I would go crazy if I stayed indoors with my baby during bad weather. A baby rain suit and waterproof booties let us get outdoors regardless of the weather. Rain boots are actually pretty hard to find for infant and crawling babies. There surprisingly aren’t too many waterproof rain booties for babies. I’ll go over them here, as well as options for improvising your own, and how to keep booties on your baby’s feet.
Best Baby Rain Booties
Baby Bogz Rain Boots
Best for: Babies starting to walk
The brand Bogs is really well-known for their unique style of rain boots. Bogs rain boots are completely waterproof. However, they are quite short and have openings on the side, so your baby won’t be able to jump or crawl through big puddles with these. Because water can drip into the boots, a lot of reviewers complain that Bogs aren’t really water. Make sure you put your baby’s rain pants over the boots instead of tucking the pants inside; this will help keep water out.
Compared to other baby booties, the sole on Baby Bogs is a bit thicker and sturdier. That’s what makes these a good pick for babies starting to walk. They are too bulky for crawling babies; the boots will drag in the ground. The boots have waterproof insulation in them so are quite warm. You can apparently wash these booties in the machine but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Features:
- Lots of cute designs
- Insulated
- Semi-firm sole
- Rated to 14 degrees F
- 5” tall, 7” circumference opening
- Buy Here
Stonz Baby Booties
Best For: Cold weather, feet dangling from carrier/stroller
These are one of the only baby booties which really won’t fall off. They have two drawstring toggles which keep the boots securely in place. Just note that they are NOT completely waterproof. The booties are water-resistant, which means water will mostly fall off of them. If your baby crawls through a deep puddle, her feet will end up wet. Because of that, these booties are best for hiking in cold weather with a baby or situations where your baby’s feet dangling out of a carrier or stroller.
Features:
- Water-resistant
- Cute designs
- Two drawstring toggles
- Soft, non-slip CPMA-certified soles (toddler version has rubber soles)
- Nylon outer with fleece lining
- Buy Here
Randy Sun Waterproof Breathable Ankle Socks
Best For: Alternative solution
These obviously aren’t baby rain booties but they are actually better in some ways. For starters, the socks are 100% waterproof but still have a good breathability. The socks are made out of three layers: the outer layer is mostly nylon. The mid layer contains the waterproof membrane and the inner layer wicks sweat.
If you layer a few pairs of wool socks on your baby and put these waterproof socks on top, your baby’s feet will actually stay quite warm. Pull the waterproof sock all the way up over your baby’s legs and they won’t fall off even the squirmiest baby. Just make sure you get ankle or mid-height waterproof socks. The calf-high adult socks will be way too big on your baby’s legs!
SealSkinz Waterproof All Weather Waterproof Ankle Socks
Best For: Another great alternative solution
Here is another brand of waterproof socks. They are more expensive than the Randy Sun socks above. However, these ones are lined with wool so a bit warmer. They are also a bit more durable. Once your baby doesn’t need them anymore, you can use them yourself. It will seem hilarious that you and your baby are sharing clothes!
How to Keep Baby Booties from Falling Off
The first pair of waterproof booties I got for my daughter was really cheap. The booties would always fall off. Once she started crawling they’d last a few seconds on her feet before coming off. I eventually got a better pair which stayed on better – and learned these tricks to baby booties on.
- Drawstrings are better than Velcro: Velcro closures never get tight enough for a good fit. Velcro sometimes comes undone while babies are crawling around. Velcro also gets fuzz/dirt stuck in it and then loses its sticking strength, so drawstrings tend to be better for baby booties.
- Choose booties with multiple drawstrings: One drawstring is good but two drawstrings are even better.
- Put the pants over the booties: You can even put a hair band over the pants to help hold everything in place.
- Get a rain suit with foot straps: Put the straps over completely over the booties. These not only keep your baby’s booties from falling off, but will keep the rain suit from riding up.
- Double-sided tape trick: If your baby is wearing tights, then put little pieces of double-sided tape or tacky strips on the bottom. The booties might still fall off but it will take longer. When they do fall off, they’ll be stuck to the tights so you are less likely to lose them.
These Velcro rain booties constantly fell off my baby.
Improvised Baby Rain Booties
Don’t want to buy rain booties for your baby? There are a lot of ways to improvise your own.
- Umbrella bags: These are usually completely waterproof and very cheap. Just put them over your baby’s feet and use some hair bands to hold in place.
- Plastic bags: These are not breathable or comfortable. So, make sure your baby isn’t wearing cotton socks as they will get sweaty and wet. Instead, choose wool or fleece socks underneath the bag.
- Waterproof drawstring bags: Such as ones used for toiletries or ponchos.
- Waterproof mittens: Kid’s sized waterproof mittens should fit a baby’s feet well. Look for ones which have adjustable wrist straps and the mittens will stay on your baby’s feet better.
- Large dog booties: These are usually much cheaper than waterproof baby booties. The large size should fit small infants.
- Waterproof hiking socks: As mentioned in the reviews, there are some cool brands of waterproof socks. Put these over your baby’s normal socks. Because the adult socks go over your baby’s entire legs, they take a lot longer to fall off.
Do you have any advice about rain booties to share? Let us know in the comments section below.
1 Comment
Kendra
August 23, 2021 at 2:45 amI love your suggestion for waterproof socks as an alternative solution! I’m going to give that a try.