If you know me, you know I love summer!  I much prefer humidity and even excessive heat to the frigid cold and snow of winter. In fact, I would gladly live perpetually in the summer season if given the choice. Unfortunately, I live in Iowa and winter is a harsh cold reality. With below zero temperatures, chilly winds, treacherous walkways, and icy fingers quickly approaching, I have begun unpacking all our wintertime gear. Thankfully, I have found some products that help my family survive the winter months.

Here are my mommy winter favorites:

Baby Legwarmers

Baby legwarmers aren’t just for girls! I like to use these flexible leggings especially on days when the temperature fluctuates greatly.  Legwarmers quickly offer a second layer of warmth for little ones during a chilly day. Wearing legwarmers underneath regular pants means my infant son’s legs will still be warm even if his pants ride up. They can also be worn indoors with a simple onesie. They can quickly be removed or added depending on baby’s needs or the temperature. When worn with a onesie, they offer warmth while making diaper changes a breeze! However, they are not just for babies. They can instantly convert my three year old son’s short sleeve shirt into a long one. I like the flexibility baby legwarmers offer for Iowa’s crazy unpredictable weather changes.

 CleanWell Hand Sanitizer

I’m a bit of a germ freak. I like to blame my phobia of germs on my son’s three month stay in the NICU. Since that time in my life, I’ve been continuously armed with an ample supply of hand sanitizer during the cold and flu season, ready to slather any ill sounding or looking person who comes within a five foot radius of my children. CleanWell’s hand sanitizer is my favorite because it is all natural, safe for kids, and has no alcohol to leave your hands feeling dry.  We also use CleanWell sanitizing wipes for messier situations on the go.

Sleeved Bibs by Bumkins

Regular sleeveless bibs used to always leave me with a mess once the weather turned cold. I was constantly scrubbing stains from the ends of my son’s shirt sleeves. The sleeved bibs protect the long sleeves on my son’s shirts meaning less laundry for me- a huge time saver! Plus, the elastic around the sleeve openings on the bibs not only ensure my son’s sleeves stay clean, but also hinder any food from being dropped and subsequently mashed to the insides of his sleeves. Furthermore, the bibs are easy to wipe clean and use again all winter long.

Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmers

Mittens always kept my hands plenty warm before kids. Once my kids came along, I often found myself removing my mittens to help secure them in their car seats or reach for something in the diaper bag. Even wearing gloves didn’t always offer the dexterity I needed to always help my boys. Now if I’m out during cold weather with my boys, I usually opt to wear my fingerless gloves. I love how the keep my hands as warm as possible, while still allowing my fingers to be nimble.

SleepSacks by Halo

I love SleepSacks! Both our infant and older son sleep in them once the temperature starts to drop. Our older son, Miles, constantly moves at night making it impossible to keep a blanket on him. For a while we tried layering two pairs of pajamas to keep him warm at night, but they would often become twisted and bunch up uncomfortably. The SleepSack offers the warmth of a blanket, without Miles being able to kick it off. Our baby, Graham, also wears a SleepSack to bed so that I don’t need to worry about any loose blankets covering his face while he keeps warm.  SleepSacks are sized from newborn to five years old. Plus, the larger sized SleepSacks have foot openings allowing little ones to move around with ease when not in bed.

There are tons of great places to find these items! We would love for you to start with local stores and then go from there! Here are some ideas: little padded seats, suite dreams, Target, Amazon.com, diapers.com.

What are some of your mommy favorites for surviving the winter months?