Winter is a wonderful time of year to be pregnant, in my opinion.
You get to wear snuggly, comfortable clothes all the time. Nobody expects you to be out and about in the cold weather. Hot chocolate is practically mandatory. People bring you hot water bottles without even asking. It’s completely acceptable to put your cold feet on your partner in bed at night, because you need to keep the baby warm, and therefore you need to be warm, too. Having a baby in winter is a whole different story. Is their room warm enough at night? Are they wearing enough layers, or too many? Hat or no hat? Mitts or no mitts? Are their toes being strangled by loose threads in their socks? How the heck do they keep getting their hands out of their swaddle at night? Seriously, winter with a newborn can be a drama fest unless you make up your mind to just chill out (literally; it’s winter) and do what you can. Chances are you are completely overthinking things and causing yourself unnecessary stress.
One thing I always recommend to parents of winter babies is a sleeping bag. Baby sleeping bags are a godsend. They zip up and contain your little wriggler’s feet and legs so no amount of kicking will expose them to the cold night air. You can dress babies in a long-sleeved bodysuit and they can have their arms out. They keep babies warm. They last for years. Many have two-way zips to make midnight nappy changes super-simple.
I feel like there should be an adult version for pregnant mamas, although I suppose the panda onesie I recently saw in a shop would fulfil that wish. (But it didn’t have a two-way zip, so midnight toilet trips wouldn’t be quite as comfortable. And I don’t want to talk about the onesies I’ve seen with bum flaps because no one can convince me they actually work as intended).
Yes, winter is the best time for pregnant mums, because if you want to hibernate, you can. And everyone will say things like, “No, no, stay inside! I’ll go get the post from the letterbox! You need to cuddle up on the sofa with a blanket and Netflix!” or “Make sure you’re eating enough warm foods and getting enough sleep! Stay in bed as long as you can!” and “I think that a heated toilet seat cover is a great idea, not weird at all!”
So if you’re pregnant this winter, you have a free pass from me to do whatever feels cosy and warm and comfortable. And when they invent pregnant mama sleeping bags, let me know, because even though I’m not pregnant any more, I would still totally live in one of those all winter long.
Katherine Granich
BUMP&baby
BUMP & baby is New Zealand’s only magazine for pregnancy and early babyhood. Our team of mums and mums-to-be understand what it’s like to be pregnant in this connected age, and that’s why BUMP & Baby online is geared toward what pregnant women and new mums really want to know.
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