Baby Clothes 101: Needs and Proper Care
If you are a first time parent, there are many needs that must be accomplished before your baby’s arrival. One important, and fun job, is purchasing baby clothing. However, with such a large selection of baby clothes, you may be asking yourself which of these adorable little items are required.
Onesies
“Onesies” are basically baby t-shirts and are a necessary baby clothing purchase. To keep the onesie from creeping up and exposing your baby’s belly, most onesies have snaps in the crotch. They can be worn alone or as an undergarment. Onesies, also known as rompers, come in basic white, colored or patterned varieties. For your basics, you should have between 5 to 10 onesies.
Sleepers
Sleepers are one-piece items with long legs and long or short sleeves. They usually have snaps down the legs for easy accessibility for late night diaper changes.
When preparing your basics, you should have between 5 to 8 baby sleepers. These are necessary as it is recommended that a newborn not sleep with thick blankets. This could inadvertently cause suffocation. The best material for both your baby’s warmth and comfort are cotton or fleece sleepers.
Baby Socks
For your baby’s requirements, you should purchase between 6 to 8 pairs of baby socks. Although socks are not required in warmer weather, they should be worn if taking your little one outside in chilly temperatures. They are also indispensable at night if your baby is wearing a sleeper without feet.
Baby socks are made of either thick or thin weaves. You should purchase a combination of both, as thin socks are better if your baby is to wear shoes.
Hats
Hats are baby clothing essentials for your little bundle. When taking care of your newborn, it is important to keep them adequately warm. Newborns often have difficulty regulating their body temperature and much of their heat escapes through their head.
It is recommended that your newborn wear a hat through his or her first month of life. After that, it is not as crucial unless you are taking them outside on a chilly or cold day. For this purpose, you should have 1 or 2 fairly snug, hats for your baby.
Proper Care for Baby Clothing
When caring for baby clothing, there are two schools of thought. The first is that your little bundle of joy’s clothes should be washed in special detergents to alleviate the risk of skin allergies. There are a few varieties of mild laundry soaps that are scent and dye-free. Many of these detergents are aimed at the baby market, such as Dreft that boasts “A gentle clean. Just for baby”.
The other school of thought does not believe that “gentle” laundry soaps are required for baby clothing. If your baby’s skin does not react adversely to certain detergents, then a special detergent is not necessary.
Stain Removal
Your bundle of pink or blue will not think twice about staining their cutest outfits. Certain formulas, baby food and stains caused by leaking diapers are often difficult to remove from baby clothing. If pretreated before washing, some of the most stubborn stains can be eliminated, leaving the clothing both clean and in pristine condition. One tried and true stain remover is Oxi-Clean. You may want to “audition” or try different stain removers to find the one best suited for your laundry needs.
Wash New Clothes Before Wear
Before dressing your baby in new clothes, it is essential that you wash them first. Although baby clothing may look fresh and clean on department store hangers, many have come into contact with dirt, little four legged creatures and bugs during the shipping and packaging process.
Minor skin irritations may also result from sizing placed on many pieces of baby clothing. Sizing is used to keep items looking nice until they are purchased.
Getting prepared for your little one’s new arrival is both a joyous and stressful time. Knowing what baby clothing is essential in your little one’s layette and how to properly care for their clothing is one of the many tasks that lay before you. Knowledge is power and being prepared is half the battle.
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Help answer the question about baby clothes
How many pairs of baby clothes should you have before the baby is born?Before your baby is born how many pairs of clothes should you have on hand for the baby? Can you provide any specifics on clothes as to what kinds of clothes to have? I'm six months pregnant with a girl.
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Love it! Having my 1st grandchild. In 2 wks. we find out the sex! Can’t wait!I have also been busy going to yard sales and have gotten terrific bargains and many new items, I cannot buy new much b/c why? Most I get for 50 cents in perfect shape{I’m picky!} It’s been fun. I also got the crib and changing table at a yard sale.Hardly used! I got the chest at a thrift store and pd. $63 for it,matches the crib perfectly! We are doing Noah’s Ark and got lamps and pictures and everything!
They are all so cute!!!!
I get most of my daughter's clothes at JC Penney. The prices and quality are great.
http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/X3.aspx?DeptID=42249&CatID=42250&cmCatLevel=3&CmCatId=42249
just a couple going out outfits; depending on weather where u are, plenty of onesies and light/heavy weight footed pjs, or long sleeve onesies with a swaddler wrap or sleepsack; most nbs prefer swaddling and i recommend the 'swaddle me ' wraps by kiddopotamus….i swear they are why my dd has always slept through the night; after she got older we switched to the sleepsacks and she still wears those at a year old, so we don't have any blankets or anything in her crib….
u need a few pairs of socks
if it's a little cool, u might want a couple pairs of pants to go over the onesies….
sometimes in the ac my dd still gets cool, so i keep a light sweater or jacket around for those times….
until baby is older, you won't need much more than a couple outfits, bc they will probably spend most of their time in the onesies or sleepnplays (same as pjs with feet)….the number you buy depends on how often you want to do laundry….and if u use bibs…sometimes you would have to change clothes a couple times a day bc of spitup or diaper leak or poop explosion, etc…..if u don't have you own laundry facilities, then i would suggest buying at least enough for a week, figuring in the clothes changes…i definately recommend bibs too! sometimes they save the outfit and are much easier to change…
a lingerie bag is great for washing socks and those little hand mitts to keep them from scratching their face, they don't get lost that way….hth
yes it is fun! i love shopping for baby clothes! mom is having a little boy too! hes coming in August! we are naming him Mathew Andres Cabrera!
Here are my favorite sites:
gap.com (Baby Gap)
gymboree.com (Gymboree)
thechildrensplace.com (The Children's Place)
oldnavy.com (Old Navy)
hannaanderson.com (Hanna Anderson)
Definitely Dreft but in the uk it is getting increasingly difficult to buy the automatic Dreft and only ever nowadays in the small box. As a result after 30 years of using Dreft I now use Woolite as it is a bit easier to get hold of!
It is fun when you can get such a good deal!!
Maybe and maybe not, but I wouldn't reccomend it. Their skin is so fragile at a young age and if their like my son who developed eczema and psoriasis at 1 1/2 months the smallest thing could break out their skin. I don't even lay my child down in my bed or the furniture without one of his freshly washed blankets underneath him so I definately wouldn't take his things to a laundromat where other peoples dirty laundry has been exposed.
my mom got a BUNCH of baby boy clothes and it was all 8 dollars at a garage sale!
I would suggest that you put an add in the paper so that someone is aware that you are giving them to someone in need.
i LOVE garage sales!! VERY cute stuff
My wife really loves to indulge in designer baby clothes for our daughter. She shops on line at http://www.sandboxcouture.com/. They carry a huge selection of Flowers by Zoe for girls and great gift ideas as well!
I always go with 8 – 10 onesies (undershirts), 5-8 sleepers (footsie pyjamas), and 2-3 "visiting" outfits (the fancier stuff) for each size. Also, 8-10 pairs of socks, 3-4 baby hats, lots of receiving blankets and baby blankets to keep baby warm in the carseat. SAVE YOUR $ ON SCRATCH MITTENS – USE SOCKS INSTEAD.
i would just bunch up all the sizes together and sell them that way. like a big bag of 0-3 months size and sell it for a lump some of 10 dollars maybe. i wouldn't charge too much.