1. Type of Outerwear...

When shopping for your baby's winter clothing, you will discover that you have many choices. The first choice is whether your baby needs a winter coat or a snowsuit. It's important to choose the right one. So, how do you do that? Ask yourself two questions:

• How bad are your winters? If you live in the north where the winters can get below freezing, you want to look more at snowsuits. If you live in the more southern areas where the winter is milder, a winter coat could suffice. A snowsuit covers the whole body and insulates. Bitter cold and wind can be held at bay with snowsuits. A winter coat adds just enough warmth but does not cover from the waist down. This can be fine if just extra leggings or thicker pants can easily make up for it.
• How often will the baby wear it and for how long? Snowsuits take more time to put on and take off. How often will you have to do that a day? If you are going to daycare and back only, how long will the baby be exposed to the cold? Snowsuits are great for this scenario. Going in and out many places with small amounts of cold exposure makes coats a better option as you can quickly take off the coat and get it back on with speed so that your many stops are not having your spend so much time working with snowsuits.

2. Ability to Move around...

Now, look at how comfortable your baby will be. They like to be warm, but they are balls of energy that like to get around. Can they move their arms in the car seat while in the coat or snowsuit? Can they toddle about without falling on their faces and hurting themselves? Weigh the needed warmth versus their comfort level. If the snowsuit might be too much for them, look for a heavy winter coat that gives them the warmth yet gives them the ability to move around and still be comfortable. You'll be glad you thought of this in the end. An uncomfortable baby makes everyone grouchy.

3. The Right Size...

Getting the right size for a baby can be difficult. Keep in mind that they are not like you. They are growing literally every second of the day. A baby needing size 12 months today could need size 18 months in two or three weeks. You don't want to buy something that will be useless that quick especially when winter lasts so long. It is usually better to buy a size or two larger based on how fast your baby is growing and the number of layers of clothes you have them wear under the coat or snowsuit. You don't realize how much of a difference that can make. Try it on them. Make sure there is enough room for clothes and growth.

4. Ease of Use...

Don't get too fixated on how cute the coat is or how warm is. You'll forget how important the method to closing it is. Does the outerwear have snaps or zippers? Zippers are faster and easier for toddlers to use. Their fingers work better with zippers. If you want easy for the parents, snaps might be your choice for babies. They easily close and open when only adults have to use them. Check out how many snaps there are, too. That can be a pain when there are so many that you spend what seems like an hour just closing the baby up into its warm cocoon. Zippers need to go up high enough to keep the baby's neck warm but not too high where you might pinch their delicate skin.

5. Keep Them Comfortable...

As mentioned earlier, you want the baby or toddler to be able to move around with ease while keeping them warm. But even outerwear that gives that freedom might be too much insulation or not enough. You don't want to cook your baby especially when you like to put really warm clothes on them. Being too hot can make your baby irritable and eventually you, too. Being too cold makes them sad and irritable. Either way, everyone is in a bad mood. Find the outfit that keeps them and you in a happy mood.

Amy is a mother of two and an editor of Livesnet writing about baby product reviews and parenting tips. All her articles are easy to follow and are based on established research and personal experience. If you have any opinion or problem about this article, please contact with Amy on Facebook. Please visit Livesnet and read hot review on Britax Booster Seat.

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