How to dress a newborn / babies

[Babybear260]

First time Mum - baby is due early march (could even be here late February) and I’m quite overwhelmed about what clothes he will need but more worried about the layering of them / what order they go in. I know the guidance is one extra layer than what you’re wearing

Am I right in thinking it’s nappy, vest (short sleeved) and then the baby grow / top / trousers? What type of coat do I need to buy if any? And then in the pram I need a blanket on top of that, right? The weather is usually quite cold late feb / early march.

And then what about for night time? Is it just nappy and baby grow? Blanket / swaddle on top or not?

I know everyone is different but thanks in advance!

A pram suit for the pram, to go over their clothes.

And we did a sleeping bag thingy for nighttime.

So I would buy a " coat" for the baby. In Febuary in the house I would wear:
vest, t-shirt and jumer or hoodie. Therefore baby might wear, vest, baby grow, cardigan and maybe a blanket or a hat. To go out at that time of year unless unseasonably warm I would add a pram suit and another blanket. For bed no hat no cardigan but a sleeping bag and light blanket on top. It is very old fashioned but I kept mine in pure white baby grows day and night until 6 weeks, very pratical as can be washed at 60 with stain remover.

Hi! Congratulations! Inside the house a general rule is one more layer than you have on. Outside is a little more difficult. I always used a pram suit in the pram with blanket/blankets according to how cold it was. In the car seat you should not use a big pramsuit or coat. Put a thinish fleece or cardigan over clothes and then use blankets to keep baby warm. As a rule your baby's back or chest would feel warm to touch but not sweaty. It is normal for babies to have cool hands and feet. Good luck! My qualifications are being a mum of 9 children aged from 24 to 5yrs old. I always took this subject quite seriously too! There is plenty of advice available online about night time sleep clothing and coverings.

Example of a pram suit
https://www.marksandspencer.com/borg-zip-pramsuit-0-12-mths-/p/clp60741866?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

You can tell if baby is hot/cold by feeling the back of their neck. I thought my boys were freezing as their hands/feet were cold but their neck was always warm (note they're not twins).

At home we did short sleeve vest, babygro and cardigan. They mostly wore that for 3 months thanks to leaky nappies or puking on themselves so needed many clean outfits each day. Don't buy anything that has poppers/buttons down the back, not the least bit practical despite how lovely the item looks. They had a pram suit plus blankets and a hat when out in the pram. We did vest, babygro and sleeping bag at night.

Congratulations and I wish you well in the coming months. Enjoy the newborn smell and cuddles 💙

Vest-baby grow-cardigan for at least the first 3 months will be easiest.
Pramsuit for going out.
Blanket and hat too when it's really cold.

Also tights are better than socks. Tights can go under a babygrow or under leggings.

Night time - vest, babygrow, sleeping bag. If your room is very warm, vest OR babygrow.

Avoid babygrows with poppers (bloody annoying and impossible to do when tired/ in the dark/ wiyj wriggling baby) and find the absolute gold dust of ones which zip!

Hi OP, congratulations!!

Firstly, yes - vest then sleepsuit or top/bottoms. Then jumper/cardigan if needed.

You will need a pramsuit. On colder days you can put them in a pramsuit and add a blanket. On warmer days you can remove the pramsuit and have a jumper and the blanket. I would go with a pramsuit for temps below 15 degrees, and add a thicker blanket for under 10 degrees as well as a hat.

Nighttime, there are lots of good guides out there. We do nappy, vest, and sleepsuit and sleeping bag at the moment as it's cold. In Feb we'll prob remove the vest if the weather is warmer. I'd get a 2.5 tog sleeping bag (get two!!), and a 1/1.5 tog for the summer / weirdly warmer days.

A GrowEgg nightlight is a good investment as it changes colour and gives you the temp of the room so you can dress your baby for nighttime accordingly.

When put in pram don't forget to put mittens, thick socks on as hands and feet can get cold.

They grow fast and also poo and milk can mean a need for constant changes. I had a mix of long sleeve and short sleeve which I could layer when needed. In some mad way to try and encourage sleep at night kids would be in colourful in the day then white for bed at night. Buy three packs in M&S or next etc. 2 cardigans were useful as well

Congratulations. Vests, babygros and cardigans with a little hat and baby suit for cold wether is all you’ll need. Cotton cellular blankets are good.
it’s very important to look at the Lullaby Trust guidance on temperature/clothing and safe sleeping.

Never use a blanket along with a sleeping bag - that’s very dangerous!

Congrats!

I have late Feb and late Nov babies. I use short sleeved vest and babygrow almost exclusively until old enough to sit up/be a bit more mobile. Plus a cardigan (or a blanket if they're being cuddled.)

Blankets are great for the early weeks, but as soon as they start kicking a bit more vigorously I like to switch to sleep sacks (currently a 2.5/3 tog). Depending on whether the sack has sleeves or not I'll use a short- or long-sleeved vest - have rarely bothered with a babygrow too unless it's very cold (16 C or less)