Product Spotlight: Baby Apparel

inthewoods23

Talk about all things baby apparel!

oli9

I am obsessed with:

H&M Baby clothes (if you sign up to be a member you get special discounts for up to 30% off your order sometimes) The quality of the ‘conscious’ line they carry is unmatchable. I LOVE H&M Baby and childrens clothing. They also sell multi-packs which makes starting a wardrobe or updating a toddler wardrobe really easy.

Love’d Baby is one of my favorite baby brands because I’m a super minimalist person and I dress my kids the same way… I know boring but I am who I am. Love’d Baby is very expensive but I love the quality and the fit of their items. 

I generally don’t care for Carters because I don’t favor animals and phrases on my babies clothing, but they have a newer line of organic baby clothes called Little Planet or something like that and I ordered a few pieces that I’m satisfied with. I didn’t like that I couldn’t find a coupon code though. 😂

I’ve never been a fan of Old Navy clothing BUT I just went on their site to see what they have in store for spring / summer and I was BLOWN AWAY! I love the choices! More neutrals and softer looking fabrics. I’ve got a bunch of stuff in my cart and I’m ready to check out but I want to get a really good coupon first. Lol. I like high quality for a low price. 🤷🏻‍♀️

inthewoods23

@oli9 there's a lot of stuff out there that I'm like, why is everything X, Y, and Z for boys/girls? I used to think Target had a lot of cute stuff but I swear half of the baby and toddler boy clothes are characters (star wars, baby yoda, mickey mouse, etc) these days. Why is it so hard to find basic prints in non-pale/pastel colors?? I did find one set from carters that was long sleeve with stripes that I think could work for a girl in the future too even though the colors are on the more masculine side.
https://www.carters.com/carters-baby-boy-bodysuits/V_1M102110.html


I learned about a company called Primary that makes baby and toddler clothes that is essentially every solid color under the sun you can think of or basic stripes and patterns. I don't think a single item has any kind of phrase or slogan on it.
https://www.primary.com/

jellie603

I shop a lot at Carters/Oshkosh because it was in my center. I learned how to shop their sales and get their rewards etc. to get things that don't have weird saying/pictures on them! They also have a great exchange policy (1 year after purchase with the tags) that I use all the time. It helps to bring all the stuff I got as gifts that I didn't like, was too small, grew out of and am able to put towards the purchase I'm there to make. I like the quality of their pants a lot. They hold up for 2 seasons (Spring-Fall) with a rough play boy. They are also the only undies that we like. 

Old Navy fits weird IMO but they have cute basics that I like a lot, so we deal with it.

I am loving H&M lately with the girl clothes! They are such a great price and I love the neutral colors and patterns!

Primary is also great and they have great end of season sales. They have a puffer jacket that is car seat safe that I buy every year for the Spring/Fall. 

I'm not a big boutique clothes person, especially for babies/kids. They just wreck everything or grow too soon and it isn't worth the 1 good picture I get IMO. 

zinnia19

@inthewoods23 thanks for the suggestion of Primary. We are having a girl but I really want to find simple, gender neutral clothing, and not pink, pink, pink. Why is that so hard? I did see that Old Navy has a big selection, but how is their quality @jellie603? Not that I want to spend a lot of money, but I also want the clothing to be decent lol. 

I’d love any other suggestions of brands that have unisex/gender neutral baby clothing!

jellie603

@zinnia19 Old Navy isn't too bad, they hold up just as well as the other big box stores. Honestly, I don't buy pants there because we have a tall and thin kid and we need functional drawstrings - so I can't speak on that. But their tshirts and sweatshirts seem to be pretty good. Oh! We love their jammies there for sure. I haven't used H&M yet but I am looking to buy alllllll of their stuff haha. If their quality is good, it is a great place for neutral colors. Primary is good too! A little pricey though. 

oli9

Oh man I might ditch my Old Navy cart and get on this Primary wagon. Thanks for suggesting it! I’m a big fan of neutral colors and minimal patterns so this sounds great. 

@inthewoods23 I agree about Target. I used to think they had cute baby clothing but during my last trip I couldn’t find anything that didn’t have a phrase on it or some sort of character. It was pretty disappointing. Also the blanket selection was very slim and I couldn’t find any plain swaddles or blankets that I liked. Everything had a character on it, even the Aiden and Anaise blankets. 

@zinnia19 I can’t recommend H&M enough. So so so many gender neutral options and great starter packs. I’ve been shopping H&M baby and toddler clothing since my 5th baby and I don’t love any other baby brand more. I read the reviews before pulling the trigger on anything I haven’t bought before and then decide if I want to try it out, but most of their clothes are so wonderful and soft and great quality. 

*edit to add a photo of the most recent outfit I purchased from H&M. It’s a set called a grow with me set so it extends length and I think it was $18 total after a coupon code I used that I got in my email. It’s organic Cotten, so soft and stretchy. 

inthewoods23

@zinnia19 I'm totally with you trying to stay more towards neutral. It's also just good if you ever want to donate clothes to a friend! It won't matter what they're having if a lot of your stuff works for any baby. Before knowing we were having a boy I seriously considered specifically requesting that people purchase as little pink clothes as possible on my baby shower invites. Moot point now thankfully. I'd rather people not waste their money on something I wouldn't prefer.

runnergirl2018

@inthewoods23 we LOVE primary and they have 25% off sales a couple times a year when I usually buy. Their stuff is pretty good with lasting a long time too.  They sometimes have prints (rainbows, stars, stripes) but no words or logos or characters!

My favorites:
Primary - i didn't get into this until toddler years but we love the t-shirts and pants and i have a few of the adult t-shirts and really like the fit. they tend to hold up well.

Lou Lou and Company - especially for swaddles and mittens. they both have good stretch, which means the mittens actually STAY ON and my ninja baby couldn't get out of the swaddle like he could others.  AND the swaddle blankets are pretty large so my 3 yr old still uses it for sleep.  They have other items now too, like top/bottom sets and rompers and i have a few of each- they are very soft but tend to be more spendy

Kate Quinn Organics - especially the bamboo because it's buttery soft and tends to hold up well - either solids or simple prints. best buying on sale/price point sales. i liked their onesies and rompers

Cat and Jack - from target. Usually reasonable prices, last decently, some cute styles, generally pretty true to size AND 1 year return policy for those specific items- which is really cool if something falls apart quickly or if you want to stock up for future sizes during a sale

Carters - we did some as a baby but i found long term they didn't fit my kid well - i did them a lot from Kohls when they had a different return policy than they do now

Zara Kids - some cute styles that are a little different. sometimes more costly so we sometimes just do a unique piece or two

Gap baby - can get good sales. we bought a few onesies. I especially like for my toddler's pants now since he is tall and more lanky

Old Navy - honestly not a fan, i feel like they run oddly small and don't hold up well at all.

Burts Bees Baby - i really like their jammies and feel like they lasted a long time! they are still are primary jammies for my toddler

Hanna Andersson - good quality but can be pricey. we get jammies here and there from them and got a few shirts on clearance. they do hold up well and i feel like the pajamas last a long time for each size


The last thing I'll say is that each kiddo is different so sometimes trying out a few different brands can be helpful

bumblebee0210

We are basically 100% primary and Hanna Andersson. I also hate slogans and super gendered clothes, and I like brighter colors (MH describes baby pink as looking "anemic"). Both are very high quality (HA even more than Primary-- I don't think a single pair of HA clothes we have bought has ever gotten a hole). 

If money is not your #1 concern, I would highly recommend sticking to one or two brands as your kid gets older (registries are a good way to try out lots of different brands). Sizing can really vary, and since you're not going to be like trying stuff on your 3-month-old, you can end up doing a lot of returns. If you stick to one or two brands, you always know your kids size, and you can just order stuff as needed a few times per year. It also just cuts down on decision fatigue, and the clothes tend to coordinate better. 

On newborn stuff-- I would not register for it (or maybe just one or two things). As you get close to your due date, your OB will be able to tell you whether your baby will be really big or not. (Or if you go early, and might need premie sizes). If you have a 7-8 sb baby, you'll probably be in newborn sizes for 3 or 4 weeks. You can just put them in 0-3 month clothes and they will be a little big. Or you can order a few things and they'll ship quickly to your house. For our daughter, I think we had nothing in NB sizes, and she was 7.5 lbs, and swam in her clothes for a few weeks. For this one, I'll probably order 2 or 3 sleepers and onesies in NB size, but that's it. 


ETA: For the little baby phase (<6 mo), I am a big fan of sleepers with feet that either zip both ways, or have magnets. For the love of god, stay away from snaps. There are so many and you will do them wrong and have to do them over. At 3 AM. Zippyjams are great, as is magneticme (esp the bamboo for summer). I have also heard great things about kyte organics, which i think I might try this time. They are expensive, so great registry items!

inthewoods23

@bumblebee0210 on the subject of sleepers.... Do babies go to sleep in those? Or are they to be either swaddled or put in a sleep sack/blanket thing for sleeping?

My mom has already bought me like 7 sleepers in a couple different sizes so I likely won't even register.

Or do you put them in a sleeper to wear and then swaddle or put them in a sleep sack??

bumblebee0210

@inthewoods23. Typically they sleep in some kind of clothing (a sleeper or a onesie or a gown) and then that goes inside the swaddle or sleep sack (though I admit the line between "sleep sack" and "gown" is a bit blurry). Sleep sacks are meant to be SIDS-safe blankets, basically. You mostly need them if your house is cold. We never used them (even though our house is cold!), but just went straight from swaddles to nothing (and warm PJs). 

Also the line for newborns between "pajamas" and "clothes" is pretty non-existent. They sleep all the time, and unless you're like dressing them up in little bow ties or whatever (you do you), you can just use onesies or sleepers as all-the-time outfits, day or night (or until-covered-in-spitup outfits).

LJMoon6

DS is almost exclusively in Target, Old Navy, and H&M. Oh and a few Walmart items. I can’t stand spending so much money on clothes that will be outgrown in a few months, or stained, or ripped… you name it. There’s also the problem of the boy sections being soooo much smaller than the girls section. It was actually overwhelming walking around the girl section the other day. So many choices!

We did do a big carters run before DS was born. But I don’t think we’ve ever been back lol. I would also skip the newborn size. If you have a small baby it seems easier to run out and grab a few items that you need vs the other way around of having to return a bunch of stuff. I was told that DS was average size (he was measuring 60% at my AS and my fundal height was always average), but he came out 9.5lbs. I still squeezed him into a couple newborn outfits that were just too cute to pass up. But definitely wish I had just gotten 3m.

I also agree that the first 3ish months DS was almost solely in sleepers. There were only a handful of times that he was in an actual outfit. I’ve already bought a couple outfits for DD that I’m having second thoughts about lol. Burt’s bees sleepers are my absolute favorite.

tuxielove93

My kids are big, and grow FAST and so we ended up only wearing every size for a month or two. And we skipped 9-12m clothes entirely. 
I have 8 pound babies at birth, and they never fit into newborn clothes or newborn-sized diapers. By Christmas, my babies are in 12m clothes so the tiny sizes don't get much use. 

Basically, don't go overboard. 
I love Burts Bees Baby for the early clothes. They are soft and neutral and have held up through two babies. Their pajamas are especially awesome. 
After that, we have to get picky. Carters and Walmart do not fit my babies. Walmart is too short and too wide, Carters is too short and too narrow. It's not a standard size across all brands. We stick to Target and Old Navy for all other clothes because they are long enough and not super wide or narrow. You never know what shape of baby you will end up with, so just keep the receipts and don't get too much of anything! 

tuxielove93

@inthewoods23 depends on the season, your sleeping location, and your baby. I don't swaddle my babies. It's hot, and they sleep with me. So we don't do any swaddles or sleep sacks. But in the colder months/climates with babies who sleep in their own space, those can be super useful! And they are like a blanket. You would still wear a sleeper under the sleepsack/swaddle. I think you would only do one or the other though. Not a swaddle in a sleep sack. Unless you're in like Alaska or something. You don't want baby to get overheated. They will cry if they are cold, but overheating might increase risk of SIDS, so I have always erred on the side of a cold baby.