Source: NineMSN

Here’s what you need to know about looking after your little one on those hot summer days.

Written by Sara Verge

Feeling hot, hot, hot? Well, if you are, then your baby is too. However, there’s no need to panic at the thought of another sweltering summer approaching. Babies can get stressed by the heat, but coping with summer just means a little extra care and some commonsense to keep both of you cool, comfy and stress-free.

How many layers?
If you’re feeling comfortable in a summer dress or shorts and a singlet top, then don’t bundle up your bub in a long-sleeved grow suit. Parentcraft educator and M&B expert Sharon Donaldson says: "For a newborn baby on a hot day, a singlet and a nappy and a wrap is plenty for them to maintain their body temperature."

If your baby likes being wrapped, make sure you’re using a muslin or light cotton one. When it’s really hot, Sharon advises putting a cloth nappy or small towel over your arm when you’re nursing your baby. This avoids too much sticky skin-to-skin contact and the risk of overheating your baby from your own body heat.

Plenty of fluids
"Babies do dehydrate very quickly,” says Sharon. However, there’s no need to panic, or try to pump bottles of water into your bub in hot weather. If you’ve got a good supply of breastmilk, you don’t need to give water," says Sharon. Instead she recommends short, frequent breastfeeds, as often as every two hours. Make sure your own fluid intake is good too.

As long as your baby has a wee after every feed and is producing six to eight wet nappies a day, there’s nothing to worry about, reassures Sharon.

Spend the hottest part of the day indoors, in the coolest part of the house with a fan going. (Don’t point the fan right at your baby.) If it’s really hot you can put a wet towel in front of the fan to cool the air. If you’ve got air conditioning (lucky you!) watch that the room doesn’t become too cold; 24C–26C is low enough. A tepid bath is another way to keep your baby cool on a very hot day.

Slip, slop, slap
Children’s skin is particularly vulnerable to harmful UV rays. Too much sun when you’re a kid really increases your risk of skin cancer later in life. Cancer Council Australia recommends keeping babies out of the sun as much as possible.

Tips to minimise your baby’s sun exposure:
-Try to organise your day so you can be inside between 10am and 3pm, when UV is most intense.
- Cover as much of your baby’s skin as possible with loose-fitting clothes and wraps. - Protect his face, neck and ears with a broad-brimmed or legionnaire-style hat. - Use a sunshade on your pram or stroller and check regularly to make sure your bub is still in the shade.
- Use a SPF30+ broad-spectrum sunscreen on the parts of his body not covered by clothing – face, ears, hands and feet. The Cancer Council advises there is no evidence that using sunscreen on full-term babies is harmful. (The skin of premature babies may be more permeable because it is not completely developed.) Sunscreens labelled for toddlers and babies contain the same chemicals as ones labelled for adults, but usually have a gentler base and no perfume and so are less likely to irritate a baby’s skin.