Baby it's cold outside!

I never really thought about how you deal with the cold when you have babies. I figured you just put them in one of those cute little suits and that was that - not so much.

Apparently, you aren't supposed to put babies in car seats wearing any outerwear because it prevents the straps from being as snug as they need to be. So what are you supposed to do? Bundle them up, walk 10 feet to the car, unbundle them, drive 10 minutes to the grocery store, wrangle them back into the suit, walk into the store and undress them...then repeat on the way home. Yikes!

I know they have those car seat cozy things but we don't have a infant car seat at home and even at my parent's, she is over 17 lbs and it is not at all easy to lug that thing around with her inside. And what about babies that have outgrown theirs or when you want to wear your baby?

Blankets? I tried using those but I always felt like I was wrestling a cat trying to keep all of her arms and legs covered.

Baby wearing jackets? I've tried a peekaru on and honestly, I loved it but I don't have $80 to spend on a vest. And that is one of the cheaper ones I've seen.

So what's a mama to do? Make one! I call mine a peekalu. Get it? 'Cuz it's kinda a rip off of the peekaru and my baby's name is Lucy. Okay, so the name might need some work but even so, the outcome is awesome.

Where's the baby?

Peek-a-lu!

It looks complicated, but it is actually really simple. You start with two identical fleece jackets. They need to be the same type and size so the zippers match. One you keep as is, the other you use to make your baby panel.

The baby panel is made from the back of the jacket and the zippers. Cut the fleece on the front two inches on each side of the zippers. Then cut a panel from the back. You want the panel to be wide enough to encase your baby, taper it a bit on the top and bottom. Then sew the zipper edged fleece onto each side of the panel. I worried a lot about making sure the zippers were right but then realized as long as the bottom of the zipper was matched up with the bottom of the panel, it was right. Don't over think it. You panel will probably be slightly longer than the zippers but I didn't have a problem with stretching the fleece and easing them together. And there you go, a baby panel!

To use simply unzip the normal jacket and zip the panel into place. It's not perfect but it works well. I can use it while babywearing, or simply hold her in it while I walk to the car.

Patterns Cons:

• For a hack, it is still kinda expensive since you have to buy two jackets. Mine were from Target and were $15 each but Old Navy is another good place to look for cheap ones. If you already own a fleece from one of the places, you could try bring it there and seeing if you can find one with zippers that match.

• Nerve wracking. It isn't hard to make but it was hard on my nerves cutting into a brand new jacket!

Pattern Pros:

• I wear a fleece jacket almost 24/7 during the winter and needed a new one anyway so the cost of an extra one for the baby wasn't that much - especially compared to a "real" babywearing jacket.

• I can remove the panel easily so it will convert back to a regular jacket. This is nice since Craig will sometimes take Lucy when we are out and about and I don't want to look like I have a weird bulgy stomach or have some odd hole in the front of my jacket when I'm walking around without her. And unlike how I show it in the picture, if it isn't super cold, I can unzip the panel a bit so Lucy's head is up and she can see.

• Super simple to make. Fleece is a easy fabric to work with and even though you are working with zippers, your sewing the fleece so it isn't hard (I hate sewing zippers!). It probably only took my an hour and most of that was time spent worrying about cutting into the jacket. And mistakes are well hidden, between the dark color and lumpiness that a baby will naturally bring, no one can even see that my panel isn't 100% symmetrical.

I followed a really good tutorial I downloaded from some babywearing forum but I can't remember where. I do have the pdf saved so if anyone would like it, I would be glad to email it but I'm not comfortable uploading someone else's work. And to pass on the request of the original author, whoever she may be, please feel free to make these for personal use, but don't sell them.