What this is about
A drawer full of matching summer outfits looks charming before the birth. Then the baby arrives, and most of it stays in the drawer: tiny denim shorts, stiff collars and overalls are hot to wear and maddening to get off after a diaper blowout.
A summer newborn needs far fewer clothes than baby registries suggest: short-sleeve bodysuits, a few light sleepsuits, thin pants and long sleeves for the walk, a romper or two for the hottest days, a light sleep bag and a sun hat. All of it soft, light cotton, because it goes through the wash every day.
How to dress a newborn outdoors in summer
Newborns wear one light layer more than older babies, and at 24–27°C (75–81°F) that comes to long sleeves and thin socks where an older baby has short sleeves and bare feet. From 28°C (82°F) the extra piece goes: a newborn can't sweat well enough yet to shed heat, so one loose layer is the outfit. For a shaded stroller walk, find today's feels-like temperature in the table.
28°C and warmer82°F
24–27°C75–81°F
The long sleeves cover skin that burns quickly, but your baby still needs shade: the canopy or a clip-on parasol, never a dry muslin over the opening, which stops the air and makes it hotter inside. A baby under 6 months stays out of direct sun, and from UV 3 the sun hat goes on as well.
In a carrier, your body counts as a layer and you both sweat where you touch, so one thin cotton romper is plenty on a warm day. From about 32°C (90°F) feels-like, the clothes can't do more: plan the walk for the cool of the early morning and spend the hottest hours somewhere cool. For feeds, the car and the signs of a baby who is too hot, read what a baby should wear in hot weather.
At home with the air conditioning
A summer newborn lives in two climates. The air conditioning can keep the living room cool right through a heat wave, so choose the clothes for the room your baby is in, not for the month. At 20–23°C (68–73°F), that is a light sleepsuit (a footed sleeper, with long sleeves), as for any newborn in a cool room. At 24°C (75°F) and above, a short-sleeve bodysuit is enough on its own, and from 28°C (82°F), a diaper alone. The air conditioning itself is fine for a newborn: only keep the crib and the play mat out of its direct stream of cold air. Baby clothes indoors covers the rest of the house: cool floors, cold hands, and the warm patch by the window.
The same two climates meet at the store door. Keep one thin cotton cardigan in your diaper bag all summer: it goes on in a cold grocery store or during a long wait at the pediatrician, and comes off again on the way out.
What to buy for the first hot weeks
How many pieces you need comes down to how often you wash, so set your own rhythm in the list and the counts follow. Before the birth, buy a few in newborn and a few in 0–3 months, because nobody knows which one fits until your baby arrives. For the rest of the year, see the Baby clothes checklist.
Summer newborn checklist
For the size that fits now.
How often do you wash?
Every day
For warm days
24–27°C (75–81°F)
For hot days
from 28°C (82°F)
For sleep
pick one, by how your baby sleeps
That is more bodysuits than the all-year checklist counts, because in the heat a bodysuit takes the sleepsuit's place by day. Choose bodysuits with envelope necks, which roll down over the shoulders after a blowout instead of over the face. Side-snap kimono bodysuits are even better, sparing you from pulling anything over a floppy newborn head. The sleep bag can wait a few weeks: it fits once your newborn reaches the smallest size's minimum weight. TOG is the bag's warmth, and 0.5 is the summer one, for nights at 24–27°C (75–81°F); Sleep bag TOG ratings explains the numbers.
A few things that are not clothes:
- A clip-on stroller fan, fixed to the frame. It moves the air across the seat, and parents of summer babies swear by it.
- A plain room thermometer for the bedroom, because the forecast says nothing about an upstairs room at night.
- Thin clothes get soaked quickly from spit-up, sweat, and diaper leaks. A clean spare bodysuit, pants and socks kept ready in the bag is far more useful on a summer outing than a second warm layer.
Questions parents ask
Can a newborn wear a short-sleeve bodysuit?
Yes. At home it is enough on its own from 24°C (75°F) in the room, and outside from 28°C (82°F), in the shade.
How do I know if my newborn is too hot?
Feel the chest or the back of the neck. Warm and dry is right; if it feels hot or damp, take a layer off and find a cooler spot. Hands and feet often feel cool even when the rest of your baby is comfortably warm. For the other signs to look for, see Is my baby too hot or too cold?.
What should my newborn wear to sleep in summer?
Go by the thermometer in the bedroom, not the forecast: an upstairs room holds the day's heat long after sunset. At 24–27°C (75–81°F), start with a short-sleeve bodysuit under a light 0.5 TOG sleep bag. From 28°C (82°F), leave the bag off: a diaper alone or a light bodysuit is enough. Close the blinds during the day to help keep the bedroom cooler. If the air conditioning keeps the bedroom cooler than that, How to dress a baby for sleep has the outfit for the cooler rooms too.
Can I swaddle my newborn in summer?
Yes, if your baby likes it, in one thin layer of muslin. The swaddle adds warmth of its own, so less goes underneath: a short-sleeve bodysuit at 22–23°C (72–73°F) in the room, a diaper alone at 24–27°C (75–81°F), and from 28°C (82°F) no swaddle at all. Swaddling ends at the first sign of rolling, which can come at 2 months.
What should my newborn wear home from the hospital in summer?
A short-sleeve bodysuit or a light footed sleepsuit, chosen for the cooled car rather than the ward. Keep the clothes under the harness thin, take the hospital cap off for the ride, and ask whoever drives to cool the car before you come down. A thin muslin can lie over the legs, on top of the buckled straps, if the air conditioning is cold. How to dress a newborn has the first days in full, and the car seat guide what goes under the harness.
Does my newborn need a hat in summer?
Not indoors, in the car or for sleep, newborns included. Outside, add a sun hat at UV 3 and above, and keep your baby in the shade all the same.
What if the morning walk starts cool?
At 20–23°C (68–73°F), long sleeves, pants and socks with a thin cardigan over them, as in the newborn's outdoor table. The cardigan comes off as the morning warms up.
Should I buy fall and winter clothes now for a summer baby?
You can wait. A June baby is three or four months old by October and a size or two on, so clothes bought six months ahead often fit in the wrong season. Buy what fits right now for the warm weeks ahead, and the size for the first cold months about a month before they come.
