Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
Afraid Infant Isn't Warm Enough | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
My brother and his wife just brought home their infant daughter. My mother went home with them for a few days (at my brother and sister in law's request) to help out. Now my mother is terribly upset because she feels that my sister-in-law and brother are not keeping the baby warm enough. She said that the house is very cold, and all the baby ever wears is a t-shirt and a diaper. They rarely keep a blanket around the baby and when they do, it is a very thin one. My mother and I are very concerned about this issue and what effect it might have on my niece. They have plenty of winter clothing and warm blankets for the baby so that is not the issue. We want to be especially careful not to offend the new mom and dad. Any advice would be appreciated.— Audreyjill3 in Jackson, TN | | | ANSWER |
November 7, 2001 | | | Dear Audreyjill,
Without actualy seeing her, I can't say whether or not your niece is actually too cold. Clearly, her parents and your mother disagree about how warm is warm enough. This is a pretty common reason for disagreement, so I'll talk about that issue in general:
Often, parents and grandparents believe that newborns have to be bundled up and kept especially warm all of the time. This isn't true for full-term, normal sized babies (premature and underweight babies are a different story). Most babies do well at normal room temperatures, without being bundled up from head to toe. In other words, if you are comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts, your baby is likely to be comfortable dressed in about the same manner, perhaps with a light blanket.
A newborn baby who is sleeping, eating and growing well, is almost certainly warm enough. A baby who is not thriving, who seems irritable or overly sleepy all of the time, who doesn't feed well, or who eats but does not gain weight, has a significant problem. The cause of that problem might be temperature-related, but it could be a lot of other things, as well. If your niece is having any of these problems, she really should be examined by a doctor. If she seems healthy, then probably the best thing is to mention your concern once to her parents, then leave them alone to make their own parenting decisions.
Grandmothers are often a mixed blessing for a young couple. They can offer a lot of very good help and advice. On the other hand, they can sometimes make new parents feel tentative or inadequate, when they're really doing a fine job. Our section on grandparents explores this delicate balance in more detail.— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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