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Baby Clothes and Newborn Outfits

One of the most exciting things about having a baby would have to be the shopping. I don’t think any one of us can deny that we haven’t smiled to ourselves as we wandered past the nursery section and imagined what it would be like to dress-up our own little prince or princess one day.

I too am not immune to the lure of the nursery section, and know that baby clothes are very cute, and it is almost impossible not to buy every adorable outfit in the store, however, before you spend a fortune be aware that babies are in clothes for such a short time, and that they do come in all shapes and sizes.

Baby Clothes - What clothes to buy for baby and some hints and tips.

Before you get too excited, remember that you may give birth to a very long baby that needs to jump straight to size 000, which means completely missing out on wearing all the gorgeous 0000 baby outfits you have bought. Or your baby might be born premature and thus not fit into the next seasons clothing until it is too late.

How many sets of baby clothes do you need?

Baby’s vomit and their nappies leak so they will go through at least 2 outfits a day. If you also want to have separate pyjamas for night time wear, then think 2 to 3 sets per day, and then just decide how often you want to wash. Again, remember that babies grow fast!

What baby clothes should I pack for the hospital?

When packing for the hospital first check whether your hospital supplies basic clothes for your baby during his or her stay, many do, so you may only need to pack their going home outfits. Don’t forget to also pack a muslin wrap or blanket to wrap them in when you leave.

It is wise to pack a couple of size 0000 and a couple of 000. Because you don’t know how big your baby will be and you can guarantee that they will dirty their going home outfit 10 minutes after you dress them.

cute baby boy in hat and blue baby clothes

Newborn Clothes and Outfits Sizing

When thinking about sizes for the future try to think about how old your baby will be in that season. I don’t know how many times I have saved an uneducated shopper from spending a fortune on their friend’s new baby by buying the wrong sized clothes for the wrong season. Whilst all babies grow at different rates, there is a basic guideline to a baby’s size so try to calculate ahead, and think about the weather and the age of the baby.

Unless your baby is premature, don’t go crazy on the 0000, as they won’t last long, and in some cases they may not fit at all. To give you a basic indication, my daughter was born weighing 3.06kgs or 7lb 3 ozs and was 51cms long. She was out of 0000 in 2 – 3 weeks. Better just to have a couple of 0000 and just let them swim in the 000’s for a few weeks.

As there is no standardisation with sizing in Australia, there is a bit of variation between brands. The European sizing is usually based on height whilst the US is usually based on weight. Australia tends to follow the European sizing.

The following is a rough guide to baby clothes sizes.

00000    Premature            Up to 50 cms    Under 4 kilos
0000     Newborn               Up to 56 cms    4 – 5 kilos
000       3 - 6 months         Up to 62 cms    Up to 6 kilos
00        6 – 9 months         Up to 68 cms    Up to 8 kilos
0          9 – 12 months       Up to 73 cms    Up to 10 kilos
1         12 – 18 months       Up to 81 cms   10 – 12 Kilos
2         18 months – 2 yrs   Up to 86 cms    13 – 16 Kilos

For me - my daughter was born in the middle of summer, so spent the first months of her life in nothing but a singlet and nappy. She was also always in the 95th percentile for height so was always a size ahead for her age. This meant that dozens of the gorgeous outfits she was bought were never worn, because she was just too long or they fit her during the wrong season.   So to save yourself having to pack away clothes with the label still on, remember to take your baby’s percentiles into consideration when purchasing clothes for the next season.

Help buying Baby Clothes

We all think that buying baby clothes is easy; you just pick a size, find something cute and then buy three of them. However, in actual fact, buying baby clothes is an art form and as soon as you become a mother you will find out that there are certain clothes that you will love and other’s that you will hate, no matter how cute they are.

To try and save you from learning your lesson the hard way like many of us have before you, we have listed below some hints and tips when it comes to buying baby clothes.

Tips when it comes to baby clothes:

· As most baby’s will wear a 0000 or 000 take a couple of each with you to the hospital, that way no matter how long your new little bundle is you will be prepared.

· Girl’s clothes are usually a little smaller than boys, so your baby girl maybe in a bigger size a little earlier than you expected.

· Bonds brand tend to be small so you may need one size up, then other brands of similar clothing.

· Look for stretchy neck lines or tops with buttons at the back of the neck line, the ones with the buttons on the shoulders are great.

· Look for stretchy wrist bands on the long sleeve all in one wonder-suits. I found some of the well known brands had really tight wrists, so whilst my daughter fit into the suit length wise I couldn’t get her hands into some of her suits, so hence they once again went unworn. Funnily enough out of all the suits on the market I found the Coles long sleeve wonder-suits the best.

· Whilst all the short sleeve brands of all in one baby suits are pretty good, I loved the Osh Kosh short sleeve wonder-suits that button up all the way up the front from top to bottom, these were just so easy to get on a wiggly baby, as you don’t have to worry about getting anything over their head, you just have to get the arms in just like a cardigan, and the stretchy fabric is really soft and wears well.

· When it comes to socks, try to get the socks with the roll over tops or the ones that look like little shoes. A good example is the ones made by Bonds that have a little picture of a sneaker on the front. The reason being is that most babies have chubby little ankles, and I found most of the normal style socks were too tight around my daughter’s ankles, and you guessed it, didn’t get worn. The ones with the loose fold over tops were a lot more comfortable and hence got lots of wear.

· Light coloured clothing doesn’t show up milk vomit as much as dark colours.

· Beware of buying too many all in one wonder-suits if you have a long baby. Many babies’ feet won’t fit into the legs of an all in one wonder-suit even if the suit fits them perfectly well elsewhere. If like me your baby seems to be in the higher percentiles for height, then I would stick to pants and tops.

· If you intend to send your baby to childcare, look for clothes with tags inside so you can write their name on them, and also be aware that most centres are Sun Safe and have a policy for T-shirts with sleeves, so try not to buy a lot of sleeveless T’s as they won’t get a lot of wear out of them.

· As gorgeous as little baby dresses are, they are not very practical for play and may not get much wear. My daughter was given a dozen pretty outfits, which she really only every wears if we go somewhere for a special occasion or for family photos. As she spends most of the day crawling and exploring shorts and t-shirts are much better, particularly if you want to protect those soft little knees.

· Be aware that singlets climb up a baby’s back, so if you need to keep them warm, stick to wonder-suits. My daughter usually sleeps in a summer wonder-suit with a pair of shorts. Or buy singlets a size or two bigger as they are longer and less likely to slide up your baby’s back.

· Night dresses can be handy for newborns, that way you don’t have to fiddle around with press studs at 2.00 am.

· Look at practicality of play and nappy changing rather than cuteness when shopping.

· Avoid fancy or itchy material. Look for natural, soft, breathable and smooth fabrics. And watch out for ribbon, loose strings or anything else that could hurt or strangle your baby.

· In winter you can buy a wearable zip up sleeping baby, this way if your baby wiggles out of his blankets then he won’t be left freezing.

· Don’t buy too many winter clothes for your newborn as most of the time you have them wrapped in a muslin or bunny rug.

· Press studs are better than buttons.

· Make sure clothes are machine washable, and always wash before baby wears them, to get rid of any pressing agents or chemicals. Also in the first few months, you may want to use a “Sensitive” brand washing detergent.

· Baby’s wiggle! So avoid ties, buckles, frilly bits or things that do up at the back, the simpler the outfit the better. This also reduces any chance of chocking, strangulation, or simply an uncomfortable baby that has rolled over onto a big shiny button.

· You can cut the feet out of all in-one-suits, to get more use out of them, if you have a long baby and they fit the suit everywhere else.

· Look out for Pumpkin Patch all in one single suits. They don’t ride up your bubs back.

· Try to get your baby used to wearing hats and sunglasses as early as you can, and make sure you lead by example. Also try to look for legionnaire hats or hats with ties up or fasteners as baby’s love to pull them off their heads two seconds after you put them on.

· Babies really don’t need shoes before one. And even then, only if they are going out, as it is much better for them to learn to walk bare foot.

· Try not to go crazy with shopping, you will get so many presents, hand me downs and loners, that you will end up with a draw full of clothes with tags on them. Try to wait to see what people give you or try op shops or eBay. Honestly you will find that your baby will probably just a wear a few outfits, you will wash them and they will be back on again. They grow so fast, and you will be heartbroken if they only wear their designed outfit once.

· If you have a little girl, keep your size 0000 clothes, as they can be used on newborn sized baby dolls such as Baby Born. This will save you money on buying dolls clothes.

bonds all in one summer suits and winter suits and a baby

Got any hints or tips then l et us know.........

cute baby with her dad with baby hat and clothes

The ‘Bonds’ all in one wondersuit! What a great Australian icon

Shop online for baby boy and baby girl clothes here

You may also find that people you hardly know will give or buy you clothes, as everyone just LOVES to shop for babies. So just take a deep breath and try and be sensible.