What Should Baby Wear in a Carrier in Hot Weather?

I specify carrier fabrics and I've carried two babies through this heat. You're a layer. That one idea solves most of this: you're a layer, the carrier is another layer, so a carried baby should be dressed with roughly one layer fewer than a baby in a pram, and two bodies pressed together with a panel of fabric between them build heat fast. In this climate, minutes.

What to put her in

Usually less than is currently on her. A single thin layer is very often the entire outfit.

• A single thin layer against the skin. A short-sleeved bodysuit is the whole outfit above about 28°C, and a nappy alone is reasonable in genuine heat.
• Natural and breathable. Bamboo and cotton move moisture away from the skin; synthetics hold it against the skin, which is what turns warm into prickly and then into heat rash.
• Loose and never fitted where the fabric isn't against you: sleeves and legs especially.
• Cover the exposed skin, and don't leave it bare. Legs and arms outside the carrier catch a great deal of sun, and light long sleeves beat bare skin.
• A wide-brimmed hat that shades the neck and ears, secured so it can't fall over the face.
• Socks or nothing on the feet. Shoes add heat and do nothing handy.

What never to do

The first one on this list is the one that counts, and it's the one people do out of kindness.

• Temperature under a covered carrier rises fast. Never drape a muslin, blanket or cover over the carrier to shade them. It traps heat, restricts airflow and hides the face, and the face being visible at all times isn't negotiable.
• No hooded cover pulled across. Use a parasol attached to your body or a wide-brimmed hat instead.
• Don't add a layer because their hands feel cool. Hands and feet run cool in babies as a matter of normal circulation.
• Don't wear a padded, insulated carrier in heat if you have any alternative.
• Don't use sunscreen on a baby under six months. Shade and clothing only.

Pick the carrier for the weather

The carrier itself is a variable most people never think to change. A padded structured carrier and a linen ring sling aren't the same object in 32 degrees, and while I haven't checked the difference with a thermometer, it's obvious on the skin.

• Mesh, linen or thin woven fabric over thick padded panels.
• Single-layer carries over multi-layer wrap ties, which put three thicknesses across the baby's back.
• A ring sling in thin linen or gauze is one of the coolest options for short carries.
• Whatever you use, check that the panel doesn't cover more of the baby than it has to, and that air can reach their back.

How to check her

Feel the back of the neck or the chest. Warm and dry is right. Damp hair, a sweaty back, flushed cheeks or rapid breathing all mean take a layer off, get into shade, and get some air between you.

In a carrier there's a second thing to check that doesn't apply elsewhere: the skin where you're pressed together. Sweat collects between the wearer's chest and the baby's back and front, and that's where heat rash appears first. A thin bamboo layer between you helps because it wicks. A synthetic top on the adult makes it worse.

Fluids

Different answers either side of six months, and the wrong one is dangerous under six.

• Feed more often. A breastfed baby under six months needs no water. They need extra feeds, and breast milk adjusts, with the early part of a feed being more watery.
• Formula-fed babies under six months can be offered small amounts of cooled boiled water between feeds in heat.
• Over six months, offer water in an open or straw cup.
• Watch nappies. Fewer wet nappies than usual is the earliest reliable sign of dehydration, and it applies to the wearer as much as the baby.

Timing and pacing

A carried baby can't walk into the shade. Every decision about when and where to go is one she has no say in.

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• Avoid carrying through the hottest part of the day, roughly 11am to 3pm, where you have the choice.
• Shorter carries with breaks out of the carrier in shade, and never one long stretch.
• Take them out to cool down properly, and don't simply loosen the carrier and continue.
• Plan the route with shade in it. A carried baby can't move out of the sun.

Signs of overheating

Get out of the heat, take the baby out of the carrier and remove layers if you see any of these. Seek medical help urgently for the ones marked as serious.

• Damp hair, sweaty back or neck, flushed face.
• Unusual irritability, or unusual drowsiness and difficulty rousing. The second is serious.
• Rapid breathing or a racing heartbeat: serious.
• Hot skin with no sweating, serious, and a sign of heat illness and not of being warm.
• Very few wet nappies, dry mouth, no tears when crying, or a sunken fontanelle: serious.
• A temperature of 38°C or above in a baby under three months: urgent at any time.

On the specifics

Sources

• NHS. Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
• The Lullaby Trust: Swaddling and slings
• International Hip Dysplasia Institute: Baby carriers, seats and other equipment

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.

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