Why is a baby’s “going home outfit” a big deal?

[EmAreSea]

DH and I have just been discussing this as I’m 37+6 today and have been packing (and re-packing, and double-triple-checking, and re-re-packing) hospital bags. We’re taking a selection of sleepsuits for baby to wear in the hospital and then started talking about the Going Home Outfit, and both started wondering why it’s a thing? How did that come about? Does anyone know?

It is simply because it is either the first item(s) of clothing your baby wears or the first item(s) of clothing your baby wears in the "real" world so you want to keep it.

I had a doll in the baby gro my mother kept for me for years. She couldn't remember it was the first one I wore but she kept it. Then when I was about 8 she gave it to me when clearing stuff out so I put one of my dolls in it. Oddly while I don't have that now I do have threadbare soft toys from when I was a baby.

I've saved some of my DD items of new born clothing including the first baby gro she wore. We were so tired we had to look at photos to work out which baby gros she actually wore.

It’s been a thing for a long time, it was where I had my son 12 years ago and my mum remembers doing it with me 33 years ago, taking your baby home for the first time is a special occasion and clothes are something that can be kept to remember them, especially little baby ones!

@gingersausage no nightdresses for first eight weeks. Youngest is 21. Pretty little ones with ducks or teddies embroidered. Much, much easier for changing. Most of my friends used them too.

My mil insisted she bought my daughter's going home outfit, she looked fucking ridiculous like a bloody porcelain doll. I have the photo on the wall to laugh at I should post it really it's so bad. We are nc with all family now because both our families are awful.

I'm mid 30s and it was a 'thing' when I was born, or at least to my mother
She also insisted on buying DS1s 'going home' outfit
DS2 was a homebirth so he didn't have one as such

I have a knitted Pram suit in a duck egg blue colour that I got handmade from Etsy and all 7 of my children have worn it home from hospital

For me it was more about the fact I could take a pic and then keep the outfit and remember how small my baby was! DD is 3 now and I cant believe she ever fit into that tiny dress 😥🥰

how old are your children for goodness sake that they were dressed in nightgowns? Surely they just wore babygrows like everyone else’s kids, or were they born in the Victorian workhouse?

Gingersausage my eldest is 35 and I had nightgowns for him. I think because you could fold them up and maybe get away without a full change when the terry nappy inevitably leaked. As it happened he was born in an early heatwave and spent his first few weeks in a vest and nappy. Subsequent babies were in grobags and disposables though.

DS just came home in a clean babygro. Probably several sizes too big! I just wore the same dress Id worn when I went in!

My sister bought a very sweet Peter Rabbit outfit for DD1 (now 13) to go home in. But it was 'newborn' size and DD1 was well over 10lbs so it wasn't worn. Saved it for DD2 but she was also far too big for it. Their Baby Annabells looked good in it later on though!

Both my DDs came home in babygrows, DD2 came home in the first one worn as she wasn't dressed until we were leaving (we were quite literally in and out).

Mine are 23 and 18 and I had some nightgowns for both of them- I loved the way they looked and the ease of changing. There was a company called Blooming Marvellous that sold lovely baby clothes- white with gold stars was one I remember in particular. But I unashamedly treated my babies like dollies. Sorry Mumsnet- I know that’s a sin!

As a young child I remember going shopping for my new siblings 'going home' outfits, with my dad. We picked one for our eldest, it was nice as it was one of the few things we picked (lots of generous second hand stuff) and then continued the tradition of sibling picking an outfit.

Hahaha I "planned" both my boys going home outfits.

They pood and weed and milky-vommed their way through all outfits in the first few hours before we left!

DS2 left in a stripey "hungry caterpillar" sleepsuit/hat combo. I thought it was cute and cool at the time, looks a bit ridiculous in photos to be honest!

I think all white looks best on newborns.

I just thought it was a nice thing to do, while I was on maternity leave, picking out a really cute little babygro made me happy. For my first! I've no idea what my second wore

I had no idea that this is a "thing".
I also may be making the mistake of thinking it's because of SM.

I have two daughters who are now in their early 20s. I couldn't tell you what they were dressed in when they came home; I can tell you that they're successful and happy now which I feel is much more important than how "cute" their clothes were when they left hospital.

It was maybe just a thing in our family, but the leaving hospital outfit was special to us. My Dsis saw it as an honour to buy it.
A bit like a going away outfit after a wedding.
I still have it in DS keepsake box.

Howling that someone things a going home from the hospital originated in the Victorian times, when surely most people gave birth at home? Even Queen Victoria gave birth at home

*thinks

nothing more gorgeous than a plain white cheap babygro from asda in my opinion. That way when they shit all over it you can chuck or wash not worrying about stain removal.

Plus you can instagram the fuck out of it and no one will kbnow the difference.

White babygros are lovely. But mine looked amazing in black velour...

I bought each of my children a special babygro for going home in, and then my Mum turned the suits into teddy bears (once they had grown out of them...)

I'm keeping the sleep suit my son wore home from hospital and I'm going to enjoy looking at it when I'm an old lady! I don't care who thinks this is weird, it makes me happy and I'm harming no-one.

I always see white babygros mentioned as being adorable etc.
My poor jaundiced newborns looked really ill in white! Although I did have some amazing thick Terry white ones for DD when she was a month or so.

My babies looked absolutely beautiful to me. So much so that the "cuteness" of their outfits made no difference; I just felt they should be appropriately dressed for the temperature.