How to dress a baby for the weather

Babies cannot regulate their temperature the way adults can, and they cannot tell you when they are too warm or too cold. Layering solves this: several thin layers trap air, are easy to add or remove, and adapt as you move between a cold street and a heated shop.

The four layers

Base layer — a bodysuit against the skin. Cotton in mild weather, wool or merino when it is cold.
Bottoms — leggings, trousers or the lower half of an all-in-one.
Mid layer — a cardigan, fleece or wool overall that holds warmth. Added from roughly 17°C downwards.
Outer layer — a jacket, pramsuit or footmuff that blocks wind and rain.

Temperature guide

25°C and above

Outdoors: One light layer only: a short-sleeve bodysuit or a loose cotton romper. Add a wide-brim sun hat and stay in the shade when the UV index is 3 or higher.

Indoors: Short-sleeve bodysuit, or just a nappy and a light bodysuit in a very warm room. No socks.

22–24°C

Outdoors: Short-sleeve bodysuit with light cotton bottoms, plus a sun hat in bright weather.

Indoors: Short-sleeve bodysuit and light bottoms. Barefoot is fine.

18–21°C

Outdoors: Long-sleeve bodysuit, cotton bottoms, cotton socks and a thin hat. Outdoors nearly always feels cooler than the same temperature indoors, especially in a pram where the baby is not moving.

Indoors: Long-sleeve bodysuit and bottoms. No socks needed in a normal insulated home.

14–17°C

Outdoors: Long-sleeve bodysuit, bottoms, a light mid layer such as a cardigan or fleece, cotton socks and a thin hat.

Indoors: Long-sleeve bodysuit, bottoms and cotton socks; add a cardigan below about 16°C.

8–13°C

Outdoors: Long-sleeve base layer, warm bottoms, a fleece or wool mid layer, a light jacket or pramsuit, a warm hat and warm socks.

Indoors: Long-sleeve bodysuit, warm bottoms, a mid layer and warm socks.

0–7°C

Outdoors: Thermal or wool base layer, warm bottoms, a fleece mid layer, a padded overall or footmuff, a wool hat, mittens and wool socks.

Indoors: Normal indoor layers — heat the room rather than adding outdoor gear.

Below 0°C

Outdoors: Wool base layer, fleece mid layer, insulated overall or a footmuff in the pram, wool hat covering the ears, mittens and wool socks. Keep outings short and check hands, ears and the back of the neck.

Indoors: Normal indoor layers.

Use the feels-like temperature rather than the raw reading — wind and rain make a real difference, especially for a baby sitting still in a pram.

Hats, socks and mittens

Babies lose a lot of heat through the head, so a thin hat outdoors from about 18°C downwards is sensible, and a wool hat below 10°C. In bright weather swap it for a sun hat. Socks matter outdoors from roughly 20°C downwards, but indoors most babies are comfortable barefoot above 17°C. Mittens come out below freezing, or earlier in wind.

Sleep and sleep sacks

For sleep, work from room temperature and the TOG rating of the sleep sack. As a rough guide: 0.5 TOG above 24°C, 1.0 TOG at 20–24°C, 2.5 TOG at 16–20°C and 3.5 TOG below 16°C, with pyjamas underneath adjusted to match. Loose blankets are not recommended for young babies, and socks are not part of a normal sleep outfit — warmth should come from the sack and the room.

How to check if your baby is comfortable

Feel the back of the neck or the chest, not the hands or feet — those are normally cooler. Skin that is warm and dry means the outfit is right. Sweaty or clammy means one layer too many; cool at the chest means one layer too few.

Let Layerly do the maths

Layerly applies these rules automatically using today's weather, your baby's age and the clothes you own.

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