6 Baby Essentials For A Winter In Norway

It’s only -9 degrees today…pretty mild compared to the last two winters we’ve spent in Norway.  It hasn’t quite reached the seriously nostril freezing, hair snapping temperature we’re used to which is a bit of a surprise but a blessing.  Normally in February you can walk across the fjord because it’s frozen…not this year!  Must be global warming?!?!

Lizzie is 2 months old today.  I can’t believe it.  I have no idea where the last two months have gone.  As any new first time parent will say “it’s a pretty steep learning curve”.  When you live in foreign climates and need to cope with the cold, you have some extra lessons to learn.  Thanks to all of our friends who have given us tips and advice on surviving a winter with a newborn!

Choose A Decent Stroller/Pram:
Don’t go for fashion…go for practicality.  Norwegians are big into walking (no matter what the weather) so you’ll need a stroller with big wheels so you can push it through all types of snow.

Three wheeled strollers are great around the shops but you’ll be creating three tracks in the snow…hard work but good exercise.  Good brands include TFK, Teutonia (I have this one), Mountain Buggy.  Four wheel prams are brilliant for walking through the snow but less easy to steer around shopping centers when it’s -10 or lower and you can’t go outside.  Good brands include Emmaljunga, Brio, Easywalker.

Wool Baby Clothes:
Speak to any Norwegian mother and they will tell you to buy wool clothing for your baby and only wool clothing.  It’s a big thing over here.  Not great if you’re allergic to wool but in these temperatures, wool is best.  It keeps them warm and if the baby dribbles, it won’t go cold against their skin.  You can buy wool/silk or cotton blends so it’s less itchy.

Check out Cubus (they sell merino body suits in the shops…not online), Lindex, KappAhl and Juniorbarneklær

Baby Sleeping Bag:
If you go for a winter walk in Norway, this is essential.  These sleeping bags (Vinterpose or Vognpose in Norwegian) can been placed in the stroller/bag and will keep your little one toasty in temperatures up to -10 degrees.  If it’s colder then -10 degrees the advice from the health station is to stay indoors.

Popular brands include Voksi and Troller.  I bought the Troller because it won Best In Test on TV2 and you can extend it so it lasts until the child is 6 years old – buy it from Rudo.no.

Wool Breast Pads:
If you’re breast-feeding then make sure you invest in a pair of wool breast pads (Ammeinnlegg in Norwegian) to keep your breast milk warm.  If you don’t, it will get painful.

You can buy them from baby shops including BabyShop, BarnasHus, Rudo and Nøstebarn.

Stokke Tripp Trapp:
Okay, this isn’t essential for the winter but they’re hugely popular in Norway.  Many Norwegian Mum’s tell me that they buy a Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair for their little ones and keep them for generations to come.  This particular model has a small baby seat that can be fixed and used from birth so the baby can sit at the table for dinner with the rest of the family.  Very cool.

Car Seat Footmuff:
This is a pretty cool invention.  When you’re moving about with a baby it can be a lot of hassle putting them in their wool suit and then into the car seat.  We bought a MaxiCosi and they sell a sleeping bag accessory that you fit into the seat so all you have to do is pop baby in the car seat, fasten the straps and zip them up!

Have I missed anything?