperature up, so exposed bits are not as critical as you might think. we never really did anything for Speck when going out that we didn't do for ourselves, in carrier or stroller. kids are durable.
posted by acm at 1:51 PM on September 20, 2016

Get fleece footie PJs a size too big. Much less likely to pull, and potentially useful at a later date.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:01 PM on September 20, 2016

When we did NYC with my son at this age, we did leg warmers over fleece pants, a fleece hat with earflaps, and mittens.
posted by Cygnet at 3:28 PM on September 20, 2016

H&M carries baby pants with feet - they don't pull like a one piece pajama does when babywearing.
posted by checkitnice at 4:25 PM on September 20, 2016

My baby is six months old so we haven't had to deal with winter yet, but if you're looking for socks that won't leave skin exposed and won't fall off, I highly recommend knee high socks. They stay on WAY better than regular socks, and the lack of exposed skin is a bonus. We have these, though from a different seller and with slightly different patterns.
posted by insectosaurus at 4:35 PM on September 20, 2016

Response by poster: Thank you all very much! This is all great information, especially finding out that there's baby carrier covers. Living in San Diego means we don't really look at these things!

P.S. Most clothing caters to little girls, but I feel like baby leggings/ tights are even more so! Geez.
posted by Everydayville at 5:29 PM on September 20, 2016

I did this with my daughter at 12 months in NYC for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago (and in 20-80 degree Minnesota weather too, for that matter, for her first 18 months). In New York, I wore a hoodie, put her in the baby carrier, and put a knee-length wool coat on myself, open in the front. Hats for both of us, mittens, two pairs of socks for her. I felt she stayed warm enough next to my body, and she was like a 20 pound heater on me. I definitely didn't want to be outside for hours and hours, but it worked pretty well.
posted by editrixx at 6:48 PM on September 20, 2016

Baby leggings are totally a baby boy thing too. My baby boy and all my friends' baby boys happily wore them while being worn. Don't underestimate how warm you and he will get just snuggled up against each other. An oversized fleece coat is nice because you can zip baby in there. The biggest issue is actually not the cold but the wind, if there is any -- it takes their breath away. So being able to tuck his head into the coat or a large shawl is really helpful.
posted by bluebelle at 7:31 PM on September 20, 2016

We did the leg warmers + warm pants + socks + soft-soled shoes routine on our then-6mo in December in NYC and Boston. Also a hat, for sure. In my experience, mostly wearing my babies on my back after they could sit up, their hands are what got coldest. If your baby's on your back, have the other adult make sure his hands are tucked in, or wrap a shawl/pashmina around so that you can keep those little hands close to someone's body heat. If they're on the front this is easier.
posted by linettasky at 9:19 AM on September 21, 2016