All About Bryan and Dylan

If you had paid close attention to Dylan’s photos, you would realize that he does not wear mittens. And I can tell you that he don’t wear booties or socks neither.

Some of the most annoying comments I get when I take Dylan out are:

1) Aiyo, why didn’t you let your baby wear mittens/ socks? He looks so cold la…

2) Why didn’t you wrap your son in thick blanket? He looks cold la

Bla bla bla…my son is cold? In our hot tropical climate?

I know that many will disagree with me but I do not think that we should let our babies wear mittens and booties unless of course they are in a cold environment.

I have not come across any childcare articles that suggests that newborns MUST wear mittens & booties/ socks. Yeah, if it is winter, it makes sense. But not here. I do let my son wear socks when he is older and if he sleeps in an air con room.

But Dylan enjoys being swaddled tightly when he is asleep. So his feet will be kept warm in the swaddle. No need for socks.

As for mittens, whatever for? Yeah, some people will say that it is to keep the baby from scratching and hurting himself. Well, they won’t hurt themselves if you keep their nails short.

I check Dylan’s nails regularly and cut them minimum twice a week. During Bryan’s time, I even file them to make sure that there are no sharp edges. With Dylan, no time to file but I will feel all the nails to make sure that there are no sharp edges. And so far, since I took him home, he has never scratched himself till there is a cut.

And when Bryan was a newborn, a PD told me that it is best NOT to let the baby wear mittens. Wearing mittens prevents the baby from touching and feeling things with his fingers. In summary, wearing mittens actually interfere with the baby’s learning process.

His advice works well for me. Less laundry for me…hehe. Besides, how can he suck on his fingers if he is wearing mittens. All you get in the end is a yucky mitten…

Anyway, since I am getting so many of these comments again, just for curiosity and to make sure that I am not doing anything wrong. I asked his current PD if Dylan should be in mittens & booties/ socks. Her reply? She never put her kids in mittens & booties either..