Totally confused by baby clothes

[VerityClinch]

36 weeks pregnant and cannot for the life of me get my head around baby clothes.

All my books seem to have different names for things, and I can't work out whether these are all different items of clothing, whether they have sleeves or not, feet or not, or whether they are just different names for the same thing.

Rompers
Sleepsuits
Onesies
Babygros
Vests

Do vests have poppers at the crotch, and no sleeves, or short sleeves, or are they just vests (ie tshirts with no sleeves)?

You might argue that I have too much time on my hands, worrying about this, but It Is Doing My Head In.

I have stacks of stuff that people have bought for me, but no idea whether any of it is actually useful.

H.E.L.P.

[BlueKangerooWonders]

vest = onesies = bodysuit

babygro = sleepsuit

baby needs one of each on at any one time!

[meemar]

For a newborn the 2 most useful things are

1.all-in-one vests These are short sleeves with poppers at crotch. They are better because they don't ride up and keep the nappy in place

1. babygros/sleepsuits these are the same thing. (I assume a 'onesie' is too, though I've never heard of it). These are usually long sleeve, poppers all through the front and down the legs. Some have feet some are footless.

Don't buy much else as people will give you loads of charming, but impractical stuff

Hope this helps x

[HensMum]

IMHO, sleepsuit=babygro and vest=onsie=bodysuit (item to be worn next to the skin, with poppers at crotch, whether it has long, short, or no sleeves)

Rompers, I think, are more day-wear and are often short-sleeved/legged. Rompers don't have feet. Great for warm weather.

But someone else will disagree with me and will be equally right

For tiny babies, vest + sleepsuit is ideal for day and night, with a cardigan added if cold.

[Seeline]

Vests usually have poppers at the botton and can have long sleeves, short sleeves or no sleeves. Sleepsuits usually pop down the front and legs and have long sleeves and feet. As Ble says, unless very hot baby usually needs some form of both on. Also wear vest under 'proper' clothes although don't worry about those straight away. Neither you or baby will need those for several weeks!! Definite milestone - the day you are both properly dresses before midday Good Luck.

[Rindercella]

Agree with what meemar says. Make sure you have lots of vests and babygros (as described above). You will need little else for the first few months. And you will get lots and lots of people buying you loads of useless and impractical beautiful baby clothes

[doggiesayswoof]

Sleepsuits and babygros have feet

Rompers do not and usually have short sleeves and legs

Vests, bodysuits and onesies are all the same thing - poppers at crotch, essential for keeping nappy on snugly imo

Just get loads of vests and sleepsuits, a few cardis and a couple of hats to begin with. Rompers good for v hot weather.

[nappyaddict]

Rompers - no feet
Sleepsuits - feet
Onesies - a brand name used by Gerber referring to one piece outfits such as bodysuits and babygros.
Babygros - same as sleepsuits
Vests - also called bodysuits. Can be used under their clothes or as a tshirt. Baby vests/bodysuits usually have popper or tie fastenings then as they get older they are just like tshirts you put under clothes really. Can be sleeveless, short or long sleeved.

[VerityClinch]

OK, so, having audited the pile of clothes in the nursery, I have

2 x rompers
6 x sleepsuits
6 x vests
3 x cardigans
2 x hats
3 x scratch mitts

plus a whole load of completely impractical stuff from well meaning but childless friends.

So, unless it suddenly gets mega-hot and I need more rompers, will that be enough to start with?

[head spinning emoticon]

[Weegle]

it will if you don't have a chunderer... I personally would go for more vests and sleepsuits (I had a chunderer) as then you don't need to worry about washing quite as frequently. I would say 3 cardigans should be plenty - especially at this time of year.

[nappyaddict]

To begin with I had:

10 x bodysuits
4 x rompers
6 x babygros
6 x socks
2 x hats
2 x mittens
2 x cardigans
6 x light weight cotton blankets
2 x thicker cotton blankets
millions of muslin squares to be used for spillages, dribble, breast feeding, a comforter, as bibs etc

TBH I don't think I could have coped with less cos it would have meant having to wash much more often and working out how to get it dry quickly when it rained.

[HensMum]

I'd get more vests and sleepsuits if I was you. When DS was small, he would puke a lot so we got through at least 2 x vests and sleepsuits a day and then another set at night, so if you have 6 of both, that's only 2 days' supply.
But hang on until baby comes, you will undoubtedly get more clothes. And if not, you can just do a quick dash to Tesco.

If you can, get sleepsuits from Next as they have built in scratch mitts which are genius!

[Baisey]

I was adamant that id buy all my vests and babygros in white and white only, so that they would be easier to wash blah blah blah.
But I couldnt resist all the cute stripey ones!!
Sorry bit of a hijack but seeing as everyone had answered your query I felt no need to repeat!!
Enjoy your baby clothes shopping!!

[alana39]

Best babygros are the ones with poppers all the way down - you won't want to have them in the ones that have to be removed over the head when they've leeked poo from their nappy. The first time that happened I got rid of all the beautiful, useless ones we had been given.

[Northernlurker]

GAP also do clothes with built in scratchmits.

What size are the clothes - don't want to sound patronising but 0-3 is not the same as 'newborn' - 'newborn' is smaller. To give you some persepective my 8lb plus babies were in 'newborn' for a fortnight or so only. Imo you want a few things that are that wee because new babies are all scrunched up and unless they are really quite big get a bit lost on 0-3. The good news is that 0-3 which has been used and washed and dried by at least a couple of babys before yours will shrink slightly to the perfect size! So ask around your mates/family/nct sales etc

[nappyaddict]

I'm going to confuse you now It seems a babygro can refer to either a sleepsuit or a romper (also known as a playsuit)

alana are the ones that go over the head the ones with poppers on the shoulders and then just the nappy area. DS had one of those and it was a right PITA!!

You can get kimono style rompers and bodysuits which either popper or tie at the side and mean they don't have to go over baby's head. I found those the best and front fastening sleepsuits.

Tesco also do those scratch mitt sleep suits.

What do people think about those sleepsuits which have the bum flap? Vertbaudet, TK Maxx and Petit Bateau usually sell them.

[HensMum]

Bum flap sleepsuits are very cute but very annoying. They do up at the back, which is a pain to do with a tiny baby that can't sit up. Also makes nappy changes harder as there were no popper on the legs. I also used to worry that the poppers at the back would be uncomfortable for DS when he slept but that was probably just PFBness!

[VeryHungryKatypillar]

I agree, OP definitely needs some more vest and sleepsuits. I remember DD going through something like 3 or 4 a day in the first few months... that yellow poo that shoots out of the nappy, no matter how well executed the nappy change was.

[cornichons]

Oooh! I feel your pain VerityClinch!

I won't be of much help I'm afraid but can offer sympathy. I find all of this very confusing too, so much so that I spent several weeks going to shops determined to start buying things, looking around me overwhelmed and walking out as I didn't have a clue. The first time I bought something was when a lady in Mothercare had seen me walking around for ages and said to me: "Are you ok? You look puzzled..." To which I responded:" I DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT I'M DOING!!"

She was very sweet and helped me pick a few essentials. Then I drafted a little list of things I already had (given by friends) and it went like this: suit with feet and long sleeves x 6, suit no feet short sleeves x 3 etc

Then I started a better idea of what?s what. I still get confused a bit but I?m getting there....

Good luck!

[TalkingBiscuit]

I last had a baby 6 years ago and 6 years on, I am just as confused with what to buy for my newest arrival. I am trying to get my family in the States to send me some baby nightgowns. They are fab as you don't have to fuss with poppers. I wish they sold them here. I am having a summer baby-- will he need to wear a vest and sleepsuit?

[nappyaddict]

I got some baby nightgowns from here They were a godsend with my wriggler! I could never keep his legs in babygros whilst I did the poppers up!