Baby clothes are so fun to shop for, but the price tag can ring up quickly. Knowing what all you need and how many items to get is not one-size-fits-all, but here’s what I’m doing so that you can see into someone else’s thought process and get some ideas.
The main things:
- Knowing what and how many to get in each size
- The clothes being all different sizes even in the same size range
- Getting clothes from other people (this is difficult for a few reasons)
Here’s my take there are so few clothes your baby can wear in each size and I’d like to love each piece I put on them. They only fit in baby clothes for such a short time and I want to get the most use out of all the outfits as I can. Meaning I don’t want to have too much excess so that all the clothes can be worn as much as possible, but also not feel like I HAVE to get laundry done every day or my baby won’t have any clothes to wear.
I chose to put on my registry and ask people to buy me and baby things on my registry, toys, etc. instead of asking for those things as well as clothes. I did not however specifically not ask for clothes. Some may choose to do so, but I personally just accounted for the fact that I’d be getting a few baby clothes from others.
I have with my close circle voiced that I would rather it be something they know I’d like due to it being so little (everything is relative) of clothes in each size. So they have become more mindful of the clothes they do choose to buy. People who choose to bless me that I don’t talk to regularly may choose to buy clothes and I will be happy to have whatever they chose for the baby as I know and fully understand it’s to bless us and I am not too picky on the clothes my baby wears I just have preferences on what I’d choose to buy personally. Everyone has opinions on what they find cute and that’s a thousand percent okay!
I do want to put everyone’s money to great use if they are wanting to buy things, Due to this I try to be as open as possible to what the baby needs like the registry things or size and type of clothes that need to be still bought. People that are buying items are typically trying to be helpful or a blessing so they want it to be what you need. I have been trying to update people as those needs change while not coming off as entitled to them buying things for me or like what they want to get is not wanted. It’s a fine line but my goal in the updates is to let everyone who wants to know the updated list of needs/wants.
I am big on over-communicating and vocalizing my thoughts because things can seem obvious to me and not to others and vice versa.
Knowing what to get
Knowing the size of your baby and what season it’ll be when they fit in a specific size is hard. I found focusing on staples makes it easier to plan ahead. Then when the time comes closer I can go back and buy more season-specific items when I have more of an idea of what size they’ll need the seasonal item in.
Staple pieces I want
Sleepers! I really do not have strong opinions on what I want as for clothes other than the fact that I want to dress my baby in sleepers most often. For the first few months, I only have a handful of outfits. I plan on dressing my baby in sleepers almost all the time and as they get bigger adding in a few more outfit choices. It’s practical, they’re cute, and depending on which you choose are more affordable than buying lots of outfits.
As for sleepers, I want mits as an option when newborn-6m after that I won’t care as much about the option. The goal is to make things easier and not having to have mits or have them fall off is nice. I’d like to buy mainly zippered, but I don’t mind a button here and there. I do want to be prepared as I learned from Nicu mommas that they need buttoned or velcro onesies or sleepers so I plan to have at least one of those in premie size.
Any type of onesies, but honestly I’m currently not as sold on them as much as sleepers. I know I will have an opinion on this once my baby is here, but here are my thoughts currently. I’m having a July baby and this means it will soon turn to fall colder weather. I do not see myself using just the onesies as an outfit very often and buying pants along with it is typically more expensive than buying a sleeper. I know some layer a short-sleeved onesie with a sleeper so I guess we will have to see how much use I get out of onesies. I do think I will use them as my baby gets a little older and starts wearing more outfits, but as a newborn, I think sleepers will be more convent and cheaper.
Pants and tops- again I am buying more of these for the bigger baby sizes when I’m wanting to put my baby in more outfits, but I do plan to again have more sleepers than outfits when they fit in any baby-sized clothing.
Mittens- I just got a handful as I do plan to have their hands covered mostly by the sleepers
Socks- I just got a small pack per size
Hats- I actually haven’t bought any yet and still need to decide if I will do so.
Knotted gowns- I did decide to get some knotted gowns so that changing is easier, especially for the nighttime. I am not sure how much I will gravitate to them, but I think it will be a helpful option.
Clothes not being true to size
A big pain is ordering or buying clothes in a size that you think will be adding to your collection of that size and it’s either too big or too small to fit that actual size range. Another thing that can happen is you shrink your clothes in the wash. I heard that can happen often to baby clothes.
I really don’t have a solution for this currently, but I wanted to make a note of this because it does happen and it’s a struggle! I plan on hanging a lot of clothes in size order and labeling where pants/bottoms sizes should go. I’m planning on basing where each thing should go off of their size and not what the label says. I will just compare the clothes to an item that is true to size. I don’t want to accidentally not use an item because it ran small and my baby already grew out of it by the time I reach for it. I also don’t want to be reaching for an item thinking it will fit and it doesn’t.
Clothes that others buy
I kept a running list of everything I had and in what size for the baby so that I knew what I needed to either buy or stop buying. If you know others are planning on getting you some clothes maybe get one or a few less of the common items and sizes that others typically buy. If you’re like me and want to be prepared, buy everything you want, don’t go overboard, and keep the tags on the items. If you end up with way too many of an item in a size you can decide if you would like to return anything.
I do recommend keeping tags on the smaller sizes like premie, newborn, and 0-3 until you know if you are going to use them. As well as season items as you never know if they will be wearing that size when it’s weather-appropriate.
I was given a recommendation of buying a few premie outfits so that if you have a small baby they have a few outfits that fit them perfectly. Some actually recommend to either skip newborn entirely or only get a few like premie, but I do not plan on taking that advice. I want my baby to have clothes that fit well and aren’t baggy even if they don’t fit in them for very long. If I don’t end up using everything or if I have a big baby I can always return the clothes in that size.
Do whatever you think is best and listen to what the doctor is measuring your baby to be closer to time to get an idea if you will have a small, normal, or large baby. I’d personally rather be prepared for all the possible sizes and return if needed.
How many clothes I want per size
I am choosing to focus on the amount of outfits as a whole and not individual items of clothing. I think this is what will work best for me for preparing. I will buy more seasonal clothing for warmer temperatures when we’re going out closer to the time of needing them, but when we’re inside we will be wearing similar clothing all year round.
The only item I want a specific number on is sleepers. I want more sleepers the smaller the size and gradually get less the bigger the size because they will wear more outfits as well as have fewer outfit changes throughout the day.
Premie:
Sleepers- the goal is to have 6
Newborn-6 months:
Sleepers- 12 minimum
Everything else just a few in total
6 months and up:
Sleepers-I want a minimum of 7
I’d like to have a minimum of 14 outfits per size including sleepers
This is my plan as I am currently writing this I am pregnant
Once my baby is here I will make an updated post of what worked, was fine, could be better, or flat out would do differently. As well as my experience at different stages.
My hope is this gives you another perspective so it can help aid in your thought process of what you think will work best for you and your family. Remember this is just prep and you can adjust once the baby is here if you need more items or return the things you don’t use if you’re able to do so.
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