You would think buying clothing for a baby would be quite simple – with so many cute and gorgeous outfits available these days, how can one go wrong?! But with a myriad of clothing designs and styles that are either practical time-savers or frustrating time-fizzers for parents, BellyBelly Moderator and Mum, Janelle (nellbe) set out to compile this very informative article, designed to help you with the task of clothing your newborn baby.
Size Guide
When putting this information together, I gathered information straight from the experts – from mums and dads with new babies. As well as being based on my own experiences as a parent, I thought of what would have been useful to know, prior to buying clothes for my baby.
An approximate size guide is as follows:
0000 - Newborns under 4kg - birth to 3 months
000 - babies under 6 kg - 3 months to 6 months
00 - babies between 6 and 8 kgs - 6 months to 9 months
0 - babies above 8 kgs - 9 months to 12 months
1 - babies above 10kgs - 12 months
Bear in mind that the sizes above are a guide only. Some babies when born will fit straight into 000's, some will need 0000's. Something else to remember is that all the clothing sizes differ based on manufacturer. For example, Bonds sizes tend to be on the smaller side, so you may find that you are buying Bonds clothing one size up compared to what you would buy in other brands.
What size should I start with?
You'll probably be asked to take several baby outfits with you into hospital if that is where you'll be birthing your baby. It's a good idea to have a mixture of both 000's and 0000's to start with. How long they spend in each size really depends on how quickly your baby grows (and oh boy do they grow quickly!) but unless you have a premature or very small baby, getting more 000's than 0000's is a good idea.
Janelle's Top Tips
1. Many mums will swear by Bonds Wondersuits or similar in the early months. They are a great idea, but don't go out and buy a whole pile – my son was a long and soon enough couldn't wear the bodysuits with feet enclosed as his feet were too big for them! So I ended up putting him into pants and tops sets from the moment he was born.
2. The Bonds 'Stretchies' range is quite good as they have lyrca in them. Makes it easier to dress them.
3. Singlets for babies are well used but often they'll ride up their backs and if they are wearing a top and pants it can leave their backs cold. Going for the singlet suits is an option, they do up at the crotch so you don't have that problem. Also by buying their singlets a few sizes larger may help.
4. Babies don't often like having things over their head. To minimise this, you can purchase the do up the front bodysuits and you can get them in short sleeves and long sleeves.
5. Bonds socks are excellent for keeping on the babies feet, I am sure I have tried every brand but Bonds are the only ones that stayed on.
6. Consider buying a sleeping bag for baby to sleep in and buy zip up ones, not button ones as their feet may get caught if they kick around a lot, like my son does!
List of 'Must Have' Baby Clothes
Here is a suggested list of clothing and number of items that you may need from birth. Ideally organise a mixture of 0000 and 000 as you can't be sure how big baby will be at birth!
��10 singlets or singlet suits
��Approx 4 each of long sleeve and short sleeve bodysuits
��4 pairs of pants
��4 long sleeved tops/jumpers
��2 nice, matching outfits for going out
��2 jackets
��4 other all in one outfits (cotton ones not terry towelling or flanellette)
��2 cotton hats
��1-2 pair mittens (if you think you'll use them)
��Lots of socks – they always get lost!
��2-3 sleeping outfits – you can just use all in ones / wondersuits for sleeping or sleeping bags.
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