Nurseries and Baby Gear
overtonhayes
member
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Baby sizes
overtonhayes
member
I have two really, really dumb questions.
1. I've noticed that some baby clothes are marked 'newborn' and others '0-3 months'. Is there any difference, or is that just different stores calling them different things?
2. When you look at strollers, car seats, infant bath tubs, everything, it seems, it gives you a weight limit. Trouble is, I have no idea when babies will weigh that much. Can anyone give me some guidelines here? The more information the better, but specifically: 30lbs; 35lbs; 50lbs.
Thanks!
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Re: Baby sizes
1. Newborn is supposed to be smaller than 0-3. BUT - it all depends on the brand. Example: Gerber runs so small that we hate the brand of clothes w/ a passion!
2. the weight of children varies a TON as they grow. my child weighed 27 lbs at 18m. She has always been around the 90th percentile.
1- newborn size typically goes up to 8 pounds, 0-3 goes to about 12 pounds (an average size 3 month old). Brands like Carter's list their clothes by the upper age, so a 3 month in Carter's is equivalent to a 0-3 month in other brands. Most brands will list their sizes along with weight and height so you can take a better guess to the sizes.
2- take a look at the growth charts for babies. CDC.gov/growthcharts has links to growthcharts for boys and girls. It will give you a better idea on weight and height for babies. On average, 15 pounds is around 3 months, and 22 pounds is around 12 months. 30 pounds is around 3 years, 50 pounds can be 5-7 years. It varies widely depending on the child.
For infant carseats, the standard weight limit is about 22 pounds. The general cencensus is that the higher weight infant seats (30 or 35 pounds) aren't worth it because the child will usually outgrow it by height first. My DD is in the 75th percentile for height and weight (approx) and I expect her to outgrow her infant seat at around 10 months.
Hope that helps.
1. It varies a little by brand, but 0-3 months is usually closer to a 3 months size.
2. One thing to keep in mind is that some baby gear, car seats and strollers especially, is usually outgrown by height well before weight. Look at those limits too when you're making decisions. You can look at growth charts to get an idea of weights and ages: girl and boy (0-2 years), girl and boy (2-20 years). The majority of kids will still be under 30 lbs. at age 2. An average sized kid will hit 35 lbs. at age 4 and won't be 50 lbs. until almost age 7.
The charts can be slightly confusing if you haven't seen one before. When you read the charts, 50th percentile is the average child. If a child is in the 90th percentile that means he or she is bigger than 90% of kids their age, the 25th percentile means that he or she is smaller than 75% of kids their age. Does that make sense? It doesn't always correlate, but you can use you and your DH as guidelines for what percentile your LO might be.
med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM
My BFP Chart
1) it does depend on the brand. IMO-- I would wait to buy a lot until you have baby. I gave birth at 41.5 weeks a son that was 21 inches and only 6 lbs 9 oz... so he was long and skinny. He fit into gerber great (they are narrow and long IMO). he wore newborn for about 9-10 weeks. 0-3 month stuff SWAM on him. Ohter people's babys are really big... and they never need newborn. My DS is 2 and is in the 55th percentile for height, but only 6th for weight (that has been his curve his whole life). So for him... he will not be 30 pounds likely until 2.5 or 3... but some kids are 30 pounds at 18 months. It varies a lot!
2) again, this varies a lot. Safest is to buy stuff that lasts through both long (height) and weight. Honestly I usually hear people saying their kid was too long before too heavy for most things.