Need help with baby clothes...

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to figure out how many clothing items we need for DD, due in mid-July.

Should I buy half newborn/half 0-3 months?
How many onesies?
How many sleepers with feet?
Are the velcro swaddlers helpful, or should we just perfect how to swaddle?

Will buying little summer dresses in 0-3 month/newborn sizes be a complete waste?

What else do we need (clothes-wise) and how many (we do have a washer/dryer in our home, so laundry isn't an issue).

[Anonymous]

Buy at least 14 onesies, and buy at least 5-7 of them in white.

[Anonymous]

Here's my recommendation -- 5 newborn onesies, 5 sleep and plays, 2 cute outfits. My DS was small so wore newborn for longer than most, but it's not long, so don't invest a lot. Aim more for 3 months. It really all depends how much laundry you want to do - in the beginning we went through 2-3 outfits or onesies a day.

[Anonymous]

My DD was average size-- 7.5 lbs-- and had outgrown newborn clothes by 3 weeks. I wouldn't buy much newborn stuff at all. You can always get more if needed, but you probably won't.

[Anonymous]

Newborns are often colder than the rest of us in normal air conditioning, so I would hold off on the dresses and stick to super-cute onesies that cover the feet for the first 4-6 weeks. They also go easily from being out and looking cute to taking a nap or going to sleep for the night... I'd have at least 7-10 of these (some that are not as nice and can be used for bed time and the rest for being out on the town).

5-7 onesies - white are cute - but be prepared for yellow poop stains - see you back on here in 2 mon for help in getting them out... (you can often stick the kid in the onesie and then wrap a blanky over for coziness).

You can always add on some cute leggings or legging-skirt combos if you want to have dresses...

I would buy a swaddler type thing with velcro or directions - helps to have one you use every single night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD was average size-- 7.5 lbs-- and had outgrown newborn clothes by 3 weeks. I wouldn't buy much newborn stuff at all. You can always get more if needed, but you probably won't.

+1
My DD weighed 7.5 pounds also, and looked like a sausage in NB clothes in just a couple of weeks. 0-3 months is the way to go.
To swaddle, we used the miracle blanket and loved it.

[Anonymous]

Don't buy ANY newborn! Your child will grow out of them so fast; and a newborn will normally fit into the 0-3 month size just fine.

[Anonymous]

We found that swaddling with a blanket was fine at first; the velcro swaddlers were more useful as the baby got older and stronger and more likely to bust out.

I wouldn't buy too much NB stuff--they often grow out of it quickly and it really doesn't hurt them to have clothes that are slightly too large (especially while the cord stump is still healing, I liked to have one-piece outfits that fit loosely).

I agree that newborns get colder more easily than older babies, so I'd hold off on the cute dresses until the baby is a little bigger. Cotton sleepers are great; I'd get a handful of those. As it gets warmer, babies can wear onesies, with light cotton pants in case you are inside somewhere with strong AC.

Make sure to get one or two soft lightweight caps to keep baby's head warm, and one or two sunhats.

[Anonymous]

I second the recommendations to go easy on the newborn stuff. Most babies are in those items for a couple of weeks, if at all! And as long as s/he's not tiny, it's no big deal if the clothes are a little big on her. I would have a couple of sleepers and a couple of onesies in this size just in case she needs it and otherwise put her in the 0-3 month as soon as you can. You can always buy more and get it delivered if it turns out you really need it! (amazon prime is free when you first sign up for a month i think; if you're not already a member, I recommend giving it a try as soon as baby is born. things like omg-i-need-more-newborn-size-stuff-right-now are much less panicky.)

My girl was born during the winter and wore almost nothing other than cozy sleepers for the first 3 months, sometimes with a onesie under it for added warmth as my house is drafty. In the summer, I would guess lightweight sleepers or just a onesie would be fine. How many depends on how often you feel like doing laundry. I would probably go with 5-10 sleepers (sleep&play or "long" onesie or "footed pajamas" - the name depends on the brand) and 5ish regular onesies.

Have 1 or 2 cute outfits in the 0-3 month size just for fun. skip it if you need to cut costs. I was given a TON of stuff - cute outfits, clever onesies, etc - and I swear she was in nothing except the same 6 or 7 sleepers for at least the first 2 months.

I vote YES on the velcro swaddles. Saves time and energy when you are sleep-deprived and bleary-eyed. I liked the smallest size of swaddle-me when she was little. And the halo sleepsack with swaddle when she got a little bigger. Miracle blankets were too much trouble for me swaddles got spit-up and pee and poo on them like everything else; so you'll want a few but maybe wait and figure out which one you like before buying a bunch.

[Anonymous]

Yep - newborn things, unless you expect to have a smaller baby for some reason - really don't last long. Even the 0-3 size is short-lived for some babies. I would get almost nothing in newborn if you think your baby will be at least 7 lbs.

Get lots of onesies, several footed zip up pjs in 0-3, 3 mth, and 3-6, lots of swaddling blankets (and other swaddling solutions) and you'll be set.

Go ahead and get 2 cute outfits if you want so you have something immediate for her to wear but don't get more than that - you won't need it and people will probably give you things anyway.

Congratulations!

[Anonymous]

When our son was born in early August, we usually dressed him in a onesie or romper then had him lightly swaddled in an aden and anais blanket. At night we swaddled in a miracle blanket. We used a few sleep n plays but found he got too hot at that age.

We bought a couple of pieces of newborn clothing and ended up donating them at the hospital since our son was huge. You might buy a couple of or a pack of newborn onesies just in case and be prepared to donate or pass them on.

DS went through as many as five onesies a day between spit up and blowouts in those first few weeks--so I'd go with about 15 outfits.

[Anonymous]

I loved the velcro swaddlers. My son responded very well to swaddling, but would ramp up his crying and fussing so quickly, sometimes it was hard to get him swaddled with a blanket. The velcro swaddlers were much easier for me.

No to the dresses at this point, unless you have a special occasion in mind. My son lived in thin-material sleep and plays (sleepers with feet).

I also loved having a few "creepers" or whatever people call them: button-up one-piece shorts outfits. Covered more leg than the onesie, but as easy to get in and out of as a sleep and play (I hated pulling clothes over ds's head and found pulling on pants difficult).

Make sure you have socks for when she's not in footie pj's, if in an air-conditioned home.

My son was always 50th percentile. He grew out of his 0-3 month clothes right at 3 months...so don't forget you'll be buying more clothes in just a few months!

[Anonymous]

Definitely get some NB stuff. I skipped it altogether and had to have my mom bring some outfits with her when she came out to meet my 6.5 lb son. Also, we only used the onesies during the summer (he was born mid-June last year) because we don't keep our AC very cold; I think it is usually set at about 75-76 degrees. So, if you don't blast AC, you may not need long sleeves/pants. I just carried a blanket with me to put on him if it was cold inside somewhere.

[Anonymous]

DD was 8 pounds 1 ounce and I didn't have any newborn items, and I had 2 0-3 months outfits, some outfits that were just "3 months" and everything else was 3-6 months. She may have looked a little silly for a couple of weeks but after that I was able to use the clothes I bought for quite awhile. And I didn't use any dresses for 0-3 months. Onesies are all she wore.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if you've had a shower already, but I found that I got a ton of newborn and 0-3 baby clothes that way. DD couldn't wear them all before she grew out of them. So if you haven't had your shower yet, you might want to wait on buying clothes.