Product Spotlight: Baby Apparel

cato99

Happy Monday! Today on the list of topics to discuss we have BABY APPAREL. So let's have our first serious baby clothes discussion! Looking ahead at the product topics, in later weeks we'll also have specific conversations on summer essentials and winter essentials for our growing babies, so we'll be able to revisit seasonal particularities, so don't feel the need to comb your brain for every last item! This thread can focus on what to get throughout our pregnancies to be ready for those first few newborn rollercoaster months!

So tell me all about tiny baby clothes! Do you have favorite brands? Where do you get your basics and where do you get your splurges? Does one even splurge for a newborn? Did you have a special coming home outfit? Any particular stylistic preferences to warn FTMs (e.g., do you avoid teensy buttons like the plague and only get zippered onesies)? Opinions on baby hats and baby socks?

How much do you REALLY need for a newborn: did STMs find you changed their onesie 10 times a day or, like, rarely? Any shopping tips to get a good baby clothes haul (which they'll inevitably use for 10 seconds before growing out of it)--did you get used baby clothes? What range of sizes should we get now that we have a little time to plan and shop: should you buy ahead and be equipped through months 0-6 or 12, or buy as you go? How do you dress them to sleep: do you use a sleep sack on top of pjs? Baby shoes: adorable accessories or complete waste of time? And while we're talking clothes, how do you wash baby clothes? Do you use special soap? Please share!

Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights

wabash15

Ok I might just be cheap, but babies just spit up and shit on everything so there is no point in spending a ton of money on cloths.... Buy gently used at places like once apon a child or consignment sales, You can get great cloths at a steal. A good sun hat is important for summer babies... for summer babies socks aren't such a big deal but yes for winter (though if you have a baby with skinny feet it can be really hard to find socks that fit so snap slippers stay on way better)
  As for how much you need... some days they are in the same thing the whole day and other days you do 5 outfit changes before noon... but summer babies clothing is really optional, especially in the house... as for range of cloth sizes, its hard. Every kid is different. My DD1 was in 3 month cloths till she was 9 months... so planning ahead by season was challenging, whereas her twin was in cloths according to his age... There are some babies who are in 6 month cloths by 2-3 months.... its really just a crap shoot to make sure you have the right cloths for the right season, again, another reason not to spend lots of money on them till they are older and wear cloths for longer...

olivemomma

I would also say don’t splurge on newborn clothing. I think a bunch of onsies and footed jammies are where it’s at. I would obviously go for cotton with summer babies and some lightweight muslin blankets. I wouldn’t overdo it on the amount of newborn clothes and they may outgrow them quickly. My first who was tiny was in 3 month clothing by 6-8 weeks and my son was in 9 month 1 piece outfit s by 3 months! We have always been a fan of carters for the early stages. Wait for a major holiday weekend (Memorial Day would be perfect) - they always have a huge sale and stock up on basics. You may also get a bunch of clothing this size at your shower and you may need to purchase very little yourself. I never went through more than a couple outfits a day as neither of my kids were big spitters so I think a dozen or so outfits is plenty for newborns if you keep up with the laundry. 

velvetskyy

I want to splurge a bit now that I know Janie and Jack is going out of business. I am so sad!! I know they are crazy expensive but I could almost always find cute things on clearance.  I had two boys and if this is a girl I wanted to get so many of their clothes.  Anyway, I loved their special items for newborn/going home outfits.  Otherwise I loved babygap items also.  I reused almost everything from DS1 for DS2 besides needing a few things or replacing snap sleep suits for the zip-up ones.  SO much better. 

Socks never stayed on my boys so I ended up buying these cute little slippers from target that actually helped hold the socks on.  

We didn't change outfits too much, but since we cloth diapered I think that saved a bunch of would be blowouts.  We bought and received several items that were kind of genderless that will help if #3 is a girl, but I will still reuse all the things because, why not. 

olivemomma

Oh! On footed onsies seek out ones that zip! When changing diapers at 2am the last thing you want to deal with are a dozen snaps!

BigBadWolf12

Top tip: wash socks and mittens in a garment bag.  No lost baby socks ...unless your sleep deprived mind forgets to zip up the bag,  that is 😂

Also be ware of labels. Different brands have wayyyyy different labeling practices.  Some 3 month clothes from one brand were the same size as 9-12 month in another brand 🙄 so store the clothes by like sizes in terms of what looks the same size when you hold them up against each other,  not what the label said. We almost missed the window for several things bc they weren't labeled like the other brands. 

Id say don't splurge.  We existed almost solely on hands me downs and gifts until....now (17 months) haha.  Between baby showers and grandparents we were solidly covered for the first year plus.  so if I saw something totally amazing that I couldn't pass up,  i felt free to buy it bc I hadn't really bought any clothes anyways lol.

No shoes until he was walking (or at least walking on our fingers regularly). We had a set of slipper things that were warm for his feet going outside and a set of moccasin type soft sole "shoes" that we were gifted that he wore sometimes but other than that,  no shoes until he was walking.

Sleeping,  you'll figure out as you go.  We swaddled at first,  but he preferred me to swaddle him rather than the premade swaddlers. Then when he was too big for that we switched to a sleep sack,  but then he became mobile and hatred getting his legs tangled in it and slept way better in just a sleeper than with a sleep sack over.  He is so warm blooded he also sleeps better with just a sleeper anyways. 

In terms of sleepers I like the snap sleepers better.... access to the diaper without exposing the whole chest or having to bend the one leg with no zipper like crazy. Also I found the zipper sleepers would be too big for the longest time,  with the zipper bunching up around his chin/mouth and being super stiff until they'd finally fit well for like, 3 days,  and then they'd be too small.  The snap ones were more forgiving in terms of fitting well for longer imo. This is all personal preference though.  I have a bunch of friends who only wanted zipper sleepers.

mrosek91

I find the best places to buy are Carter, Old Navy and Amazon. I try not to spend more than ~$5 an item. Between regular sales, and buying multi-packs that's usually a pretty attainable goal.
I generally don't prebuy. It's impossible to know how long your baby is going to stay in one size, and what season they will need of the next size up. All of those places have fairly quick shipping, so once I determine my baby needs the next size I find coupons, and go on to do a big shop. It's rare that all of a sudden nothing will fit, you'll have enough of a window where things will be getting tight but you can still get them on, that you can take some time to shop.
I definitely second @olivemomma, I don't know why snap pajamas are much more common under 6 months, but take the time to find the ones with the zippers, so much easier!

thirdtimesacharm2019

3TM hoping to go very minimal with clothing (and accessories) this time around. I will buy a few sleepers/ onsies before birth. Like @mrosek91said, you will not just magically run out of clothes one day 😊. I’ll probably splurge on a nice coming home outfit, but everything else will be sales or second hand. It also depends on your laundry situation. We do laundry almost everyday as is, but if you have to go outside of your home to do laundry you will want a good bit more the little sizes. I’ve used ALL free and clear detergent for years (both my boys have sensitive skin), and it’s not pricey like the specifically baby stuff. 

mwmiller4

DH and I were both 8.5lb babies so I assumed DD would be that large and we wouldn't need newborn diapers or clothes.  Thank GOODNESS people gave us stuff--I ended up ordering more off Amazon since all 0-3 month onesies and jammies were too big until she was over a month old.  I actually have to buy a few newborn things for this baby because all of DD's got trashed. Definitely see what you get at the shower--I got way more 6-9 month+ outfits.  I think because I was one of the last to have a baby in DH's extended family and all the STMs+ knew we'd get more use out of bigger outfits.

My favorite newborn clothes were magnificent baby footies.  They're pricey (I always give them as new baby gifts and stock up when they're on sale) and totally not necessary but so great to have--the magnet closures are freaking amazing when you're exhausted and you can leave the top partially closed so baby doesn't get cold during diaper changes (though probably less of an issue during August than February though ).  I also LOVE baby knee socks because they stay on well and they often cover enough so you can just use a onesie if you're hanging around the house.  I agree with @wabash15 and @olivemomma that you can go through 1 outfit or 10 on a bad day--it also really depends if your baby is a spitter or not.  I also thought the hats were useless and got frustrated with the mittens.  I liked the onesies and sleepers that folded over her hands to prevent her from scratching her face (though I think the actual scratching didn't phase her at all despite making me SO sad).  I also loved Janie and Jack for special stuff and the clearance finds were AMAZING.  Back before they rebranded, I loved Gymboree, too, and you could get Cat and Jack prices on much better quality clothing (that washed and held up way nicer) if you were willing to watch sales and hoard Gymbucks. I'm sad they're going out of business but haven't liked the stuff in over a year really, so I can't say I'm surprised.  I love Carter's for jammies and 0-24 month clothes (ALL the rompers to show off the thigh rolls). 

velvetskyy

@BigBadWolf12 target's cloud island brand has some awesome zip sleepers that zip from the bottom!!! It made changing diapers a breeze and no snaps!

https://www.target.com/p/baby-girls-3pk-print-zip-sleep-n-play-cloud-island-153-pink-gray/-/A-53458250?preselect=53334881#lnk=sametab

BigBadWolf12

@velvetskyy
I'm in Europe.  No target,  but thanks! Maybe that will be useful to someone rise.  My son was on the short side anyways so I imagine the stiff bunching of the zipper would still have happened though. I was given a sleeper or two with the bottom zip (but he was older,  like 4-8 months) and I still prefer the snaps maybe that should be my UO on Thursday 😂

velvetskyy

whoops, lol! Oh well. That was my big find for #2 and I plan to stock up since the discovery.  My boys seem to find a way to get their legs sticking out of the snaps and look like they have a third appendage growing from their butts.  haha

Allycat11

I love this topic, lots of thoughts! 

First, careful about pre buying because it is impossible to know how long LO will be in 1 size. DD was 8lb3oz at birth, DS was 8lb0z. It took DD 12 months to double her birth weight, DS doubled in 3-4. You just never know. Most babies will need NB clothes for at least a few weeks. Everyone said they were a waste...they were wrong. 

I do a mix between cheaper essentials and cute splurge boutique items. My go to stores are Carter's, Kohls, Target, Amazon, and Baby Gap. I used to love Gymboree before their quality and style went to crap but they are going out of business anyway. There are a few local boutique shops that I love, but I mainly shop sales and coupons. Some of the nicer brands that I love are Kickee Pants, Tea Collection, KPea, Mayoral, Petit Lem, and Sweet Bamboo. I also shop garage sales and mom to mom sales. Baby clothes are often barely used and in great condition. Re-sale value is something to consider. Carter's is affordable, practical and most babies wear a lot of it (mine included) but they wear out faster than nicer brands and are only worth roughly .50-$1 a piece at a garage sale. Boutique brands hold their resale value much better. 

I HATE baby socks. They are awful and never stay on. We basically avoid buying socks and shoes for our infants and they mainly wear zutano booties or snow and arrow slippers. 

As cute as itty bitty outfits can be, footed sleepers/ sleep n plays are the most practical for the first few weeks. I prefer the zipper ones as snaps are a lot more work, especially in the middle of the night. Magnetic ones are great too but I have only seen those from expensive brands. I love sleep sacks that zip over their jammies for when it gets cold out. Sleep gowns are an awesome option too because you just pull it up for middle of the night diaper changes. 

For washing baby clothes I just use the same free and clear detergent that we use for the rest of the family. 

Amdogger82

One splurge I made was on Zutano booties. We also didn't do shoes until he was walking, and the Zutanos were the only thing that stayed on for us. I may buy another pair so this LO will have two pairs. 

I am on team zipper sleeper--I just go batty snapping and unsnapping them, and I always seem to mismatch them in the middle of the night. 

@velvetskyy Thank you for posting that link! I may need to snag some!

mkrel

I agree with @Allycat11 on the NB clothing. Everyone told me I wouldn't need it, and we didn't receive much as gifts.  My daughter was 7lb 13 oz, and was in NB clothing for about 3-4 weeks.  I ended up buying quite a bit after she was born.  

Allycat11

@mkrel DD was 8lb3oz and in the hospital we tried on a 3 month footed sleeper and she was drowning in it. I was literally placing Amazon orders from the hospital bed for newborn clothes because we only had a couple pieces at home.  

zamoraspin

I am assuming apparel includes things like swaddles and sleep sacks. It seems like swaddling is recommended for the first 3-6 months. I am not sure I can figure out how to properly swaddle with a blanket and I think the accessibility of the little baby sacks with zippers on the bottom and velcro restraints on top seem very useful. Do you STM and + moms have any specific recommendations on brands, timing, what to put on a baby under the swaddle? (I know all our babies are due in August but we keep our house pretty well temperature controlled year round). I thought these looked good and affordable, and was thinking I need maybe 2-3 in infant and 2-3 in 3-6 months sizes? I hear tell of sleep sacks and don't really understand - do you use those once baby stops being swaddled? 

Also, I have heard it said you shouldn't even bother to register for clothes because people will buy what they want. But I wonder if it makes sense to register for a few items so people have some idea what you like? Plus clothes are pretty affordable shower gifts. I am expecting some hand-me-downs from my sister too.

mkrel

@zamora_spin We used the halo sleep sack swaddles.  We liked that we could swaddle her arms in, hands by her face (preferred by her) or one arm out when we were weaning from the swaddle.  They are easy to use. Baby's room should ideally be kept between 68-72 for SIDS prevention, so we had her sleeping in a footed sleeper with the halo swaddle sleep sack over it. 

WinchesterGirl

So, for under 6 months sized primarily focus on onesies and sleepers. Other stuff is cute, but really impractical. 

I personally think 10 of each type of item (sleepers, onesies, pants, etc) in the smaller sizes is a good starting point. I include NB sizes in that, because we were in NBs with my son for 6 weeks. He has stayed right at 50th percentile for height and weight and tracked the other sizes really consistently to his age. My method though for buying is when I do my big "next size up" shop, I also buy 1-2 things in the size beyond. That way if we hit a sudden growth spurt, I at least have a few things on hand. 

Baby pants, I really really love old navy soft pants. They are the most accurate to size for us also. 

Onesies/sleepers my favorite is Carter's. There is an outlet near us, so we can get very good deals & their stuff is nice quality. 

Definitely plan to try a few different brands of socks, because if your baby has chibby/skinny feet, different socks will fit and others won't. Since we are having summer babies, booties won't be a big deal right away but plan to have a pair or two for the winter to go over the socks. I liked the zutano fleece bootie style, but there is a cheaper option on Amazon that has worked well for us. 

olivemomma

@zamora_spin yes yes yes to swaddles! You can attempt swaddling with just a blanket but if you have a mover on your hands they will bust out. My babies slept so much better swaddled. I like the miracle blankets and halo sleep sacks with the Velcro on top. I also got one with my second that you just put their arms in and zipped tight the whole way up because he could bust out of anything else! I think it’s Called the woombie?? 

I think ink cotton is the way to go in summer months. Depending on how warm or cool you keep your house you could do anything from a footed sleeper, to a onsie, to just a diaper underneath. 

As you you get into bigger sizes you will notice they start to lose the upper Velcro section for swaddling and move more into a sleep sack version with arm holes. We used those until at least 2 years old. You need to stop swaddling before the baby can role. It can be a tricky transition because they need to learn to sleep with their arms free. I think I stopped around 4ish months. I took about a week to transition and would do 1 arm at a time for a couple of nights and then would saddle tightly around their chest with both arms free but that way they still had the the swaddle feel on their body. They may startle to wake a little more frequently making the transition. I would register for swaddles but not the clothes.

mrosek91

@zamora_spin, I may be in the minority, but my boys refused to be swaddled. They would just kick and push out of it no matter how tight we made it. We only ever did it with a blanket, never tried the Velcro swaddles, but I doubt they would have liked it, they cried until they got themselves out of the swaddle. 

wabash15

We love the velcro swaddles from target (summer brand?)  all of our kids slept way better swaddled... it was a sad day when they started rolling over and we had to swaddle transition....

wanderlustsoul

I put 2 zipper swaddles, 2 Velcro swaddles, and Muslin blankets on my registry so I could have some options but not too many. 

The zipper vs snaps preferences is strong. You either love one and hate the other. I’m planning to see if I can get both. I’d like to try to find some reverse zipper ones but don’t know if available here. 

Allycat11

@zamora_spin our favorite swaddles were the Halo sleep sacks. I could never get a good tight swaddle with a swaddle blanket. The sleep sacks are nice for added warmth if your LO does not like to be swaddled or has grown out of the swaddling phase. I would not register for any clothes at all for 2 reasons. #1 clothes constantly are going on clearance so by the time people are shopping your registry, the clothes you chose probably won't even be available. Also they vary from store to store. #2 People who are shopping for clothes want to buy what they think is cute and quite frankly usually do not care which outfits you picked out...they want to do it themselves. This means you will definitely get things that are not your style, save it for lounging at home days, re-gift or see if it is returnable/exchangeable. My kids are 6 and 2 and there are people I still hope do not gift us clothes (ahem: MIL) and others that always buy super cute stuff. 


I also realized that we became team snaps as DD got older. At a couple months old DD started kicking around too much and would kick her legs out of the leg holes on zippered sleepers. By 6 months she could wiggle her entire itty bitty body out of any 1 piece sleeper. These were never problems with DS. 

aecm

-Carter’s was def. my go-to in the early days. They sell 5-packs of onesies that are a great starter for a newborn. When they get a bit older you’ll figure out which brands fit them best (ex: Baby Gap is great for my skinny waist & long legged kid). 
-FYI: the “Just One You” brand by Carter’s sold at Target tends to run smaller than regular Carter’s. I always got one or two things from there when my kid was in-between sizes. 
-Generally I’m team zipper, but if it’s just three or four crotch snaps I don’t mind. 
-Halo sleep sacks are fantastic. My 2yr old is still in their XL wearable blanket. Get (register for) at least two in each size. (I use these at night, and swaddled in blankets during the day for the first couple of months).
-Bathing suits (DD started swim lessons at 6mo so she’s almost always had at least one)...I love the iPlay swim diapers, and for lessons we use the iPlay suits with built-in swim diapers.  
-No shoes really for a year / til they’re walking. We did have a pair of soft Robeez boots I threw on her in the winter (they were soooo cute). 
-My “splurge” shop (for a girl) is RuffleButts. Such cute stuff!!

BigBadWolf12

@AKuzReve not sure if you have Lindex there but that's where my friend bought reverse zipper pjs for us (they actually had a double zipper so you zipped up but could still open from the bottom). The zipper was really small so I found it had less bulk and bunching than other zipper pj's anyways.  although I'm "team snaps", those were the best zipper pj's we were given hands down

@zamora_spin yes,  sleep sacks are generally used after a baby outgrows swaddles. Babies aren't supposed to sleep with loose blankets for at least a year and most babies move around a lot when they sleep once they're mobile,  so staying under a blanket doesn't work that well anyways.  I know some parents get addicted to sleep sacks and still have their 3yo in sleep sacks (they make some with feet holes so the toddler doesn't top when trying to walk) but my son hated sleep sacks from about 8 months.  He'd get too tangled and he's super earn blooded anyways so he prefers just his pj's year round. You'll figure out what your baby likes as you go

wanderlustsoul

@BigBadWolf12, good to know! I will look and see if that’s available here. 

parrothead78

I think I’m the miniority here - but I’ve been splurging on really nice newborn clothes. I can’t  help myself. We are also team green, so I’m all about the neutral tones this go around. I’ve been buying L’oved Baby, Lou Lou & Company, and Solly Baby. I’ve bought a few girl and boy outfits and will keep stocking up. I love footie pajamas with the built in hand mittens so they can’t scratch their faces. I found that most mittens alone would just fall off. 
My plan is once the babe is born I’ll order more clothes online from gap, ON, and carter’s, etc. 
However, if you’re a FTM+ and know the gender you’ll get a plethora of clothes at a baby shower. 
Picture of my neutral stash so far 😍

wanderlustsoul

I am not buying clothes because my mom and sister have probably bought $1000 worth of clothing. They’re insane and excited. He will be so spoiled. I just ask them to buy more 3-6 or 6+. 

mwmiller4

@zamora_spin another vote for halo swaddles--the velcro is really nice a thick and our tiny Houdini couldn't break free.  We transitioned to zipadeezips onces she was old enough to roll and she stayed in those until after 24 months because she loved them SO much--lots of people love the Merlin magic suit, too, if their startle reflex is still strong.