Leaving babies outside to sleep …..Scandi craze.

I think all us mums used to do this. My own mum told me ‘out all weathers apart from fog’. So her baby granddaughters were out in their Silver Cross pram in rain, hail and yes, once … even snow. January 1979 I wiped an inch off the apron when I brought the pram indoors from our back garden. Snugs as bugs.

There has definitely been a shift in the way of thinking about this over the years. Since I was a working mother, I didn't have the chance, except rarely on a weekend, to put my babes outdoors for naps.

There is a change in the design of baby buggies these days. Most are the type that the car seat clicks into the buggy. This means the babies don't sleep flat, and I think there are recommendations that they don't spend too much time in the car-seat position.

Also I think there is a shift in attitude about leaving baby out of sight, or out of quick range. I think any unattended baby buggy outside a shop would be considered abandonment and social services would be called!

Fresh air is good for all of us, babies included. It would be nice if this Nordic practice became more popular.

1965. I was advised to put my daughter outside to sleep, unless it was foggy or very wet. Mind you we had big prams then, coachbuilt. Todays babies would not fair so well in the ‘prams’ of today.
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Well, both my children (1974 and 1976) slept outside for hours in the day. The cot was used for night time sleeping only.

Of course, we lived in the country, lots of lovely clean, fresh air.

When my (grown up) DD worked as a nanny in a posh part of London, the air was too polluted to put a pram and baby outside.

JamesandJon33

1965. I was advised to put my daughter outside to sleep, unless it was foggy or very wet. Mind you we had big prams then, coachbuilt. Todays babies would not fair so well in the ‘prams’ of today.
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Yes, we had proper prams where babies could lie down flat and sleep.
Today's 'prams' are just pushchairs and just aren't suitable for keeping babies snug, warm and comfortable although I suppose they must be convenient.

There is a change in the design of baby buggies these days. Most are the type that the car seat clicks into the buggy. This means the babies don't sleep flat, and I think there are recommendations that they don't spend too much time in the car-seat position.

That is, in fact quite dangerous and a friend's DD was warned against leaving a sleeping baby unattended in one because their heads could tip forward and they could suffocate.

I only put my son out in the garden in his pram on warm days. Obviously I took him out for a walk in the pram, well wrapped up, on cooler days.

My mum in law told me her first born, my husband was born on a very cold November day in November 1950. After his first feed, the midwives swaddled him, and he was put outside her ward, in a pram, to sleep. She continued this with him and later his brother. Mum did the same with we 3 children. I had a second hand silver cross pram and continued the tradition. I also suspect it helped with routines……

My son used to nap outside in all weathers in the mid 1990's from about six months old, he had a snow suit and cosy toes foot muff plus the rainhood pulled down. I'd park him in the back garden by the patio doors where I could see into the pram. He slept like a log. My GP told me the only weather he shouldn't be sleeping outside in was freezing fog, not that we had a lot of that.

We always put our two out in the garden to sleep unless it was foggy raining hard or snowing, it was normal practice then.

We had metal bodied silvercross prams for both my girls. The youngest used to fall asleep every time we took her sister to nursery. I wheeled the pram into the garden and left her there, with the kitchen window open to hear her.
I had friends round for coffee one morning, they asked where the baby was I said in the garden.
“But it’s snowing” they said.
“ I’ve put the hood up”
I had, with the storm flap and all the blankets she was snug as a bug.
I think it’s great that this has been rediscovered and will be good for the children but I’m sure some poor grandparents will be getting lectured about this new thing they have discovered.

Outside as often as possible for Cn and Gch here too.

Both Ch watched the planes as we lived under the Heathrow flightpath at the time.
GS used to love lying under the forsythia when it was in flower. That was his favourite We moved him around the garden for the apple, pear and cherry blossom as they came in to flower too.

I did it with both DDs, but have others have said, in a proper coach-built Silver Cross pram.

I had a beautiful Silver Cross pram. Our boys were born in the early 80's and I never put them outside to sleep, I suppose it just wasn't a done thing then.

Smileless2012

I had a beautiful Silver Cross pram. Our boys were born in the early 80's and I never put them outside to sleep, I suppose it just wasn't a done thing then.

I put DD out in her pram in the garden (early 1980s)

Smileless2012

I had a beautiful Silver Cross pram. Our boys were born in the early 80's and I never put them outside to sleep, I suppose it just wasn't a done thing then.

I had a Silver Cross pram for my DS (bought by my parents) in the 80s and used to put him in the back garden for fresh air outside in it for all 4 seasons (apart from rain).

I thought it was the done thing in the 80s as myself and other friends did it under our Mother's guidance.

I didn’t have a big Silver Cross pram. Mine was a smaller blue pram as we lived in a tiny cottage then. I remember it had a pretty lining and I believe we had it from Mothercare, like everything else. It was nice and cozy though.

I have grandchildren in Sweden and when they were in daycare, the prams were always left outside for naps. Even in the snow! My other grandchildren are also often left outside to nap- often after a walk when they fall asleep. Just last week, sil brought 2 year old out in lie-flat buggy (most parents with older babies use these - not the car seat type). After she fell asleep he left her outside in the rain but under an awning and she slept for about 2 hours. She was well wrapped up and buggy had rain cover. I'm surprised anyone finds it unusual.

That's interesting Callistemon and PestyOne as none of my friends did either.

My mum when I was a baby months old, put me outside of the ground floor flat they lived in.
Apprently, I somehow managed to get my self twisted in the harness thing that strapped the baby in, stuck around my neck.
Luckily for me, a neighbour saw me going blue and choking, ran back inside called out to my mum, grabbed a knife to cut me out.
I was fine but my mum never did that again.
I never did it to mine either.

Our children were outside in their big coach built pram, they were born in 1983, 1987 and 1994.

The summer of 1994 was so hot, our June baby spent most of it under our silver birch tree in our lovely Shropshire garden.

Middle child was a February baby, it snowed the week he was born, he was in his pram outside in the chilly north east.

Our first born was an April baby, we lived in wet Lancashire, she would sleep outside in our little back yard very happily.

It’s such a shame babies are now indoors so much ,my 3 are hardy souls, one lives in Oslo where it was -21 last week, the Norwegians were still jumping from their saunas into the fjord.

Farmor15

I have grandchildren in Sweden and when they were in daycare, the prams were always left outside for naps. Even in the snow! My other grandchildren are also often left outside to nap- often after a walk when they fall asleep. Just last week, sil brought 2 year old out in lie-flat buggy (most parents with older babies use these - not the car seat type). After she fell asleep he left her outside in the rain but under an awning and she slept for about 2 hours. She was well wrapped up and buggy had rain cover. I'm surprised anyone finds it unusual.

My children attended a Swedish nursery and they went outside in prams for naps - even when the temperature was down to minus 15-20C.

They also played outside everyday. In fact the only day I remember them staying inside was once when it was minus 34C.

I didn’t put my babies (1971 and 1974) out in their prams unless I was with them. My mother was appalled. She thought babies HAD to be outdoors, but I liked to be able to see and hear them. I did take them for lots of walks in the pram.

I can remember this from the 1960s whe my sister had her first child. He was routinely left outside in his pram in all weathers. He was also left while she got on with jobs like washing, ironing and so on. However being a small house he was always in earshot. I see these threads on Mumsnet about women not being able to take a shower or wash their hair. Crazy.