To hat or not to hat | slackermama . com

Posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008, 7:13 PM

I have a question to pose to you, oh dear Internets. It’s something that is being hotly contested here in our house these days and I am just not sure what the common knowledge is on this particular subject, or even if there IS any common knowledge.

What is the deal with putting hats on newborns?

Kile insists that because you lose most of your body heat through your head and because newborns have some difficulties regulating their own heat (at least at first), they should wear hats 24/7, regardless of the temperature inside or outside the house.

I have a much more laissez-faire (and, according to Kile, borderline child neglectful) policy and while hats in the hospital are all well and good, after about the first week they probably don’t need the hat all that often. I like to subscribe to the “dress them as you would dress yourself” philosophy since that makes sense to me.

So. Your job, dear Internets, is to tell me which one of us is right. What has been our experience on this particular subject, what have you done with your own children?

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Tags: baby hats, disagreement, newborns
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18 Comments

Posted by J 03.31.2008, 8:00 pm

well as a brand new mom myself, take my advice for what it’s worth. but what we did was wear hats at bedtime the first couple weeks, and then after that we’d put a hat on ds only when we were going out for about the first month. of course it was colder out when we had him. and, I kinda like finding little match-y hats. btw, evie is just too cute, in case I haven’t said so lately. :)
Posted by jeanie 03.31.2008, 8:02 pm

Well, I am sort of with Kile on this one - the rule we (aka my MIL) used was dress as you would yourself plus one layer - although I tended to dress a bit skimpily for her liking!

However, we don’t have the central heating over here that you do, and if it is fairly warm then be merciful.

How is that for an each way bet?

jeanie’s last blog post..Big April Fool
Posted by Suburban Oblivion 03.31.2008, 8:15 pm

Dress them as you would yourself, and that includes sticking salad plate-sized bows on their heads! :P

Suburban Oblivion’s last blog post..What is Your “One Word”?
Posted by Beth 03.31.2008, 8:26 pm

I think hats are cute on babies. It makes them look extra snuggly. I had tons of hats for my eldest but I lost a lot of them before my youngest came so he had a naked head more often than his brother but he also had a lot more hair.

Beth’s last blog post..Things I Didn’t Know Before I had Children
Posted by Marilyn 03.31.2008, 8:32 pm

Wow, such great response! Thank you, everyone! Keep it coming!

To clarify: Kile wanted me to point out that we do keep our house rather cool. He has complained of being chilled the last several days, whereas I have not (but then, I have hormones coursing through my bloodstream and he does not). So our home might be a little cooler than most. AND, he wants me to point out that he never said that he wanted her to wear a hat regardless of temperature in or out. He takes it seriously, this whole hat thing!

Also, my big argument (besides wanting to see more of her pretty little head) is that her head is so wee, that none of the hats we have fit all that well and they all end up over her eyes at regular intervals which just pisses her off to no end. It’s as sure to make her cry as anything else.
Posted by Lisa 03.31.2008, 8:40 pm

Kile is right that most body heat is lost through your head but also your hands. But head is most important. We were told to keep a hat on DD 24/7 for the first.. few days I think. Maybe even a week. But not any longer than that. Sorry that I don’t remember exactly how long. And yeah, we were told that she should wear the hat regardless of the temperature (I guess you wouldn’t if it was blazing hot.. but it probably isn’t). She’s used to being a lot warmer than we are.
Posted by Loralee 03.31.2008, 10:22 pm

When they are very new, the hats are needed. I use hats for the first few weeks (They like it, they are used to a 98.6 existence)

I don’t over bundle, though…You are very correct for a little ways down the road.

Loralee’s last blog post..Sideblog: When something has to give
Posted by Violet 04.1.2008, 4:46 am

I also heard that they should be dressed warmer than we are, and should wear a hat. Sorry. I had my daughter in March, too, and she wore a hat most of the time for the first couple months until it got warmer. Of course, as a first time mommy I was a little paranoid, too. But she really liked being bundled up warm, so I figured the hats were a good idea until she started to pull them off. Do you have hats from the hospital? We stole all we could from there, because they were tiny and she could wear them until she was big enough to fit in the ones we had at home.
Posted by Randi 04.1.2008, 5:01 am

I always had hats on my little ones for a few weeks simply because they had so little hair! When I put my hands on their heads I could feel how warm they were, so I put the hats on in order to keep them warmer.

Randi’s last blog post..The poor baby
Posted by Mom24 04.1.2008, 5:33 am

I’ve always gone with the “dress as you would, plus one layer” philosophy. However, I don’t think you NEED to put a hat on her. I liked putting hats on mine, because I thought they were cute. Yes, I did treat them like little dolls–it was fun! I always did onesies under the outfit for my “plus one”. Also, you need to use common sense. If it’s in the 80’s or 90’s, the plus one went right out the window! Interestingly, I believe the research would support that there’s not much danger to being slightly chilled, but it’s not good for babies to be over-heated. That being said, I think that’s pretty extreme over-heating. I’m sure you guys will do just fine. Sounds like it’s almost time for Kyle to go back to work. LOL.

Mom24’s last blog post..Why don’t Mom’s get sick days?
Posted by Rebecca 04.1.2008, 5:38 am

My oldest was born during a very hot June, so I didn’t worry about hats.

My little one was born in January during a blizzard, so he did wear hats. Because it was cold.

I just dressed my guys based on the weather and temp. If it felt cold, he wore a hat. If not, he didn’t. My older boy rarely wore one, the little one for a little longer.

I’d say if your DH is chilled (go by how you feel once the hormone rush dies down), she needs a hat. If not, then I wouldn’t worry about it.

Rebecca’s last blog post..Ch-ch-changes…
Posted by Sara 04.1.2008, 6:49 am

Ah…I’m with you! Sorry Kile…but I think hats aren’t really “necessary”. Now, say you’re going outside and it’s chilly, then it’s OK to wear hats. But in general, if you’re indoors and it’s comfortable to you, then she’s probably fine. Of course I’m a young mom and I do things my way….but I agree with you.

Although, hats are really cute! :)

Sara’s last blog post..Spring Time Fun!
Posted by Michelle 04.1.2008, 6:59 am

Okay… we just kept the house at about 68-72 degrees and sucked up the huge heating bill and/or AC bill since out house is quite drafty. After we left the hospital, Elizabeth didn’t wear hats unless we were leaving the house, and then only rarely because she HATES them. Which, I’m sure was a mark against me in the score card my mother-in-law is keeping. Anyway, since Elizabeth was always swadled in a nice warm blanket and was almost always being held, she didn’t need a hat to stay warm. My theory is, dress the baby as you would dress yourself. If you wear long sleeves, so should she. My sister’s theory is that you should dress them as you would dress yourself, plus one layer. So, there you go.
Posted by Shawna 04.1.2008, 7:48 am

The hospital didn’t supply hats or suggest we bring one for Grommet, and that was January in Canada. If she was having trouble regulating her temperature they preferred stripping her down for skin-to-skin contact with mom over putting a hat on her.

Of course we brought a hat for her to wear home since it was cold out, but it wasn’t even listed in the “What to bring” section of the hospital pamphlet (though “snowsuit/bunting bag” was there). Our doctor also lectured us quite sternly not to overdress her or let her overheat and to put only what we’d wear plus one layer on her.

So yeah, we didn’t use hats much indoors. I can’t imagine we’ll worry about it with the next one either, since he’ll be born in June.
Posted by Sarah Lena 04.1.2008, 7:48 am

We’re big into hats, but really because they’re PRECIOUS more than anything else. AND.. AND.. they are so much fun to place on your animals when the baby outgrows them.

We don’t have premium cable. As if I needed to say that.
Posted by Michele 04.1.2008, 9:45 am

I’ve bred sweaty children, so we never really used the hats. I’ve always heard the “dress them as you’d dress yourself” thing and pretty much followed that.

If Kile is saying the house feels a little chilly, then I would put a hat on her - mostly to shut him up. Heh Kidding! No advice for the hats slipping down on her head - unless you have those baby headband thingies and you can put one around the outside of the hat to tighten it up a little bit.

How’s the for advice? LOL (I could never write an advice column.)
Posted by cagey 04.1.2008, 2:03 pm

Dress as you dress yourself. That is my vote.

P.S. Just put a hat on her when the grandmas come around. You can never, ever, EVER dress a baby enough with grandmas around. sigh.

cagey’s last blog post..If you mated a bulldog and a shitzu, would it be called a “bullshit”?
Posted by cagey 04.1.2008, 2:29 pm

Meant to mention that my doctor has always said to dress my babies like I would dress myself.

cagey’s last blog post..If you mated a bulldog and a shitzu, would it be called a “bullshit”?