Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love the Patagonia Baby Down Sweaters. Have them in sizes 12 months thru 5T for my girls! Highly recommend buying them on sale. Just got one in last season's color for 50% off by asking at the Patagonia store. Can also find on sale sometimes at Backcountry.com.

I grew up in Chicago and I don't think the baby down sweater will cut it in Chicago in the winter. This is more expensive but it worked well during the polar vortex last winter.

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/baby-snow-pile-jacket?p=61101-0

A Chicago mom of a one-year old DD, who also used to live in DC, here, and I just happened to have bought DD's winter gear this weekend I went to the Patagonia in Lincoln Park, and the very helpful salesperson I spoke with highly recommended the down sweater -- even though I told him that DD and I commute by bus to her nanny share half the month. (The other jacket linked to above only comes in 2T and up, but the salesperson recommended the down sweater over it anyways even had it been available in DD's size.) He said that the down sweater is truly very warm, and because it is that flat, non-puffy sort of down, it can work in the carseat and a carrier. In the stroller, the down sweater, coupled with a bunting bag (like the BundleMe) will be perfect -- and he actually thought that their warmer puffier down jacket (a third option) would be over-kill in a stroller with the BundleMe. I tried DD out in the carrier and the down sweater in the store, and it was comfortable. My DD is small (just under 19 pounds at a year), but I still bought the 18 month size instead of the 12 -- it was a bit big, but not ridiculously so.

Please, though, do not only buy her a fleece. That is not sufficient! Last winter there were whole week-long periods where it did not even get into the 20's!!! Winters here are simply a whole different ballgame from DC. A fleece (in addition to a winter jacket) is a worthwhile purchase, though. You will get plenty of use out of it in the next two months and also at the end of winter, which, ya know, is March - May -- UGH!

I just bought this and I have seen it in store and its not too thick so you could layer. I also bought a fleece to try from the website

http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/infants-0m-24m-jackets-amp-vests/infant-perrito-jacket_2.html?variationId=N2P&variationName=MINT BLUE

Former Chicago Mom here.
We had our DD in a down one piece suit from REI at 1 year old. The down is warm but can smush down for the car seat. We kept extra blankets for the car and stroller. It is very hard to get a child wearing a bulky coat properly into a car seat, and can be unsafe.

If your 1 year old is very mobile and will be playing in the snow, then the down snowsuit, even with layering, won't cut it.

Land's End

I would put the fleece on and then put an additional jacket on backwards in the car

Anonymous wrote:Love the Patagonia Baby Down Sweaters. Have them in sizes 12 months thru 5T for my girls! Highly recommend buying them on sale. Just got one in last season's color for 50% off by asking at the Patagonia store. Can also find on sale sometimes at Backcountry.com.

I grew up in Chicago and I don't think the baby down sweater will cut it in Chicago in the winter. This is more expensive but it worked well during the polar vortex last winter.

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/baby-snow-pile-jacket?p=61101-0

Love the Patagonia Baby Down Sweaters. Have them in sizes 12 months thru 5T for my girls! Highly recommend buying them on sale. Just got one in last season's color for 50% off by asking at the Patagonia store. Can also find on sale sometimes at Backcountry.com.

We lived in Chicago when our daughter was less than 2 years old. We bought a North Face size 2T for when she was 18 months old and it was somewhat big for her. It worked fine with the carseat and kept her warm outdoors too. This is the link:
http://m.thenorthface.com/mt/www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/toddlers-2t-5-jackets-amp-vests/toddler-girls-8217-thermoball-8482-full-zip-jacket.html?from=subCat&variationId=H0E&variationName=AZALEA%2520PINK

She is on the skinnier side and wore the same jacket last winter too when she was 3.5 years old, of course the sleeves were short. But she loved as it is not bulky.

Anonymous wrote:We moved to the Chicago area over the summer, but I'm going to fall back on my go-to source for everything here at DCUM. I need a winter coat solution for my small one-year-old that will work with a car seat. In past winters in Dc with my others, we were able to get by with layering and a fleece jacket, but I don't think that will be enough up here.

Recommendations? I need to look in infant sizes, because 2T is too big.

Ask the mothers you know in Chicago. The climate is that different. You will not get by with layering and fleece on a mobile child.

You put him in the car seat first then put the coat on backwards:

http://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/coats/

I would get a warm coat for when you are going to be outside for long periods of time. I would get a fleece for when you will be in the car, you can always throw a blanket over them in the car if need be. For walking the dogs in the stroller DD had a down Gap jacket., In the car she would wear a fleece, Running into target or from the car to your house, they will not freeze for those seconds or couple of minutes. The carseat safety is more important than them being cold for a couple of minutes.

I've heard lots of votes for Patagonia Sweater Jacket.

This is a year old, but I thought it was helpful:

http://carseatblog.com/24645/baby-its-cold-outside-winter-coat-suggestions-for-kids-in-carseats/

Warm coats and car seats don't mix, unfortunately.

We took our 12 week old to Chicago in January. Regular clothes, a hat, blankets and this did just fine for when we were outside.

http://jjcolecollections.com/car-seat-cover.

We moved to the Chicago area over the summer, but I'm going to fall back on my go-to source for everything here at DCUM. I need a winter coat solution for my small one-year-old that will work with a car seat. In past winters in Dc with my others, we were able to get by with layering and a fleece jacket, but I don't think that will be enough up here.

Recommendations? I need to look in infant sizes, because 2T is too big.