Since I was a little kid, weather reporting and forecasting always fascinated me. I think it initially had to do with my interest in geography; watching a weather report on TV or looking at one in the newspaper inevitably meant seeing maps and hearing/reading about how each area would be affected by cold fronts and high pressure systems and any resulting storms. Each spring, I'd eagerly view the weekly forecast, growing excited as warmer temperatures crept in. There was nothing more magical than when that first 70-degree day popped up during late May or early June, and convincing my mother that it was warm enough to wear shorts to school. Just the same, each fall I'd welcome the first forecast of snow in November, because it meant the imminent possibility of sledding and building snow forts.
As a teenager and adult, my consultation of the weather report became a mostly practical exercise, although living in a temperate climate with changing seasons often made it a time-consuming one. On the cusp between winter and spring, each day can involve a new combination of numerous articles - shoes (winter boots, rainboots, fashionable sneakers, or comfortable sneakers), inner layers (thin sweater, thick sweater, or sweatshirt), outer layers (raincoat, peacoat, or parka), and accessories (wool scarf, Pashmina scarf, and/or wool hat). It's during this time of year, or the correspondingly confusing time between fall and winter, when my mother used to threaten to move our family to Florida nearly every year.
Since the birth of my daughter several months ago, I've had the same thought several times. Living somewhere perpetually warm certainly beats obsessing over the weekly, daily, and especially the hourly forecast. Sure we spend most of our day inside, but that makes it even more important to determine the optimal interval for a walk in the park or excursion to do errands. And, if we need to venture out at a specific time, I need to know the ideal way to dress and accessorize myself and a tiny human who can't tell me with words if she's too hot or too cold. What if I put her in a full-body snowsuit and she's too hot? Or err on the side of fewer layers and leave her shivering? Her expansive array of layers and accessories often puts mine to shame. Never in my life have I seen so many tiny sweaters, tiny wool hats, tiny cotton hats, tiny wool mittens, tiny cotton mittens, tiny booties, etc., and figuring out which combination to use can be mentally exhausting.
Another wrinkle is whether we'll be venturing out with a stroller, complete with plastic rain-cover if needed, or if I'm better off wearing the baby in a sling or soft-pack carrier. If we're going for a walk and will be outside for an hour, the stroller is the better bet for comfortable transportation. By contrast, if we're taking a ride on the subway, I'll need to wear her to avoid lugging a stroller up and down stairs or restricting travel to stations with elevators. This challenge involves keeping her warm enough during the short walk, using layers that are easily shed, without taking her out of the carrier, once we take refuge in a heated subway car. (Think big blanket wrapped around the outside of the carrier and tucked inside my coat.) This strategy also applies when going on errands, i.e. ducking in and out of stores and keeping the baby strapped to me the whole time.
An additional challenge with winter bundling is that it's perpetually a sauna in our apartment. This is certainly a blessing when it's 17-degrees outside with 20-mile-per-hour winds. The downside is that as soon as I get the baby all layered up I have roughly 90 seconds to get both of us out the door, lest she become sweaty and irate. Similarly, if she falls asleep during a walk, once we get back inside I'm faced with a dilemma: Do I leave her in her stroller or carrier, unzipping layers as best I can, leaving her sleep undisturbed but opening up the risk of her overheating? Or do I take her out of her transit vessel to fully remover outerwear, but risk waking her up?
In light of the above, I can't help but wonder if our advanced technology - specifically the ability to access the current weather conditions and imminent forecast at a moment's notice - has made things unnecessarily confusing. Plenty of times I'll come up with a loose daily schedule tailored around a forthcoming rainstorm, only to refresh the forecast an hour later and find that the prognosis has changed. On the one hand, it's good to be prepared by keeping abreast of unexpected updates. I'm sure that thirty years ago moms saw a morning-news forecast that didn't call for rain, and got caught without an umbrella in a rainstorm they might have seen if they'd had access to the constantly-updating hourly forecast on Weather.com. Nonetheless, any adjustments to the midday forecast lead to only small revisions to our daily agenda, as opposed to radical changes. It doesn't really affect our plans or preparation if the chance of rain is decreased from 100% to 70% (I'm going to bring the umbrella and stroller rain-cover anyway), or if the temperature is said to be 33ºF instead of 30ºF (the baby is still going in her snowsuit). I'm inordinately excited for later in the spring, when it'll be warm enough to put my kid in a onesie, pants, and sweatshirt, and call it a day. Then again, I'm sure the warmer weather will also bring its own challenges a la sun protection and how to best transport baby food and formula without being completely weighed down by ice packs.
Does anyone else pay such close attention to the weather? Or are most of you able to look at it once in the morning and move on with your day? Does anyone wish it was a bit simpler? Do you find yourself frustrated when the forecast turns out to be wrong? Or does starting a discussion with readers about weather amount to the ultimate small-talk-with-strangers cliche? Either way, I'd love to hear from you all.
Best,
nylawmom
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