It's been a while everyone!
Well, we're expecting an extended lockdown for yet another week probably later this morning, but can I also talk about how cold it is in Sydney this year? My indoor thermometer is showing 14 degrees only, and that's super cold! My toddler has been waking up in the middle of the night and has had the worst sleep ever for the past week or so, until I made a few changes that seemed to do the trick.
None of the items below were sponsored and I was not paid to write any of this.
A warm blanket or a super thick sleeping bag for the kids
This may be overlooked, because blankets take up a lot of space, and in my household we always had the mentality that if one blanket wasn't enough, we'd just stack them up... so you could use two or more blankets at once and it'd be warmer. Well, not only is the effect pretty dismal, it's heavy and you'll end up with blankets sliding and all during the middle of the night. Not ideal.
At the very beginning of winter I invested in the most expensive blanket ever (I don't remember the exact cost but it was over $300) - it was a Mini Jumbuk wool blanket. It was designed for winter and upon checking two different blankets (one more expensive than the other), I went for the slightly cheaper option as it seemed they had the same density of wool. I have no idea if I made the right choice or not.
Upon receiving the blanket, it was very lightweight, and it was well made - a quality blanket. It also looked much slimmer than I originally would have expected. But it was toasty warm - and the warmth is almost immediate. It was an amazing purchase and I would recommend it highly if you are feeling the cold this winter.
For the little one, it took me a while to realise that we missed out getting a 3.5tog sleeping bag for her last year as the shops all sold out... so no wonder she was cold in a 2.5tog. We dress her with thermals, a t-shirt AND a jumper... plus she gets a light weight-mid weight blanket on top... so why she feels cold in the middle of the night is a bit of a mystery. Upon switching to the 3.5tog she has slept a bit better... but even better with some extra changes.
Thermals
I hate thermals because they seem (in my mind) to restrict what fashion choices I can make. I've pretty much thrown all things fashionable out the window ever since becoming a mum, and I've been making choices based on functional value rather than how fashionable some items are now.
Uniqlo has two types of thermals - extra warm and ultra warm. Apparently the Ultra Warm is exceptional and does have an extra edge in terms of warmth. However, I don't like the Uniqlo heattech range, as they always seem to slide up, don't really feel that warm to me, and the collar is either too high, too low, or just not really vibing with me. I haven't tried the ultra warm, so I cannot comment on it.
I have however, been living in Kathmandu's KMDCore polypro thermal long sleeve tops. They aren't too thick, have just the right amount of stretch (or lack of stretch, so you can still wear it as a usual top without looking silly, because if you wore just a heattech as a top it would definitely look silly), and in comparison to wearing an extra warm heattech, my toddler seems to sleep better in the KMDCore.
You still need to pair thermals with a quality jumper and outer jacket, but it makes a huge difference. I'm actually sick, but I'm not too terribly sick and I think I owe it to my thermals.
In terms of socks, Kathmandu comes out on top. Their hiking socks actually do keep your feet warm - I mean during the day it still might mean cold feet, but I would wake up with my feet feeling like they are on fire (not literally) compared to the heattech socks.
Ugg boots
This year I made the decision to buy an Australian made Ugg boot - a few years ago I bought my first pair from the "official" Ugg boot company (the international one based in the US but sadly made in China). After much deliberation I decided on Emu Australia, as they don't have the word "Ugg" in their brand, and it kept things neutral for me.
I did buy a toddler boot as well... that was a bit of a disappointing purchase because I didn't realise if the product didn't say it was made in Australia it meant it was made in China... which the booties were. The quality of the boots were not as good - wool was scratchy, and kept falling out. My platinum boots however were made in Australia - there was some wool that shed in the first few days, but other than that the wool is soft and the boot itself is quite comfortable. I don't know how warm it is really, but it's better than slippers for sure. Overall, I would repurchase... but not the made in China boots. Make sure you're buying from the platinum range.
Heat bag
We make our own in our household, but the general premise is it is re useable, and you heat it up in a microwave for no more than 2.5 minutes. Take one with you when you go to bed, or throw one into your bed under the blankets and you will be warm. To me this is better than an electric blanket (less fuss, easy, you can target areas such as cold feet etc) and probably less drying for your skin. Say no to heating - we definitely try to in our household!
Outer layers
So in case if you haven't realised, I've been throwing my money at Kathmandu and hoping it magically turns into warmth. I've accumulated a few vouchers already (lost count), which goes to show how much I've been spending with them. Anyway. FLEECE. MICROPOLAR FLEECE. GET THEM. Because no matter how big or heavy a jumper, it doesn't really beat this lightweight warmth inducing top made from recycled bottles!
