Sun and infants!

mirrorwall14

If you can ever really be confident about the weather in Ireland it looks like a bit of a heat wave next week. I'm a bit of a sun person so I would usually slap on sun cream and sit out the back with a book and an umbrella when I want shade. However now I have a 5 month old and I'm not sure what I can do with him. Is he confined to the house in the heat? Are buggies liable to build up a lot of heat in the sun? Could I lie him on a blanket under a sunshade? So many questions! What does everyone do?

Moonbeam

In France last year I had a 4 week old.
I bought a little UV tent and put a soft mat in it for when we were sitting outside.
I kept a hat on her outside and kept the sunshade on the buggy up.
She was fine:)

mirrorwall14

Moonbeam wrote: »

In France last year I had a 4 week old.
I bought a little UV tent and put a soft mat in it for when we were sitting outside.
I kept a hat on her outside and kept the sunshade on the buggy up.
She was fine:)

Those tents don't get roasting do they? There was one in the aldi baby event it might still be there to grab

3DataModem

All day sun cream (p20, piz buin or Once) works great for 6-8 hours. Make sure they get plenty of air circulation and shade.

pogcica

Use a good high factor/block suncream and a hat on him and he will be fine in the sun or shade. Enjoy the weather if it comes.

Rgds D

Roesy

I'm not certain but don't think you are supposed to use su cream
On under 6 month olds. Would love some clarification on this though as my first was a winter baby and more or less 6 months old before we got proper sunny weather. No.2 is due next week. My current plan is sunhat, light long sleeved and legged clothes and possibly one of those uv tents if we're out in the garden on really sunny days.

pwurple

A light sunscreen that doesn't block pores, and a shady spot.

Here's my bubs napping when she was a few months old in the sun last year. We had an umbrella over a cushion. You can see a playmat with toys over under the shady tree.

Diamond Doll

I wouldn't allow them to spend any time at all in direct sunlight at under 12 months. The risk of burning is too high. I don't think we even bothered with sunscreen last summer, we just put him in his little UV tent. He was too young to crawl out of it then, this summer though he'll be running around the place and probably won't be happy to stay in the tent, so it'll be sunscreen and sunhat and sunglasses (if he'll leave them on him!) I think we've a sunhat somewhere with the bit that drapes down over the back of his neck. If using sunglasses, we'll make sure they're ones with decent UV protection, because otherwise he could just end up looking directly at the sun and doing more damage that would be done without sunglasses. They seem very diligent in creche about sun safety, which is great. I was thinking we'd probably have him in shorts and Tshirts, but Roesy is probably right about long light layers being the way to go.

We probably won't bother with the beach or anything, as I'm just into that at all, however we'll probably invest in one of those full UV suits if we do end up going there. (Anyone seen them around at a good price?)

There is a UV shade built into our buggy, it's great, a lot handier than those parasols that seem to constantly need adjusting. He'll happily snooze in there with the shade pulled fully down and the seat reclined.

I hate to think of the terrible sunburns we'd regularly get as kids! My son has quite sallow skin so I'd say he'll take the sun OK, won't be taking any chances though!

pwurple

Oh my goodness that's a lot of sun protection.
Uv tents
Uv suits
Sunscreen
Hat
Cape
Buggy shade

I guess there are two things to think about with the sun. Certainly, you don't want any skin damage, but it's our very best source of vitamin d as well. We need some sun. I want them build up as much stores of that as I can for the winter, which means getting sun on skin.

A go in a paddling pool for a few nekkid minutes. Then stick the umbrella over it. Keeps them nice and cool and do they love it!

Xdancer

pwurple wrote: »

Oh my goodness that's a lot of sun protection.
Uv tents
Uv suits
Sunscreen
Hat
Cape
Buggy shade

I guess there are two things to think about with the sun. Certainly, you don't want any skin damage, but it's our very best source of vitamin d as well. We need some sun. I want them build up as much stores of that as I can for the winter, which means getting sun on skin.

A go in a paddling pool for a few nekkid minutes. Then stick the umbrella over it. Keeps them nice and cool and do they love it!

Totally agree with this. My daughter was born here in Spain and has the same pale, Irish skin I have. She is 3 and has made it this far without any sunburn and without using all those UV things.
A sunhat, sun cream and a bit of common sense has been the way to go.
Keep the baby in the shade as much as you can, but a bit of sunshine is good for them too. Vitamin D is so important and the sun is the best source of that.

Diamond Doll

Yeah maybe I'm being a bit OTT over it! It's the first summer he's big enough to be running around the garden in the sunshine, I'd just hate for him to get burnt. But I know it's important for him to get some bit of vitamin D as well.

For the first year, though, I wouldn't have been happy to have him in direct sunlight on a hot day at all. So it was just the UV tent we needed, those were the days, when you could actually leave him down somewhere and he'd still be there five minutes later! Sunscreen will definitely be needed this year.

eviltwin

I never used any of that stuff with my kids, I think the hat obviously, keep them hydrated and make sure they get regular time in the shade. You have to live your life.

dori_dormer

I read earlier that factor 50 is now advised against as it blocks pores and vitamin d. Factor 20 reapplied every 2 hrs I think is what's now recommended.
We took our boy to France last summer at 4 mths old. He had suncream and uv suits but was only in the sun when we had him in the pool. We got him one of those tents, it had mesh on the sides so a breeze could flow through and keep him cool.

This summer it's just suncream and long sleeves/ trousers as much as possible. He throws hats and sunglasses away the second I put them on him.

Moonbeam I don't know how you managed to get away on holiday with a 4 week old!

spottybananas

At my mum and baby group I all the mums were chatting and nodding sagely about how babies aren't meant to be in sunlight at all before 6 months. Ironic that we have to give them Vit D every day of their lives for the first year because they don't get enough sun, but then keep them entirely out of the sun...

Sun hat here, sleeves and stuff when sunny but not too hot, and good suncream on extremities if they'll be exposed, his face and head are never in the sun for longer than a few minutes. He's only little but we will be frequenting the beach as much as possible in the next few months, he'll be well protected but not every single inch of him covered.

Novella

I live in California where the weather is currently ranging from about 32 to 40 degrees so it's very hot and sunny. I'm 30 weeks pregnant but also have a stepson and doctor's advice here is not to put suncream on baby before six months but to dress baby very lightly, keep in the shade and make sure to keep well hydrated by feeding often and checking for a regular pattern of wet nappies. The buggy I bought has a UV shade on it and most people here keep their babies covered completely with some kind of shade when they're in the stroller or car seat outside.

My stepson is almost three and when he's outdoors, we put sunscreen on him and same as above, dress him lightly and keep him hydrated. We swim pretty much everyday outdoors and he has never been burned.

I guess you just have to use your better judgement - make sure the child isn't in the sun for too long, make sure they're not feeling too hot to the touch etc., make sure they're drinking enough liquids. Personally I wouldn't be one for staying indoors any time it's sunny because if I did that, nothing in my life would ever get done with the weather being warm here year round.

LegacyUser

Suncream all the way for us with a 1 year old and sun hats. She was born this time last year and it was so bloody hot, I found it hard. Didn't want to leave her in short sleeves as a newborn, because this is Ireland and the wind can be cool enough, and I was worried about keeping her warm enough! Went for long sleeved light clothes, and kept to the shade as much as possible - and felt like I was blaspheming in some way by wishing the weather would get cooler!!!! These days she's in light clothes, T-shirts, suncream and hats, and you couldn't keep her inside if you tried...

Please don't be afraid to let kids out in the sun though - Vitamin D is so important for everything in your body and we really don't get enough of it here in Ireland (aren't we being advised to give our kids Vit D drops?!). Many medical studies prove it's necessity, and in fact, there has been a rise in cases of rickets in the UK, due to parents not letting kids out in the sun enough (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Rickets/Pages/Introduction.aspx), although I know that's an extreme reaction. It's so necessary, and sunburn can be prevented in many simple ways.