With the weather warming up, it can be a challenging time keeping cool if you’re pregnant or have a new baby at home.
There are lots of ways, however, you can help to make both you and your baby more comfortable on hot days.
When it comes to sleep, your baby will be most content in a room where the temperature sits around 16-20 degrees. If you don’t have air conditioning, placing a fan in your little one’s room can help to bring the temperature down. Using a temperature gauge like the GroEgg is an excellent way of monitoring how warm your baby’s room is.
You can expect your baby’s sleep to be a little unsettled in the warmer weather, and that’s okay too. Most babies will wake more frequently when it’s hot. Dressing them in light clothing or even just a nappy can help to make them more comfortable.
Babies will need a lot of extra fluid on hot days, regardless of whether they are breast or bottle-fed.
If you’re breastfeeding, quite often both you and your baby can end up extremely hot and sweaty. Placing a cool, damp washcloth on your newborn’s forehead or tummy, can cool them down.
It’s really important that you don’t overheat too. Especially if you’re pregnant.
It’s a good idea to have a drink bottle with you at all times and just sip on that every so often throughout the day
Water can be used to keep you cool in other ways too. Running a bath for both yourself and your baby can be a great way of bringing down your temperature.
If you’re pregnant, it’s really important that you take regular rest breaks and elevate your feet if possible. It can help reduce swelling, especially around your ankles.
Some other ways of keeping your cool over the summer months can include:
- Increasing your fruit intake which helps to boost your sugar and fluid levels
- Enjoying an icy pole or two
- Soaking your feet in a bucket of cool water
- Dressing in natural fibres
- Getting jobs done early in the morning to avoid being out in the sun
- Staying sun smart if out and about
19 December 2018