How Do You Beat the Heat?

Go to the mall! Or the grocery store, or the movies. In other words, get to some air conditioning that someone else is paying for. =)

Hi A.,
My daughter is almost 9 months old and I've found her to be more comfortable wearing only a cotton diaper without a cover at home. When we leave home I add a diaper cover and a cotton onesie. Before sleep I cool her off in a lukewarm bath, or wet her head with a washcloth and make sure her room is comfortable using a fan not directly facing her but to circulate the air if necessary. She enjoys sucking ice cubes through a mesh baby feeder. Hope some of these ideas work for your little guy. - K.

We head to the beach for the day to get out of the heat. Another good place is the mall! the air conditioning is great. Not always my first choice but when it gets as hot as it has been and you have a fussy baby the mall works. not using major appliances is a must as one mom said. another thing we do is open all the windows all night and then first thing in the morning shut them all and don't open them again till night. keeps the cool air in longer. and as for keeping your baby cool you are doing all the right stuff. i stand in front of the fridge sometimes too for a quick cool off :) good luck!

we keep a spray bottle with water in it (set on the mist setting) and our girls like to squirt each other with it. A cheapo alternative to wading pools and water play tables is to use either a plastic dish pan or a plastic concrete mixing tub (various sizes, buy it at a hardware store), fill it with some water, a little dish soap for bubbles, add a few bath toys and/or small plastic containers like empty yogurt cups, and put it outside (I suppose you could even do this in the bathtub if you don't have a good outside space.

Plastic popsicle makers are great - that way you can control how much sugar goes in to them. (Ikea and target sell them, I'm sure other stores do too) We use diluted fruit juice (50:50 water:juice) in ours

Hi A.,

My daughters and I spend a lot of time in the water. I have a small pool out in the back yard for them which they like to play in and around, as well as the sprinkler and hose which are fun too. (Don't forget the sunscreen) If we are indoors and we're feeling hot, I generally either put the girls in the kitchen sink to play in the water or in the bath. I keep their meals during the day cool (sandwiches, etc.) and I don't use the oven or stove at all. Popsicles are a big hit too (we buy the no sugar, fruit pops). Good luck!!

Good stuff, Kimmie! Wetting the head with a washcloth and then using a fan...really good idea to get the babe to fall asleep feeling comfortable!

When it wasn't nap time, I used to let my girls suck on frozen washcloths. I get them good and wet and then freeze them. They worked really well at places like the Thursday night market or music in the park on Friday nights. I'd keep them in coolers to be used all night...it really helped when we were away from creature comforts, such as AC! My bill is gonna be a whopper!

We do the frozen washcloth thing (my daughter is also teething so this is really two birds with one stone). Naked time is a favorite with my daughter so I’ll let her spend extra time naked or with only a diaper. Lots of cool baths and time in front of the fan but our newest trick is the momsicle (frozen breast milk or formula.) I have those little mesh feeder things (I think Munchkin makes them) and will stick a breast milk ice cube in them. Another way to make them is to freeze the milk in a small cup or ice cube tray with a pacifier stuck in it. I always worry about ice chunks and choking though so I stick with the mesh feeder.

I love that you asked this question!! We didn't have air conditioning when our kids were that young - and we still don't use it. I would make a puddle (wherever the sidewalk would puddle) and let me child(ren) play in it... we would play with the hose, too. (I finally bought a small pool when we had three really young kids.) Also, I would put cold water in the tub and let them play with plastic cups and bowls right before nap and bedtime.

One other thing I did was squirt their beds down with a water bottle to cool their bed and blankets - just enough to feel cool, but not wet - that was huge.

Also, you might want to consider a small fan for his room :-)

Good luck
Hope this helps.
R.

my son loves to splash in the water i would go to k-mart wal-mart or taget get a cheep kidy pool and sit in it with him and let him play as for inside you have the bath tube and there is always damp wash cloths and fans when it is nap time try a damp towel over the side of the crib with a fan blowing on it aslong as it stays on the cooler side you could leave it there to help him sleep cloth dipers with no covers if you keep him changed ther would not be to much mess for you after that i also have been putting ice in my sons juice and milk during the day and his bed time bottle has been cool milk no ice it seems to be working for us hope it hilps you