baby clothing

[Anonymous]

I am in my third trimester and trying to figure out how much clothing I will need in various sizes and what kind to buy. I've gotten some outfits as gifts but most are bigger sizes for later. Do I even bother with newborn size, or just start with 0-3 month and have it possibly be a bit large? And, what sort of closures are easiest for dressing baby and for diaper changes? Snap or zip? I've seen some where the zipper or snaps go down the leg - is that helpful?

[Anonymous]

In terms of sizes, some people do fine with just 0-3 month at the beginning, but it really depends on your baby. We had a 7lb 12oz baby, pretty average in size, and she was literally swimming in the 0-3 month clothing. We were happy we had newborn sized clothes and used most of them for the first 1-2 months.

In terms of what to buy, I would stick with onesies, the little wrap-style snapping t-shirts, and snap-up footie pjs for the first month or two. For a first-time mom, it's definitely easiest to have clothes that do not have to go over the baby's head.

In terms of quantity, it totally depends on how frequently you want to do laundry! You are likely to go through 2+ outfits a day early on due to poop blowouts, etc. We had probaby 10-12 outfits in newborn size and were happy we had them (but we were lucky to have lots of hand me downs too). Onesies and t-shirts are cheap, so it's easy to have extras. Look for the Target Circo brand or Carters 5-packs to go on sale and stock up on several sizes. They run bigger than the Gerber brand and you'll be able to use them longer.

[Anonymous]

Mom of 7 week old.

I'd also recommend the gowns (gap and target sells them) which are the easiest for hanging out around the house and especially in the middle of teh night (no snaps, zippers). They are a bit harder to get on since they go over the head, but are well worth the ease of changing a squirmy baby

http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=7142&vid=1&pid=727922&scid=727922002

http://www.target.com/Newborn-Circo-Gown-0-6M-Blue/dp/B002RD0QUC/sr=1-1/qid=1266243912/ref=sr_1_1/185-2199368-7044535?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3Agowns&page=1

[Anonymous]

I'd buy a couple of things that actually fit for visitors. Other than that, I would buy clothes sized 0-6 months. They grow so fast!

I didn't like the gowns -- especially for winter. They are made with elastic now (drawstrings are deemed unsafe) and that meant I had to keep socks on little feet. Not sure when you are due, but my first was born in April and we had some really cold days into May.

For newborns, I prefer footed sleepers with zippers. Then www.hannaanderssen.com sleepers paired with the moccasins. My oldest is 3 and this is still his sleep uniform. A bonus is they are extremely well made and my daughter wears his hand-me-downs.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Unless your baby is likely to be huge, a few newborn onesies would probably be helpful. I bought one 5-pack of Carters and got a few as gifts - perfectly sufficient for my 8-lb baby. Or you can just buy a few extra sleepers and dress him/her in sleepers all day at first. The 2-packs of Carters knit pull-on pants are great paired with onesies- I ended up buying them in every size up to 12 mos.

the long-sleeved onesies are great in colder months - you won't end up using them in the warmer months. short-sleeved are more practical year-round because you can top them with a sweater or sweatshirt. (cardigan Sweaters and zip-up sweatshirts are a place where you can spend a bit more and buy a bit bigger - roll up the sleeves at first, then baby will grow into them. gets lots of wear.)

For sleepers - zippers are easier BUT then your baby is exposed to the cold during a diaper change. The snapped sleepers are better for staying warm, as you only have to undo the snaps on the legs. Would recommend snaps for that reason. (the leg snaps are VERY helpful.) Also, don't buy anything for a 0-4 month old baby with fasteners on the back, if you can help it - when they're still pretty floppy, it's a nightmare to use anything with back fasteners. I didn't use the gowns I bought at all - hated them and gave them away. Might have been different if I'd had a summer baby.

Also, if something is meant to be pulled over the head (i.e. not fastened up to the neck), make sure the material is soft and flexible, like onesie cotton. we received a couple of sweaters my daughter never wore because I couldn't pull them over her generously-sized noggin.

I don't like to do laundry, so I aimed for about 12 outfits per season/size. I ended up with much, much more than that because i have generous friends/family. Would recommend NOT buying very far in advance - babies can grow so unexpectedly that if you try to forecast what size your child is likely to wear in a particular season, you could end up with a lot of stuff that doesn't fit. Buy pretty close to when you'll actually need it. Especially be careful of one-piece outfits like overalls - unless your baby is proportional in terms of leg-to-body length, some overalls will not fit your baby. (osh kosh are the only ones we've found that fit our daughter. gymboree doesn't.) Also, check consignment stores - I found some beautiful things at Wiggle Room in Bethesda for like $7/outfit, which is awesome.

If you're having a girl, don't buy many dresses for the colder months, unless you really like the look and want to also buy leggings to go under them. You probably won't have enough occasions for more than 2 dresses of each size. Personally, I've learned to *only* buy dresses if I have a specific occasion in mind, like a baptism or Easter. she doesn't really wear dresses otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Some babies fit into 0-3 months for only a day or two. I'd have a few things in newborn and 0-3 ready, then when you see what fits when baby is born, get online at gap.com or wherever and get a bunch more.

ITA with pp on the side snap t-shirts, though. Those are really key in the first few days when moving the head freaks you out, and less irritating on the umbilical stub than a onesie. I personally hated the gowns b/c I meant I had to change them in order to use a car seat, swing, or anything else with a between-the-leg safety belt.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

The worst baby-equipment-related advice we got was not to get any newborn sized clothes - our daughter ended up wearing newborn sized clothes for nearly eight weeks after arriving three and a half weeks early at six pounds.

In the early weeks, I felt like I was changing her clothes three times a day - we had a lot of oopses getting used to changing diapers without getting jammies wet, random spit ups, etc. I want to think we had about 10 or 12 onesies in heavy rotation, plus footie pajamas. I could never get the hang of the gowns, but know others love them - you'll figure out pretty quickly what works best for you.

[Anonymous]

My baby was large. 20" and over 8 lbs. He fit in 0-3 months fine and we used these for a month or two. I was glad I didn't open up a lot of packages until after we got home, so we could return a lot of the newborn sizes. (We did open one package of each size and wash ahead, so that baby would have soft pre-washed clothes for the first days home.)

Just a thought... You might consider what size you and your husband were as babies, to help give you a sense of what size your little one might end up.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP who said to have a few things of both sizes ready. I suggest that instead of waiting to buy stuff until after DC is born, buy plenty in NB and 0-3 but only open and wash a few things. Then, once you know what size DC is, you can open and wash the appropriate size and return the rest.

[Anonymous]

I agree with others who recommend that you buy just a few of each style and find out what works for you. Unlike others above, I had a fall baby and loved the gowns for nighttime (and my husband REALLY loved the gowns). I've had several of my friends who had the same experience -- if you want your husband to help change diapers in the middle of the night, you may find that your husband finds that snapping a bunch of little snaps on the legs of a squirming baby in the dark to be immensely frustrating. I did use onesies for daytime wear, but almost never used t-shirts. Also agree about buying different sizes and not opening the packages. My little one was measuring "big" until he came early, and we had to make an emergency trip to the store for smaller sizes.

[Anonymous]

My DS was over 8 pounds and was swimming in 0-3 month size for the first couple weeks. That said, we only had a handful of newborn onesies, which we paired with 0-3 month Carter's cotton pants, and that was plenty. You might want a sleeper or two also, because when my baby was newborn he spent a lot of time in sleepers.

I highly preferred snaps to zippers at that stage. That way, you don't have to expose them to the cold during a diaper change.

I hated gowns, but that's just my opinion.

My son grew fast, so I would invest more in larger sizes than the small sizes but every baby is different.

[Anonymous]

We had an almost 9 lb baby, so NB clothes never fit (I didn't buy anything, friends gave us tons), so I second buying a few, but not opening the packages (although that means once you are home you have a big load of laundry to do). He's now 7 weeks and just about outgrowing his 0-3 months (though carters are bigger than the gerbers--which also seemed to shrink more) and fits either "3m" or better, 3 to 6 month (but he's at the very top of the height/weight charts for his age). We keep him in one piece footies--both lighter cotton ones and heavier fleece and in between cotton terry--though he has a few 'real' outfits its just not worth it most of the time, and with the footies you don't have to worry about socks, etc, and changing is fairly simple. Count on 2 outfits a day. I find both the zippers and snaps to be equal in terms of getting the clothes on (it takes practice and you get better at it). He also has tons of onesies shirts, but we're not using those much (we will when its warmer). We were also given a few Halo sleep sacks, basically zip up blankets which run big, but it doesn't matter since they're for sleeping .They don't work so well if you swaddle (which we do and for that love our kiddopotomus swaddles with velcro), but they are great for around the house, when its cold, etc. I suggest if you get one of these, get the "on the go" since it has a slit for the car seat buckle--we use ours mostly as extra warmth when he's out and about.

We also got a small, portable music player thing (I think baby einstein), which plays a few short tunes. We keep it on the changing table and he loves it--totally distracts him while we are changing him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had an almost 9 lb baby, so NB clothes never fit (I didn't buy anything, friends gave us tons), so I second buying a few, but not opening the packages (although that means once you are home you have a big load of laundry to do). He's now 7 weeks and just about outgrowing his 0-3 months (though carters are bigger than the gerbers--which also seemed to shrink more) and fits either "3m" or better, 3 to 6 month (but he's at the very top of the height/weight charts for his age). We keep him in one piece footies--both lighter cotton ones and heavier fleece and in between cotton terry--though he has a few 'real' outfits its just not worth it most of the time, and with the footies you don't have to worry about socks, etc, and changing is fairly simple. Count on 2 outfits a day. I find both the zippers and snaps to be equal in terms of getting the clothes on (it takes practice and you get better at it). He also has tons of onesies shirts, but we're not using those much (we will when its warmer). We were also given a few Halo sleep sacks, basically zip up blankets which run big, but it doesn't matter since they're for sleeping .They don't work so well if you swaddle (which we do and for that love our kiddopotomus swaddles with velcro), but they are great for around the house, when its cold, etc. I suggest if you get one of these, get the "on the go" since it has a slit for the car seat buckle--we use ours mostly as extra warmth when he's out and about.

We also got a small, portable music player thing (I think baby einstein), which plays a few short tunes. We keep it on the changing table and he loves it--totally distracts him while we are changing him.

I'd reccomend 3 swaddle blankets-- anyone can sucessfully swaddle even the of the squirmiest of babies with them. If you have a spitter like I do, 3 will leaves you with a spare while you do laundry on the other 2. I'd also reccomend a bundle me or equivalent (goes w/ the bucket seat) for keeping baby warm in the cold.

[Anonymous]

You have gotten a lot of great advice already but I did want to add one thing -- do not pay full price (unless you want a very specific outfit for a very specific occassion)!!! I recently purchased $231.50 worth of baby clothes BUT I only paid $58.90. Shop the sales racks and use coupons!

[Anonymous]

i liked the brand "little me" - only $10 per footie onesie and had super cute patterns for visitors coming over and just to keep mommy amused through multiple changes during the day... some even having matching bibs/hats. and yes, i needed the 0-3 mon size - of which i had only one since so many people told me it was "better" to buy bigger sizes since babies grow so quickly... but i really preferred the baby to be wearing the right size and not a baggy outfit where her feet would sometimes get stuck up in the body-part