Baby clothes...

Holly9937

Holly9937

AC Members
Jan 20, 2005
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Michigan
You have all been so helpful with my other baby questions, so I thought I would try out another one on you :D !! What all does a baby need clothes wise for the first 6 months or so?? I got sooo many outfits at my shower yesterday, and while they are all adorable, I just don't think I will need so many. I doubt I will be dressing him up in cutesy outfits to just sit around the house and puke in :laugh: !! He is due the first week of December, in Michigan, if that will make much of a difference

Also, is the fancy baby clothes detergent necessary or am I safe to use something that is just perfume/dye free?
 
Hi Holly!

I used the Dreft baby detergent only for the first month with each of my girls, and I washed their clothes/blankets/barf rags/sheets etc separately for that time. After the first month, their stuff got tossed in with all our stuff and good 'ol Tide. I don't know if it's necessary, it's just what I felt that I wanted to do when they were so small and new...

For clothes... it's nice to have the cutesy outfits for taking them out and showing them off on special occasions, but the rest of the time, all I had them in were those one piece creeper jammies or Onesies. I had one daughter in September and one daughter in May, both of them wore jammies/creepers/onesies 24/7 until they started to crawl and THEN I started actually dressing them like people. LOL! All I cared about is that they were comfortable, and what's more comfie than those soft creepers?

Wish I had footie jammies of my own..... :thm:
 
Arround the house, lotsa onesies and socks . Simple pants, and some warm slippers(no shoes, c'mon!). Soon you will definatly need some baennies/sock hats and instead of wearing one big warm coat, go with layers so you can just pull one off/out one on to regulate temps. (gosh that last part sounded like fishtank talk). It's good to keep a warm blanket over your babys face(kind of draped over the stroller/carrier) if you must go out in high wind/snow.
 
Onesies with longer sleeves and legs for home use, cute stuff for special visits/occasions. Tide Free for washing. I live in Florida, but when I took my babies to Texas I liked one warm coat or blanket better because I didn't have to burrow through layers to change a diaper while out.

:OT: I think the Victoria's Secret catalog actually sells footed jammies. :)
 
two words: comfort & ease

I know that there are millions of too-cute outfits out there - and every baby should have a few for visits and photo shoots - but most importantly Baby needs to be comfortable (watch for zippers, buttons, velcro etc. that might cause discomfort) and you need to be able to get clothes on/off easily.

My little one was a winter baby in Utah/Colorado and spent her first few months mostly in onesies plus two-piece sweat-type outfits (comfy and you don't have to completely undress the baby for diaper changes) plus socks. She didn't get her first pair of shoes until she started to walk. Jackets proved to be too cumbersome for an infant; a blanket plus hat worked just fine for a run to the store or other little trips. For outdoor activities (she actually "saw" a few ski races...) I had a thick fleece snowsuit from REI for her - loved it!

And as far as laundry goes: while I did tend to wash baby clothes seaprately - the certainly create enough laundry to make a baby-only load worthwhile - I didn't use special detergent for my kids. However, I use only very little (liquid) fabric softener for all my laundry, maybe a tablespoon for a full load.
 
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Your choice of detergent will depend on what baby tolerates well. I used Ivory Snow for a long time, and then changed to Tide Free. All my kids have sensitive skin though...even I can't use some brands of detergent on my own clothes. Now that I have a front load washer, I use Tide HE, and we all tolerate it well...front loads rinse well, plus I always add an extra rinse.

I found that long gowns (with a tie or elastic on the bottom) were the best for sleeping for the first while, then footed sleepers, but I switched to "regular" clothes pretty early on. My boys were born in January and February in Vancouver. By April they were definitely in T-shirts and pants or shorts. The onesie style T-shirts are great. Regardless of what you choose to put on baby, you'll need a lot of clothes, because they go through a lot in a day...if they don't spit up, then they blow out their diapers. Use the cute outfits you got as much as you can...babies grow out of their clothes so fast!
 
How often on average do you find that they need to be changed in a day? And did you find that the sizing is pretty accurate (3-6 months actually fits in that time span)? I have a few friends to quiz too, but its nice to have different opinions!!
 
LOL, FF and SF!! Could I FIND footie jammies for myself... Probably. Would my hubby find them attractive at all?? Most certainly NOT! :laugh:

Also, one thing they have now that I never had for my kids, but would be FABULOUS for a winter baby, are those fleece "bundle bags" that install into the kid's infant carrier carseat! The straps of the carseat go through slots in the bag, so it stays in the seat all the time. You just put them in the seat, buckle them in, and zipper the bag right up! Presto! A snuggly warm baby without worrying about dropping their blankie in the muddy, slushy grocery store parking lot! (Did it. Many times)

:D
 
Holly9937 said:
How often on average do you find that they need to be changed in a day? And did you find that the sizing is pretty accurate (3-6 months actually fits in that time span)? I have a few friends to quiz too, but its nice to have different opinions!!
Click to expand...

Sizing depends on the baby. My kids grew quickly, and with wearing cloth diapers, they were wearing pretty big sizes early...my first was 20 lbs by 6 months, and wearing 12-18 months size clothes at that point! My last (a girl) was 10 lbs by the time she was a week old...she only wore her newborn clothes for that one week, and then was alreay into 3 month size!

Try not to invest in too many clothes early on. Best to get the basics first...a variety of onesies, sleepers (two piece pjs and sleepers with no/removable feet have a longer life than footed sleepers)...and the nighties are quite long, so they will fit a growing baby for a while, and make nightime diaper changes a snap. Also, don't buy too many newborn size diapers...I never did finish a full package with my kids. :D

Oops - forgot to answer your question about frequency of clothing changes. Again, depends on baby. My kids spat up a lot, and I had to change them, and my own clothes fairly regularly. Good to have lots of flat diapers around to protect your clothes too! :)

If you have lots of friends with kids, then borrow clothes! The more the better.
 
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