Newborn woollens recommended by Natural Maternity Care

There are so many regular baby shower lists online, but what if you want to give birth naturally? What are the real must-have newborn wools for a newborn baby? We contacted Charlotte Goudsblom, natural maternity nurse affiliated with the Collectief Natuurlijke Kraamzorg Amsterdam, about what she would advise to use for your newborn baby. You can find our complete baby shower list here.

What is characteristic of natural maternity care?

What is natural maternity care and why is it different from regular maternity care? That is a question I get asked regularly. And I can tell you a lot about it, but the most important topic, actually the thing that it is all about in natural maternity care is warmth care. You can provide warmth care at different levels, but if we look at the physical part it is actually very obvious; we have to keep a newborn baby warm. Not only because it is nice for a child that has to get used to this completely new world for them, which is much colder than the mother's belly. But also because warmth is essential for a good metabolism.

Why do you work so much with wool?

In order to keep the heat care in order, we like to work with wool in natural maternity care, and the anthroposophical hats with cords. Wool and wool/silk mix have the quality to retain heat, but also to prevent heat build-up. You can check whether a baby is at the right temperature by feeling the neck. If the neck is cold, the heat management is not yet completely optimal. By putting on a woolen romper, your baby can retain its heat much better. And therefore uses much less energy to keep getting warm. My experience is that babies lose less weight because they do not 'waste' energy because we keep them warm in those woolens.

For some people this is completely new and a bit of a change. Woolen clothes are more expensive and also have to be washed on a wool wash. You can't wash them with all the cotton clothes at once. But you do your child such a big favor that I personally think it is more than worth the money and the extra effort. Moreover, you don't need that much. You only wash wool when it gets dirty (spit or poop) and it dries quickly. Usually 3 items are enough.

Which newborn woolens would you recommend as a minimum basic?

The basics of a romper, a bonnet, socks and a wrap blanket are enough to support your child well. You can simply supplement this basics with the cotton suits that you may already have. Some of my favorites are:
Engel rompers are of beautiful quality, the blanket from Disana lends itself very well to wrapping and the socks are in my opinion the only socks that also stay on well. If you want something extra, you could look at a sleeping bag, for example the one from Engel. I always buy those as a maternity gift for my friends, ideal to keep your baby nice and warm during feeding at night.

But we must not forget the mothers either

For you as a mother in the postpartum period, warmth is also very important. Especially if you want to breastfeed (that flows much easier if you are warm enough!). Think for example of something on your feet when you get out of bed, a warm shawl or scarf for while feeding and nice warm food and drinks such as tea and soups. Did you know that you can easily pass on newborn wool to a friend or sister when she is pregnant 🙂

My full name is Charlotte Helena Goudsblom and I have been working with mothers, fathers and newborn babies since I was 19. After my education I gained extensive experience with families from different cultures at the Geboorte Centrum Amsterdam and I regularly gave birth to Expats. Since January 2016 I have been working as an independent maternity nurse and I am part of the Collectief Natuurlijke Kraamzorg.

My interest lies in the most natural approach possible. In that first – important – week after birth, attention to bonding, time to rest, building up breastfeeding and good care, also in the sense of healthy food, is essential.

For more information, see www.natuurlijkekraamzorg.nl. And for parents looking for natural maternity care outside the Amsterdam region, it is useful to consult the register of the training at www.natuurlijkekraamzorg.eu.

4 essential newborn woolens

Following the conversation with Charlotte, we have selected 4 items that will give you and your baby a nice, warm start. With these items you can never go wrong! Not only fun for newcomers, but also for parents who already use woolen clothes for older children and may be expecting a second or third child.

The 'Newborn wool package' consists of the following products:

• Wrap romper wool/silk
• Angel hat wool/silk
• Wool blanket
• Hirsch newborn bow socks