Guides about keeping babies cool are almost all written for places that have a summer. We don't have a summer. We have this, all year, with a slightly wetter stretch and a slightly hazier one, and the practical consequence is that none of it is a seasonal adjustment. It's simply how the household runs.
Which is good news, in a way. You aren't going to be caught out by a heatwave. You have time to set things up properly once.
Dressing for heat
The rule I'd give anybody is one thin layer more than an adult needs at night, and the same as an adult during the day. Most of us over-dress babies here, and most of that comes from a good instinct applied to the wrong climate.
- One thin layer indoors is enough for most of the year. A short-sleeved bodysuit is a complete outfit at 28°C.
- Loose beats fitted. Air moving under the fabric is doing the cooling.
- Thin cotton or bamboo. Synthetics hold heat and moisture, and they're what most inexpensive babywear is made from.
- Bare feet indoors, always. Socks and mittens are for air-conditioning, and hands and feet run cool on babies as a matter of course and tell you nothing about how hot she is.
- Check the back of the neck or the chest to judge temperature. Warm and dry is right; damp means take something off.
- Take a layer off before going into a carrier, because your body counts as a layer and it's a warm one.
Sleep in hot weather
This is the part that has the most rules attached and the least room for improvisation, because the safe-sleep guidance doesn't relax in the heat.
The recommended room temperature is 16 to 20°C, which almost nobody here achieves without air-conditioning running all night. What you're managing is the combination of room and clothing, and the way to check it is your hand on her chest or the back of her neck.
- Fewer layers when it's hot, down to a nappy and a thin sleep sack, or just a nappy on the worst nights.
- Nothing loose in the cot, whatever the temperature. No fan aimed directly at her, no muslin draped over the cot, no cooling gel products.
- A fan is handy for moving air around the room and should be pointed at a wall.
- If you use air-conditioning, keep it steady through the night. The 3am problem in most flats is the timer switching off and the room climbing five degrees while everybody is asleep.
- Never cover a pram with a muslin or a blanket to make shade. It traps heat and the inside gets far hotter than the air outside. Use a clip-on shade that lets air through.
Heat, specifically
Fluids
The rule here is simpler than people expect, and getting it wrong is dangerous, so here it is in full. Under six months, no water. Breast milk or formula only, and in hot weather she may want more frequent feeds, which is the correct response. Water in a young baby can dilute sodium levels and it isn't a small risk. From six months, small amounts of water with meals in an open or straw cup. From one year, water freely. And for the adult who's feeding her: if you're breastfeeding in this climate you need much more water than you think, and nobody will remind you.
Sun
Under six months, keep her out of direct sun altogether. Sunscreen isn't recommended at that age, so shade and clothing are the whole strategy.
From six months, a high-factor sunscreen on the parts you can't cover, reapplied properly and more often than the bottle suggests once there's sweat involved. A wide-brimmed hat that covers the ears and the back of the neck beats a cap. Long, thin sleeves are cooler than bare skin in direct sun, which is counterintuitive and true. Or so I'm told by people who've measured it. I haven't.
Between eleven and four, be somewhere else. Every outdoor thing here has a version at half past five that's more pleasant for everybody.
The car
A parked car in this country becomes dangerous within minutes, and I mean minutes.
Never leave a child in a parked car, not for a moment, not with the window down, not while you run into the shop. Cool the car before she goes in. Use a proper window shade on her side. Check the buckle and the plastic parts of the seat with your hand before you strap her in, because metal and plastic in a car that's been in the sun will burn.
Nothing bulky between her and the harness, which is a safety rule year-round and counts for more here because the padding people add for comfort is also insulation.
Heat rash, briefly
Tiny pinpoint bumps in the folds, the neck and across the back, appearing after she's been hot and settling when she cools. It's extremely common here and it isn't an infection.
Mentioned above
Bamboo Cooling Blanket (120x150cm)S$135.00Shop now
Bamboo Swaddle Single (Solid Colours)S$26.00Shop nowCool her, take a layer off, keep the folds dry, and leave the skin open to the air. Thick creams and powders make it worse. It has its own page if you want the detail.
Signs of heat illness
This is the section to read now, because a baby who's overheating can't tell you and the early signs are quiet.
- Skin that is hot to the touch, flushed, and dry, or conversely clammy and pale.
- Unusual drowsiness, floppiness, or a baby who's hard to rouse.
- Fewer wet nappies than usual, a dry mouth, no tears when crying, or a sunken soft spot.
- Refusing feeds, or vomiting.
- Rapid breathing or a racing heartbeat.
- Irritability that won't settle, which in a baby often comes before any of the above.
Get her somewhere cool, remove clothing, offer a feed, and cool her skin with tepid water. Any of the above in a baby, and particularly drowsiness or a change in how rousable she is, means a doctor the same day. A temperature of 38°C or above under three months means urgent care regardless of the cause.
This guide is general information, written to help you understand a topic and ask better questions. It is not medical advice and does not replace your own doctor, midwife or paediatrician. Anything that worries you about your baby belongs with them.