BASICS We have packs of the 5-pack onesies and coordinating pants for the baby to wear around the house. Lots of little sleepers (buttons and zipper - I can go either way but I know people are passionate about this) and lots of snap up rompers. The core wardrobe is what gets us through the first few months and I learned from DD on what was needed vs what was not needed (um, baby cardigans and dresses, even though cotton and carters, - never wore and packed away with tags).
SPECIAL We love having a few special outfits to sprinkle in and I have found then at Smocked Auctions, Beaufort Bonnet Company and Dillards. When they are so little out special outfits are just bubbles/jonjon with cuffed white socks.
I have bought one article of clothing for BB so far-only because I was already placing an order for DD and it was on sale. 😂😂
I'm hesitant to buy clothes because I don't know if our family is going to randomly show up with clothes (like the random Xmas presents for baby boy) at some holiday/family gathering. Plus he's just going to wear all of DD's newborn clothes (pink kitty cats and all) for the 2 weeks tops he'll fit in them, so I feel like I've got time...right?? 🙃
My favorite brands for babies are Hanna Andersson and Little Me. I'm fully on team footie/footless pj all day every day. 2 piece outfits on newborns are SO much of a pain to put on. (It's the floppy, massive head and tiny neck opening of shirts that did us in)
PSAs:
Gerber runs small! We have some plain 0-3 mo onesies and they are def closer to newborn size IMO.
Burt's bees are super cute, but really only good if you have a tall skinny baby. We seriously struggles to get DD's arms in with all her rolls.
I think Carter's runs a bit small, same with anything from Target. I always size up for those brands, but my experience was with a high BMI baby, so lots and lots of rolls 🥰
We've probably all said it before in another thread, but make sure to wash baby clothes before wearing. I personally think any free and clear detergent will work, no need for fancy baby stuff (dreft is highly controversial because it's so heavily scented). Our whole family uses tide free and clear since I have issues with fragrance.
ETA: @And846 yeah I never got the hatred for snaps. 🤷♀️ I didn't mind them! If God forbid baby is hospitalized, snaps are super easy to work around all the wires and cords, so I loved them!
@pajamstagrams Love tide free and clear! We switched to that after our gift stash of Dreft ran out. We now use the free and clear for the whole house and it makes laundry so much easier.
+1 to burt bees and gerber! I found them to be exactly as described. My DD was a small skinny kid (still is) and even I had trouble with them. Carters, though, fit perfectly. I guess that is whey I am Team Carter!
@And846 Burt's bees must be made for like super super skinny babies then. We've learned our lesson. None of DDs old Burt's bees gender neutral Xmas jammies made the cut into baby brother's stash.
My most frequent advice to new parents is FOOTIE PJS. If you want to invest in all the bows / shoes / hats / tights / cardigans because it makes you happy, go for it. But do NOT skimp on the PJs because that is what they actually wear 90% of the time those first 3+ months. (Maybe even longer). Keep in mind that babies don’t have discernible “naptimes” those first three months. They are always dozing in and out of sleep, and so you want them to be comfortable (and safe). We swaddled baby so I didn’t want lots of extra clothing to take on and off before I could quickly put baby in a swaddle. (If there was even time before the baby was passed out). And like said before- they are so floppy. Dressing them is HARD. Don’t stress yourself out.
Have enough footie PJs (I like zippers best for ease) to do a couple outfit changes per day. There are lots of spit up/ blow out situations and I can’t be bothered to do a lot of laundry every single day.
(Also, I love Oxy Clean spray stain remover. Works wonders on everything)
+1 to the Burt’s comment. My kid couldn’t wear that brand till 18 mo when she thinned out significantly. Chubby 6mo olds just can’t get their arms in there!!
What they said about Carter’s, Burt’s Bees, and Gerber! It’s crazy how different sizing can be between brands. I love h&m for basic stuff, but in my experience everything I’ve gotten has run big. DD has always been a long skinny kid so she couldn’t really start wearing the pants I got her from h&m until she was almost in the next size for all other brands. Carter’s is my favorite brand but I’ve found a difference between the Carter’s you can buy at Target and just the regular store. Don’t know how to explain it but the clothes just feel and fit a tiny bit differently, at least they did on DD.
Also hard agree on 2 piece outfits for newborns. DD lived in her diaper (July baby) when we were outside and her footie PJs inside other than special occasions.
I’ve never really ordered her any special outfits but have typically had good luck at consignment sales/stores for that. I ordered DD a knotted gown for the hospital from Little Miss Dessa and it was one of the softest things I’ve ever felt in my life!
ETA team Costco/Kirkland free and clear detergent over here! We’ve used that for a while anyway since I have sensitive skin, and DD has never had an issue with it. I thought it was a rule you had to use Dreft for baby clothes.
As for the Burts Bees running small - keep in mind they are organic cotton, so any other organic cotton piece from other companies will probably fit similarly (at least for PJs). Since organic cotton can’t have any chemicals on it, the clothes are *not* treated with fire retardant and are meant to fit much closer to the body as an alternative. We loved the quality of BB so we always just sized up if it was too tight.
I didn’t see anyone post this, but I am team layette or dressing down for a minimum of the first 6 weeks. It makes it so much easier for diaper changes, especially in the middle of the night.
@skc040512 completely dressed down those first few weeks at home! I even tried the gowns for DD at night for easy diaper changes but she hated them, preferred the footie jams. I have a few neutrals I’m going to try with this baby to see if he likes them.
@skc040512 good point, non treated clothes will fit tighter by design...but this was another level of tight 😂 we mostly bought non flame retardant treated (from Hanna) and never had as many issues as with BBs. Idk what kind of baby mannequins they use for patterns lol. We probably wouldn't have been able to size up since DD was so short, but that's another option if proportions check out.
Maybe an UO but idk why flame retardants/tight fitting clothes are even a thing...even my flame retardant clothing for work won't do anything against a fire/open flame. Just arc flash.
I have been incredibly blessed because my SIL just has a boy last year and it gifting us all his old clothes (they are done- hubby getting the snip). I haven't bought any clothes, but I really like H&M so far throughout my window shopping journey lol.
So far I have two zipper onsies, mittens, and 3 gowns that have bought off my registry and sent to me.
+1 to tide free and clear! (Although recently I've discovered it may not actually be for high efficiency front load washers? Anyone know about that).
And + a million to @brookejay06 pjs comment. My son basically wore pajamas/onesies for the first 18 months. We were lucky to have a bunch of hande downs but for stuff I've bought I'm a fan of Carter's, Zippyjams, Bond's Wondersuits (pricier but so stretchy you get like 6 months wear out of them), Parade, and really any one piece with a two-way zipper or easy snaps.
I was wondering about newborn stuff - I had a winter baby so we had lots of long sleeve everything. What will newborn need for spring? T-shirt onesies? Single layer of long sleeve?
Phew, I'm so happy I mostly added PJs to our registry. I'm sure we'll get a ton of other items from our shower and my mom has been constantly buying him clothes (mostly PJs), which has been amazing!
I've been the one guilty of buying him the dressier or two-piece outfits, so helpful to know that he'll basically be living in PJs the first couple of months.
@jandawg I have 2 April babies (DD1 and DS) and live in NC where it’s usually 70-80 degrees daily by that point. We typically had LOs in lightweight footie sleepers and swaddles or a sleep sack at night. In the day, they wore cotton pants and short sleeve onesies for the most part (or dresses/rompers etc). I did use lightweight blankets a bunch so they wouldn’t get too cool from the A/C, and we also had a number of light jackets for them too!
another +1 for Carters being a fave, zippered jammies, and I loved the gowns in the very beginning also. I was a HUGE fan of sleep sacks when we moved out of the tight swaddle stage - HALO were my fave!
Also a big fan of woolino sleep sacks for like 6-18+ mo (I think it's the 4 season one?). Wish I would have invested in them earlier, instead of having to rebuy sleep sacks so often.
Agree with all on the footie sleepers and any free and clear detergent. We use Kirkland. Also love sleep sacks and swaddles. Particularly the cacoon style ones for newborns. Almost shaped like a peanut? Only ones our girls couldn’t weasel their arms out of. Love the skinny limbed clothing. I think it’s so cute when you can see their rolls right through! Lol
My DD weaseled her arm out of ever swaddle and wrap i but her in. I finally just gave up and left her arms out and used the wrap part of the halo swaddle to wrap around her body like a “hug”
@skc040512 thanks! @pajamstagrams +1 to the woolino - we got one for DS at a year and I'm excited to have it earlier on for this little one.
Also +1 to the halo sleep sacks. We had the swaddle one with velcro, and then just a couple regular cotton ones. I also have a swaddleme? We used a lot of regular muslin swaddles at the beginning too.
@pajamstagrams@jandawg Ok you’ll have to give me the 411 on Woolino. I had never heard of it and looked it up at your recommendation… looks cozy but much much more pricey than the sleep sacks I’ve purchased. What makes these better in your opinion ?
I also love sleep sacks. Halo with Velcro for swaddling, regular for when you’re done swaddling. My 2nd girl went through a lot more trouble transitioning from swaddle to no swaddle so I actually got into the zipadee zip sleep sacks for her. They keep the arms in but just a little less free to move than the sleeveless sacks. That was 100% the ticket to getting her out of the swaddle- like it arrived in the mail and I washed it to quickly put her in it for a nap and I never had to swaddle her again. This was close to 6 months (I can’t believe she didn’t roll over until then).
@brookejay06 since it's wool, you're get a huge range of temperatures that it works for. So you don't need a lightweight summer or a heavy winter sleep sack. Plus, they are made to last for a huge age range, so you actually save money (imo). Supposedly they are more antimicrobial too 🤷♀️ anyway, we just like it because we don't need to worry about baby being too cold or hot.
@And846 gah the arms out. DD was like this, hated her arms swaddled down. We loved the Love to Dream swaddle up for this reason!
@happynapper a bunch of moms swear by the zipadeezip on my other bmb!
@brookejay06 pretty much what @pajamstagrams said. We ended up get ours as a gift (I was having a hard time pulling the trigger myself) - but we really liked not having to worry about having different tog sleep sacks, and knew we'd get lots of use out of it.
Everything I bought so far for baby boy is bamboo brands. I remember that was what I loved the most and was the most long-lasting and convenient when my daughter was a baby. There are a lot more brands now so I ordered different ones to give them a try. Footies for the first 6-9 months almost exclusively. And bodysuits.
So when I had my daughter 7 years ago, kickee pants were the only ones around. They’re excellent quality and durable. They have fold over cuffs so baby doesn’t scratch his face. And the inside of the feet is lined with fleece so it’s soft. Their prints are really depressing and muted though for the most part.
I’m in a few bamboo groups of FB (apparently there’s an FB group for everything) and the favorites seem to be ollee and belle, muse threads, Kiki and lulu, birdie bean, cutee cotton, babalus, and lark adventurer. Posh peanut has really beautiful prints, but people seem to really dislike their company.
I have a stash going already for baby. So far I’ve bought: kickee, posh, free birdies, ollee, little bum bums, muse, babalus, and lev baby. I won’t know how they all hold until baby no name gets here.
Buuuut, if you want to check them out, each brand has a vip Facebook page and they have promo codes.
Also, keep in mind bamboo is really delicate, so it has to be washed in the cold cycle with other bamboo stuff. But it lasts forever because it’s stretchy.
Also…. For non bamboo stuff I love Peek, Zara, united colors of Benetton, tea collection, mini Boden, and the English retailer Next. They carry some really adorable stuff.
Posh Peanut has really nice clothes but they’re so freaking expensive. I don’t buy dresses for myself that cost as much as some of their toddler dresses. The only things I’ve had from there have been gifts. There’s a lot of times a bunch of resale groups on FB for specific brands if you do find one you like
I'm big into bamboo too. We like Kickee Pants & Little Sleepies. We don't use them exclusively because 🤑 but we've had them as hand me downs or purchased quite a bit second hand from Kidizen.
Otherwise it's Carters, Old Navy or handmade by me!
Married 11.12.11 JB 08.02.13 EC 12.11.15 GE 04.04.19 #4 & #5 due 05.05.22
@jackdetroit I use the promo codes from their Facebook pages and get stuff on sales/clearance. If I reeeeeally love it I will pay full price but very infrequently.
Re: Product Spotlight: Baby Clothes
BASICS
We have packs of the 5-pack onesies and coordinating pants for the baby to wear around the house. Lots of little sleepers (buttons and zipper - I can go either way but I know people are passionate about this) and lots of snap up rompers. The core wardrobe is what gets us through the first few months and I learned from DD on what was needed vs what was not needed (um, baby cardigans and dresses, even though cotton and carters, - never wore and packed away with tags).
SPECIAL
We love having a few special outfits to sprinkle in and I have found then at Smocked Auctions, Beaufort Bonnet Company and Dillards. When they are so little out special outfits are just bubbles/jonjon with cuffed white socks.
I'm hesitant to buy clothes because I don't know if our family is going to randomly show up with clothes (like the random Xmas presents for baby boy) at some holiday/family gathering. Plus he's just going to wear all of DD's newborn clothes (pink kitty cats and all) for the 2 weeks tops he'll fit in them, so I feel like I've got time...right?? 🙃
My favorite brands for babies are Hanna Andersson and Little Me. I'm fully on team footie/footless pj all day every day. 2 piece outfits on newborns are SO much of a pain to put on. (It's the floppy, massive head and tiny neck opening of shirts that did us in)
PSAs:
Gerber runs small! We have some plain 0-3 mo onesies and they are def closer to newborn size IMO.
Burt's bees are super cute, but really only good if you have a tall skinny baby. We seriously struggles to get DD's arms in with all her rolls.
I think Carter's runs a bit small, same with anything from Target. I always size up for those brands, but my experience was with a high BMI baby, so lots and lots of rolls 🥰
We've probably all said it before in another thread, but make sure to wash baby clothes before wearing. I personally think any free and clear detergent will work, no need for fancy baby stuff (dreft is highly controversial because it's so heavily scented). Our whole family uses tide free and clear since I have issues with fragrance.
ETA: @And846 yeah I never got the hatred for snaps. 🤷♀️ I didn't mind them! If God forbid baby is hospitalized, snaps are super easy to work around all the wires and cords, so I loved them!
+1 to burt bees and gerber! I found them to be exactly as described. My DD was a small skinny kid (still is) and even I had trouble with them. Carters, though, fit perfectly. I guess that is whey I am Team Carter!
+1 to the Burt’s comment. My kid couldn’t wear that brand till 18 mo when she thinned out significantly. Chubby 6mo olds just can’t get their arms in there!!
Maybe an UO but idk why flame retardants/tight fitting clothes are even a thing...even my flame retardant clothing for work won't do anything against a fire/open flame. Just arc flash.
So far I have two zipper onsies, mittens, and 3 gowns that have bought off my registry and sent to me.
And + a million to @brookejay06 pjs comment. My son basically wore pajamas/onesies for the first 18 months. We were lucky to have a bunch of hande downs but for stuff I've bought I'm a fan of Carter's, Zippyjams, Bond's Wondersuits (pricier but so stretchy you get like 6 months wear out of them), Parade, and really any one piece with a two-way zipper or easy snaps.
I was wondering about newborn stuff - I had a winter baby so we had lots of long sleeve everything. What will newborn need for spring? T-shirt onesies? Single layer of long sleeve?
I've been the one guilty of buying him the dressier or two-piece outfits, so helpful to know that he'll basically be living in PJs the first couple of months.
halo sleep swaddle sack (where you can wear it a couple different ways) and then eventually just the halo sleep sack!
Also a big fan of woolino sleep sacks for like 6-18+ mo (I think it's the 4 season one?). Wish I would have invested in them earlier, instead of having to rebuy sleep sacks so often.
@pajamstagrams +1 to the woolino - we got one for DS at a year and I'm excited to have it earlier on for this little one.
Also +1 to the halo sleep sacks. We had the swaddle one with velcro, and then just a couple regular cotton ones. I also have a swaddleme? We used a lot of regular muslin swaddles at the beginning too.
@And846 gah the arms out. DD was like this, hated her arms swaddled down. We loved the Love to Dream swaddle up for this reason!
@brookejay06 pretty much what @pajamstagrams said. We ended up get ours as a gift (I was having a hard time pulling the trigger myself) - but we really liked not having to worry about having different tog sleep sacks, and knew we'd get lots of use out of it.
Otherwise it's Carters, Old Navy or handmade by me!
JB 08.02.13
EC 12.11.15
GE 04.04.19
#4 & #5 due 05.05.22