4 Aug
Many of you are schlepping your babes around this summer in nearly unbearable heat and humidity. I am humbled and amazed by your braveness! During our trip to Maryland, we all sort of stumbled from one ice cream stand to the next, swimming through the thick air in between. I marveled at the women who were wearing babies and voluntarily walking outside during the day.
Most of the parks and sidewalks were totally empty as desperate herds of people flocked to the vast sanctuary of air conditioning called “the mall.” I imagine it would be tough just using your Maya Wrap or an Ergo Carrier indoors all summer, but I bet some of you brave families manage to wear baby despite the heat.
Do high temperatures get in the way of baby wearing for you in the summer? Are you lucky enough to live in Oregon or Alaska? (I shall never again complain about the weather here after visiting the East Coast in late July!) Have you found any cooler baby wearing devices? Or do you just settle baby into the stroller?
Of course, in many hot climates in Asia, Latin America and Africa, baby wearing has been the rage for hundreds of years, so perhaps we should just buck up and strap baby onto our backs!
7 Responses for "Summer Heat and Baby Wearing"
Oh, I hope you get some answers on this… We have given up baby wearing for the summer in Atlanta. I miss it and he will be 14 months in October (when I expect the temps to be bearable again). He may not like it anymore once he is used to strollers and shopping carts.
i wear my babe in a ring sling in the pennsylvania humidity, but i could see how other carriers could be a bit much. strollers just seem too cumbersome, and i like my baby close, heat and all.
i ordered a mesh ring sling from etsy for wearing my little one at the pool, which i love, too.
I live in Phoenix where the summers are some of the hottest around. But, it hasn’t stopped my husband and I from wearing our 9 month old daughter in our ergo, Maya or mei tai. Heat and all, she is still happy being worn.
Hi, no babies for me yet, but I plan on baby wearing. My question is: Putting my own comfort aside, how concerned do I need to be with baby’s comfort? If I’m sweating buckets, wouldn’t my baby be even hotter stuck in a sling? I would worry about him/her overheating. If I can manage to bear the heat myself, would overheating be an issue?
Im in PA and I could not possibly carry my baby outside in this heat and humidity for any significant length of time. Not only would I be worried about the baby overheating, but also am completely grossed out about breastfeeding when we’re both all sweaty and stinky. I still wear baby at the grocery store, etc, but if we are taking our 2 toddlers to the playground or some other outdoor place – baby goes in the stroller!
I desperately need more tips on this too. I’m on a local babywearing listserv — I should post the question there too. I am always 10 degrees hotter than everyone else when nursing, plus we have no A/C, so I do not wear my baby much and I think we both miss it. I sometimes wear her when we all go to the park (with the toddler), but we don’t go out as much in the heat and I mostly can’t stand to wear her around the house b/c it’s so hot.
I have given up outdoor babywearing for the summer. Too hot for me. She is still worn while shopping, etc., indoors but both my kids ride in the double stroller while outside now and we all love it!
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