Cold weather outdoor exercise gear

Today I skated in 32 degree weather and I was quite comfortable.  This was not always the case.  After two years of trying different things, I finally have gotten the right combination of clothes to keep me warm yet still allow for the freedom of movement that I need to keep my pace up.  I’ll start with my head and go to my feet.  One thing to note is that I’m not trying to win any beauty contests here so I might be ugly or strange looking but I sure am warm.

First on my head is the performance bike windproof balaclava(http://tinyurl.com/5gcosu).  This will keep your whole head warm  and it has a mesh material to allow for ample breathing.  Forget wearing glasses with it though because they will fog up.  As for shirts I wear 3 layers.  I have a couple of different base layers(from nike, under armour and performance bike) but I like this one(http://tinyurl.com/64s7qc) It’s cheaper than the nike or the under armour and it provides the same results. As for the middle layer, this is where I splurged a little.  I like the under armour compression cold gear(http://tinyurl.com/6xpwyj).  This shirt really keeps you warm and toasty.  The first time I wore it, it was in upper 40’s and I just about sweated to death.  It’s worth the money if you’re stupid like me and like getting out in 30 degree weather.  As for the top layer, I once again like the performance bike stuff(http://tinyurl.com/5rnr9o).  It’s inexpensive and it gets the job done.  It also has pockets in the back to allow you to store things.  It’s nice to have that when you want to take your gloves off to down a power gel. 

As for the gloves, I like these(http://tinyurl.com/5hqfwk).  They really keep your hands warm(even down to 32 degrees) and they are wind proof(as much as a glove can be).  As for pants, I wear 2 layers.  I wear underwear as my base layer and I’m still looking into warmer alternatives here.  One thing I can definitely recommend is never ever consider going commando in 30 degree weather with just tights on.  You will not be a happy camper(at least if you are a male) after doing this.  Just don’t.  As for the tights, I have tried a couple of different light weight running tights by new balance and they were ok until it got down into the low 40’s.  Once you get into the 30’s you need something with a little fleece in it.  I personally recommend these(http://tinyurl.com/6lmupb).  If you are a biker, you can purchase the same tights with a chamois.  These really have kept me warm on the past couple of 30 degree skates. And last but not least, you have to keep your feet warm.  All I can say is these socks work.(http://tinyurl.com/5bz485).  They wick away sweat and still keep your feet nice and toasty.  I highly recommend them.  Anyways, I hope this helps you keep warm if you are crazy like me and like to exercise in cold weather for more than an hour….

Transition from swaddle to sleep sack

At about three and a half months, Ashton began to outgrow his swaddle so we began to look for something to transition from the swaddle to his eventual sleeping with just his pajamas and the sleep sack fit the bill. At first we thought it might be a problem since sometimes his hands would flail and it would wake him up but after a night or two of sleeping in the sleep sack he was just fine.

—–

Sleeping

The best accident we ever made was to run our air cleaner one night while he was sleeping. He slept soundly for 3 hours straight so we thought hmmm. He now sleeps every night with air cleaner and very rarely wakes up except for feedings. After realizing this worked pretty well we tried turning on the radio to create white noise and this settled him down also. We now keep a radio with us wherever we go.

—–

Reflux(aka Colic from our Doctor)

Around the third week after Ashtons birth he began arching his back and straightening his legs and screaming bloody murder. At first we thought this was a normal baby thing but after making a call to our friends Tim and Cathy(who had an a 5 month old) we realized that he might have a problem with reflux. The day after we talked to Tim and Cathy we visited our pediatrician and Ashton was put on .7ml of zantac twice a day. At first we thought the zantac wasn’t working but after a week and a half the screaming(and the straightened legs and arched back) went away although he still was fussy(which was much better than the screaming). This seemed to work pretty well until 5 weeks when he started eating more formula and so we upped the amount to .14ml twice a day after talking to the pediatrician. Currently the .14ml twice a day is working well. One helpful hint that we have learned to keep the zantac down is to deliver the dosage in small amounts and to chase it with formula if possible. If we just gave him the zantac he usually would spit it out immediately.

—–