Baby clothes and sizes

jellyhead

i was told all along that my baby would be small, less than six pounds. i had extra growth scans to check his progression. he was 8lb 7 born (average) but gained a pound a week and is at the very top of the charts. at 4 weeks he weighed 12 pounds and was in 3-6 month clothes. at 6 weeks he weighed over 14 pounds and the 3-6 clothes don't fit well now. the 'clothes' still fit but the sleepsuits don't, he has long legs so only the stuff with no feet in will fit. because i was told i was having a tiny baby, and because my other baby was 6lbs and gained weight very slowly, always on or below the 25th centile on the growth charts i had bought lots of 0-3 stuff and even bought newborn clothes for wearing in hospital. i'm glad i bought most of the stuff off ebay now, i wouldn't have liked to have paid full price for all the stuff he never wore. i was daft, i took the labels off all the new things and washed them so they couldn't be returned and swapped for larger sizes.

i soon found that sleepsuits (or just vests if it's august) were more comfortable for the baby, it's easier to burp them in a vest and they don't ride up when you put them down so they don't have uncomfortable ridges on their back. also, dungarees have uncomfortable fasteners that the baby will fall alseep with a cheek against.

if you think you've bought too much, keep some labels on so you can return things to the shops and swap for larger sizes etc.

angelatgraceland

Have an assortment of secondhand babygrows in various sizes available(boot sales are good) even if they are just for spares. Dont buy too much-it only lasts about a month and its outgrown. If your friends ask what you would like, maybe a voucher would be best, then you can choose accordingly.

bethscott1970

I was the opposite from most. I bought mostly 0-3 months thinking that I'd not get much wear from newborn but ended up with a 4lb 3 oz son who fitted in doll clothes. My mother spent a few sleepless night knitting cardigans and hats to fit him but he was nearer 5 months old before he fitted into my pre-bought stuff.
I agree with the previous posters, don't worry about the cute little outfits you'll have plenty of time to sort them later, newborns just need sleepsuits and vests, they will sleep anywhere with anything digging into them and it saves having marks from buckles and fastenings on them for ages.

eml_3

Contact your local branch of the NCT (national childbirth trust) - most of them do nearly new sales and at ours, there are always tons of baby clothes, usually in pretty good condition as they don't get much wear before they are grown out of.

https://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com

you could probably get everything you need equipment wise as well for very little cash.

katskorner

We bought 3-6 for my son before he was born - all white or cream as I suspected we would be bought 0-3. When he was born he was tiny and we needed premature and early baby clothes even though he was full term! He is nearly 2 now and wearing 12-18mths just.

I would consider a mix of 0-3 and 3-6 but not too much as unless you have a tiny baby you will not get the wear out of anything. You don't need much in the early days. We didn't even use bibs as he was breastfed and never posseted so we didn't have loads of daily changes.

I am pregnant with number 2 now and I don't need a single thing as I kept everything from my son - big clear out due post this baby!!!!

jellyhead

i try to avoid the temptation of buying too far ahead when the sales are on, i can't really predict what size my babe will be in during the hot weather, or winter etc. but it gets easier to predict when they're older.

geniusmonk

Hi

Not too sure if you are planning to use washable nappies on your baby? If so you should bear in mind that they are more bulky than disposables and you should allow a little extra room in the clothes for this.

We bought trousers designed to fit over cloth nappies from our nappy supplier.

HTH

Lemoncurd

Mentioned earlier in this thread that we only had 0-3 clothes for our imminent arrival (no newborn sized), well he arrived a couple of weeks ago and ended up needing 3-6 month clothes straight away! So glad we didn't get much! yesterday I tried to put him in a pair of 3-6 month trousers which he hadn't worn yet and couldn't even do them up.

pdoff

just wanted to add that sizes vary from shop to shop so always check the weight/length guide as well as the age - we found the next stuff was a size smaller than matalan (who do good cheap white sleepsuits & vests btw & have a 50% sale at the mo if u r lucky enough to find anything!) ds1 grew out of everything b4 it was worn out whether we paid a lot or not a lot. new baby due soon but cannot find small stuff thought had put away so matalan here i come!

jellyhead

wow lemoncurd that's a bouncing baby lol! mine was in 3-6 at 4 weeks, 6-9 at 7 weeks, i think he might stay in that size for a couple more weeks.

a lot of his clothes are from next, bought secondhand from ebay, nobody seems to sell anything but next lol! i've found that 'clothes' are generally of a similar size but vests and sleepsuits aren't. tesco and adams fit a smaller thinner baby best, mothercare and george are more generously sized for the chubbier baby.

i have seen nappy suppliers selling clothes designed to fit over the washables but i've managed okay with looser trousers and better still with dungarees. next sell a variety of joggers, some are tight and thin, others are wide for babies with larger bottoms or bulkier nappies. i'm trying to think of anywhere else his trousers have come from but i think his 6-9 wardrobe is all from next. he has some trousers from marks and spencer that are very loose around the middle.