Do you need side snap shirts?

Mulhollem42 · January 2011

OK, this might be a weird question- I have heard/read that when the umbilical cord is first healing that the baby needs to wear something loose on the the area, (not a onesie) but a kimono style or side snap shirt with separate bottoms. Is this true? Most all newborn clothing I have looked at comes with onesie type outfits, so I don't see how it is. Thanks.

Ivana_Stolichnaya · January 2011

No they aren't necessary. I would tape some gauze to her bellybutton when it was healing and oozy and that worked fine.

collyflower · January 2011

We didn't use them. In fact I'm pretty sure we were using onesies w/ sleep n plays at the time since it was winter. Didn't have any problems.

katekirschner · January 2011

Nope. Just be prepared for some staining on the ones where the cord is healing.

akayf · January 2011

Instead of using a onsie as the undershirt, I used snap side shirts for the first week or so. I had 2 packages that my mom bought because she said I needed them. I put the snap side shirt on first and then the rest of the outfit.

SMR924 · January 2011

I had side snaps because I was so scared of pulling oneies over his little head for the first couple weeks but I was never told to use them for reason of the healing umbilical cord.

Lisa102304 · January 2011

"THEY" say you HAVE to have them. They are nice, but not mandatory or a must-have in my opinion. I got like a million of them and barely used them. I have a couple (like 3) left over from DD1 and will just stick with those and not buy more.

Onsies work fine, just make sure they are looser and not super snug.

IU_baby · January 2011

We didn't own a single side snap shirt. He wore footie sleepers most of the time without issue.

Mulhollem42 · January 2011

Thank you guys, it is nice to have reliable info! Sometimes I don't know what to believe and what I really need. I might see if I can get a couple just for convenience, but I am not going to get one of those 8 packs or whatever

august06mom · January 2011

No. We came home with some from hospital and I never used them.

momtoRaegan041008 · January 2011

They provide them in the hospital which makes it easy for the nurses and dr's. We then put our daughter in sleepers when we came home. I just didn't do 2 piece outfits until the umbilical cord fell off.

Neukim · January 2011

We did use them. Our hospital provided them. However when they couldn't regulate his temp they put that shirt and a footed sleeper on him. We bought a few home from the hospital and used them until his cord fell off. His cord came off fast. Day 4. We were only home 2 days with him.

StacieVT02 · January 2011

I don' think you *need* them but I personally really liked them because they were easy access in the middle of the night, especially. My son slept in a side snap shirt and a swaddle blanket for the first couple of months (during the winter and he wasn't cold) - we changed a few diapers a night so anything that could make it easier to do was a plus!!