My Belly Bedaine Kangarooo Sweater was one of the items I included in my recent “10 Pieces of Baby Gear We’re Still Using at One Year” article. It kept me warm on cool summer nights at the end of my pregnancy (side note: I am ever so grateful that summer nights do cool down here in Calgary compared to the stifling heat and humidity of Montreal soirées), and it was perfect for babywearing in early fall and at the end of winter in Little Miss Cub’s first year. Just in time for baby’s second cold-weather season, Belly Bedaine has launched a new sweater: the Kuuma!
Like its cousin the Kangarooo, the Kuuma is a multipurpose piece perfect for pregnancy, nursing and babywearing. The biggest difference is its level of warmth. The Kangarooo is a single layer of PDR (a polyester/rayon/spandex blend fabric), while the Kuuma is a dual-layer. The same PDR exterior fabric from the Kangarooo comes lined with soft, insulating fleece in the Kuuma.
It’s hard to say exactly to what temperature the Kuuma could be used because its warmth can be increased so easily by layering. So far, it hasn’t been particularly cold in Calgary. With just normal clothing underneath for both me and Little Miss Cub, we were plenty warm enough with just the Kuuma at about 5° C (41° F). I don’t know about you, but I get very warm when babywearing, so I always need fewer layers when spending time outdoors with a baby attached to me than if I were strolling solo.
I can imagine that if I dressed both of us in thermal layers and added hats and neckwarmers, we’d be content to about – 10° C. This is something I’ll come back to comment on when the weather does turn cold! (Probably sooner rather than later!)
There are a couple of design features on the Kuuma that differ slightly from the Kangarooo and that I really love. The Kuuma is a touch longer than the Kangarooo, which is great for tall gals like myself. While the Kangarooo has a band of fabric at the bottom that sits nicely on the hips, the Kuuma has an elasticized bottom. This keeps the sweater snug around baby’s legs and your bum, which is important when the temperature starts to drop, or it’s really windy (the wind seems to pick up out of nowhere here in Cow Town!).
Putting the Kuuma on with baby in a front carry is super easy thanks to the side zipper. The drawstring at the opening for baby’s head can be tightened around baby or be used to close the opening when you’re wearing the sweater without a baby in it.
And that’s a specific advantage of the Kuuma: let’s say you’re out and about with baby, and you’ve got the Kuuma keeping you both warm. At some point, baby is in the stroller or perhaps you’ve dropped her off at daycare, but you still need to wear a sweater. Because you can cinch up the opening for baby’s head, you can actually wear the Kuuma as a normal sweater and not look silly.
When you want to put the sweater on for a back carry, I admit, it’s a bit tricky. I can do it on my own, but it’s a struggle. If you have someone around who can help guide baby’s head through the opening then it is super easy. On my own I still need a bit of practice, but I promise it can totally be done.
What I love about the Kuuma
- Unisex
- Made in Canada
- Soft fleece lining for added warmth
- Side zipper makes it much easier to put on than the Lenny Lamb sweater
- Elasticized hem to keep out the breeze
- Longer design covers baby’s legs easily and suits even tall gals like me
- Three functions: pregnancy, babywearing and as a regular (nursing) sweater
To achieve absolute perfection, the one feature I would add to the Kuuma would be tapered cuffs with thumbholes. I am a total sucker for thumbholes.
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