Baby clothes

[Heavenscent86]

My baby is due early April and I don't know what sex I'm having so have only bought clothes to tide us over for a few days once baby is here before needing to wash. I plan on going shopping once baby has arrived to buy his/her 0-3 month clothes but the thing is I have no idea how much of everything I might need. Any tips?

[Heavenscent86]

I need to think about it now as I'm on a budget so I need to make sure I have enough money to one side to hopefully cover it all.

[Jenjen86]

I know everyone says this but it's so true,everyone will.want to buy your little one clothes. I have far, far too many cos I bought stuff and then got given tonnes!
I'd say make sure you get some vests/baby grows, I'd maybe get a few packs (asda do these very cheap) and some.sleep suits and hats. Best not to get too many cos you won't know how big they will be so they may only be in newborn sizes for a few weeks. Don't worry too much about fiddly outfits, you will just want practical,easy to change clothes for the first few months.
Charity shops ae great for baby clothes as well as people only use them for a few months so most of it is as new

[KatharinaRosalie]

Have you checked Ebay - you get big bundles for just a few pounds. And they grow out of first sizes so fast that most stuff will be barely used.

You want to have at least a few changes of vests and sleepsuits, they can go through several in a matter of minutes. No need for fiddly outfits though, and people will be giving those to you anyway.

[Runningupthathill82]

Honestly, you will get bought and given LOADS. If you buy a pack of 5 vests and two packs of 3 sleepsuits in newborn size, and the same in 0-3, you'll have enough by the time the baby arrives.

That's all I bought this time round, and I already have about 40 sleepsuits and the same number of vests, just from what friends have given me.

With my son, I bought far more and ended up taking it back to swap for bigger things, as he grew out of clothes before I'd even opened the packets (note - don't pre wash baby clothes til you're sure they'll be worn!!)

[Junosmum]

buy short sleeved vests, to go under baby grows and sleep suits etc. We have got loads of lovely outfits (DS is 3 weeks old) but we regularly run out of short sleeve vests.

[lostinmiddlemarch]

I've recently got to the other side of this stage so it's fresh in my mind :)

The world and his wife will turn up with a cute outfit for your baby, probably in 0-3 months size. You won't know what to do with them.

All you need really is baby vests (a mix of short and long sleeved in April) and lots of baby gros. It's best to have everything white so you can throw them all in on a hot wash and not worry about colours running. Asda do perfectly fine ones. They grow so quickly that you will need to buy the next size up before you know it. There are three newborn sizes so you might like to just buy one pack of the medium size before you give birth, then send your DH out to get the rest afterwards.

Some socks, a sun hat, a little cosy hat and some hand mits would also come in handy.

[lostinmiddlemarch]

I would put your money aside and spend it on some nice 6 months+ clothes later on.

[Oysterbabe]

We have way, way too many clothes because of what we have been given. Get some vests and sleepsuits and call that it.

[NewMrsX]

I found I didn't get given much that was useful. I can't be doing with outfits and preferred sleep suits but all my visitors seemed to bring a cute outfit. Nice thought just not very practical for me.

I would just put enough money aside for a few packs of sleep suits and vests. I didn't get on well with ones from Asda, they seemed to be huge around the middle and I had some with one arm longer than the other!

My favourites for daytime came from Next but Tesco also fitted well. Morrisons plain white sleep suits with mitts built in are also good value for money. £5 for 3 I think and about £3 for 3 vests.

It all depends on your preference for outfits vs sleep suits and size/shape of your baby as to which shop to buy from

[Ughnotagain]

Definitely eBay bundles.

If you want something new to dress the baby in at first, Boots do some lovely sleepsuits that aren't too badly priced.

This NHS link is quite useful: www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/what-you-need-for-baby.aspx

[Champagneformyrealfriends]

Also having our baby in early April and we don't know what he/she is! We've been given so many clothes already-I've bought 2 cream baby grows and that's it! You'll be given a lot so don't worry too much.

[KatharinaRosalie]

I found the same as NewMrsX, everybody wanted to give me cute outfits and I barely got anything practical. Especially if you have a girl - how many sparkly and frilly dresses does one newborn need? (none, dresses in my opinion are totally impractical until they are walking)

[mrsmugoo]

Don't stress out about it - you can buy multipacks of babygros for mere pounds in Asda etc so just buy what you need when you know what sex and how much you've been gifted. I'd have 8-10 on hand for the hospital and first day of two but just send your DH out for more if you need them. Supermarkets are open 24 hours!

[Jw35]

I got loads in a car boot sale. I spent about £50 and got almost everything up to 6 months including cot blankets, playgym and a steriliser. Also got eBay bundles which are cheap. No need to spend much, charity shops are good too! I got a pack of 3 newborn babygro's for hospital so she could look 'new' for a while! I'm pregnant again and just bought a whole 0-3 month wardrobe for £30 on fb! All next and baby gap, way more clothes than I'll need!

[katienana]

My baby was unexpectedly huge and didn't fit into anything we took to hospital! Just in case I would take something in 0-3 size. My dad had to go to next so we could dress my son!

[Artandco]

Buy unisex clothing now so they can wear regardless of sex.

The best value are just white multipack in a few sizes. Then buy some nice various colour cardigans to go over the top

So buy:
5 newborn babygrows and vests
1 newborn cardigan

10 0-3 babygrows and vests
3 0-3 cardigans

Newborn stage isn't long and many fit in 0-3 from birth virtually anyway. So buy minimal. You have enough with 5 changes to wash every few days, and if super vomitting they can wear a 0-3 just slightly baggy whilst the others wash. 0-3 cardigans just need sleeve folded over the first two weeks maybe then fit if smaller so last much longer

I would also get the same in 3-6 months also as 0-3 ( so babygrows/ vests/ couple of cardigans).

Then anything else others might buy or you can get later down the line, but you know you have the basics to last the first 6+ months.

Oh in summer just put in the vests without babygrow if very hot, or just babygrow without vest under if warmer but still a little chilly

[unimaginativename13]

Be warned the sizes vary massively!

We took 0-3 to the hospital it was a bad move! They fit a 10-14lb baby.

We only bought a few bits we wanted but people bought us LOADS of 0-3 we had no newborn.

We had to go out and buy tiny baby.

I would wait until the week before you are due to see what people buy you.

Then get a pack of vests, a pack of baby grows with built in scratch mitts, a hat, a jumper.

Next mothercare etc all have multipacks of white basics.

Then do an online shop to deliver you what you need after.

[ChicaMomma]

There are facebook 'for sale' private groups that are so handy- you learn very quickly that buying brand new is such a waste of money. A few weeks ago i got 4 jumpers and 4 pairs of jeans for my 18 mth old- all Next and all in perfect condition- for 15 quid. Before he arrived i was spending that much on 2 babygros for him that he grew out of after 1 wear! madness!!