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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Newborn clothes?

116 replies

Changeythenamey · 31/01/2021 10:10

We’re expecting our first baby in May and I was discussing purchases with a friend.

She couldn’t believe I said I was going to be sticking to sleep suits/ baby grows from super markets and Matalan. She was suggesting I was being a bit tight and expected me to go ‘all out’ on more high end outfits.

Now I’m worried I’ll come across as a skinflint.

We’ve bought some lovely little baby grows from sainaburys and ASDA. My thinking was that the baby will grow so quickly and will be messing them up so regularly that these will be the best solution for the first few months.

Am I being stingy and ‘missing out on dressing her up’? Money isn’t a problem but I do hate to be wasteful.

Also friend was suggesting that we need 20-30 outfits for every age bracket. Is this right?

OP posts:

TheTrashBagIsOursCmonTrashBag · 31/01/2021 11:02

Not a skinflint but I think you need a new friend- they are shallow and weird. The amount of clothes really depend on how often you wash stuff and if you have a puker or not.

supersonicginandtonic · 31/01/2021 11:04

I don't think I've ever bought anything brand new for my babies, apart from car seats. They don't care, it's cost effective and I'm recycling.

Lucieintheskye · 31/01/2021 11:32

Your friend is crackers and your baby will shite and puke all over the clothes they wear whether they're designer or Primark. As long as they're warm and comfy, it doesn't matter what they wear. People will probably buy you nicer bits from higher end brands. Have a fair few babygrows, vests and basics because you'll be washing them constantly and you don't want to run out.

This is your first lesson in motherhood- don't give a fuck what anyone else will think about how you care for your child. If they're fed, clothed and loved you're doing it right.

FFSAllTheGoodOnesArereadyTaken · 31/01/2021 11:42

Dressy up outfits look horrible on baby grows, they are often not comfortable for the baby or practical and they spend so much time lying down that for example dresses ride up. Depending on what size your baby is they might only be in newborn clothes for a couple of weeks anyway

booearing · 31/01/2021 11:49

With my first two Ds i did what your friend said and dressed them up everyday.
When i had Ds3, i realized that i was stupid and he wore vests and sleepsuits he looked much more comfortable.
Ds4 and Dd wore mostly sleepsuits or leggings and tops for the first year.
I also used supermarket brands cheaper and easier to replace when needed

Incrediblytired · 31/01/2021 11:53

I presume your friend is rich/crazy/doesn’t have a lot else going on.

I dressed my baby in supermarket and high street baby grows. Was kindly gifted a few jojomamanbebe etc which to be fair were lovely quality and washed well - but they’re £16 each! And my baby sometimes wore 8 a day with leaky nappies and baby sick going on.

But then I’m also someone who thinks spending £500 on a newborn shoot is crazy and that the pics are cringe!

RichTeaCheddars · 31/01/2021 11:59

Everyone says babies grow out of stuff quickly but not all do. Mine is a smaller baby and at 8 months wears 0-3 and 3-6 depending on the shop.

As a PP said you'll need more stuff if a pukey baby. If not pukey you'll need less.

Mine isn't pukey and we have 7 plain white sleep suits for night time and 10 patterned ones for daytime. We have 2 cardigans but lots of vests!! Cardigans irritate her so we put two vests on instead.

We did start putting her in outfits but she has eczema and it's much easier to cream her up in sleep suits. also you're forever pulling tops and dresses back down on small babies when you hold them.

Start with a small amount and when you know your baby, buy more if you need.

RichTeaCheddars · 31/01/2021 11:59

Also, different shops have different cuts so maybe one brand fits your little ones shape better

WalrusWife · 31/01/2021 12:06

Most of my baby clothes have come from my SIL for free. I have a few bits from M&S and Next.

Frogartist · 31/01/2021 12:06

Mine had a pack of three sleepsuits, a pack of three vests, an "outfit" and a cardigan. It was fine.

Skigal86 · 31/01/2021 12:06

My daughter wore just sleepsuits/vests in newborn/up to one month and then moved into tops and leggings from 0-3 onwards with lightweight cotton tops and shorts in 3-6 as we spent the summer overseas (H&M are fab for these). Sleepsuits were mostly supermarket brands other than a couple of joules & M&S ones we got as gifts. Now she’s almost 2 she mostly wears Jojo, Frugi and joules, but a lot bought second hand or in the sales and can be resold as well.

Until she was 6 months I think I worked on the basis of about 10 sleepsuits in each size and maybe 7 or 8 outfits which gave us about a weeks worth, obviously if you wash more often then you’ll need less.

Fatas · 31/01/2021 12:09

All this dressing the baby up annoys the hell out of me! Who does it benefit? Does the baby care what it wears? We get the wash on every day- so it was probably possible to have about five baby grows for each stage

AndcalloffChristmas · 31/01/2021 12:10

Yanbu at all.

You want to think about what’s sensible and practical for the baby. That’s going to be sleepsuits with baby vests, or comfortable jersey t shirts and trousers.

Dressing babies up in dresses, skirts etc with frills - or jeans with seams all over the place - is as unkind as it is unnecessary!

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 31/01/2021 12:13

10 x white vest
10 x sleepsuit
3 or 4 cardigans if its winter.

Done

And that's 10 if your baby is of the pukey or shitup the_back variety - with DD I only had about 6 and managed fine

Fuckadoodledoooo · 31/01/2021 12:20

I buy bundles of baby clothes on eBay, never pay more than a tenner and get loads of babygrows and vests.

I am a skinflint though

Yummymummy2020 · 31/01/2021 12:23

Second baby due in may too, happy to being having the same gender as the first as we had too many clothes really and it will be nice that they will get use and we won’t need to buy any. Honestly your friend is crazy. Yes they have accidents and puke but not to the extent of needing that much! And baby clothes dry ridiculously fast too. Sleep suits are great at the start we had lovely dresses and put them on feck all times as baby was happier in a sleepsuit and they are cosy! We got a mix of brands, some high end but mainly super market brands and honestly it makes no difference except to your enjoyment in buying them. I actually prefer the supermarket stuff Asda was amazing and the stuff washed well and will be great this time around too. I went a bit crazy first time around just because we were so excited and it was lovely to do but it was also so so unnecessary and if I wasn’t having a second I would have been fuming that the clothes didn’t get used as much as they could have been by us. And that’s me buying less than your friend is suggesting ha ha. They also do grow very fast so you are right!

Piglet89 · 31/01/2021 12:24

I just bought all of my newborn’s clothes in a bundle for £25 from a lady on Gumtree.

Heaven knows what your friend’d make of me!

BertieBotts · 31/01/2021 12:29

Your friend is insane!

Most of my newborn stuff is second hand, and I love Primark, supermarkets, H&M etc for baby bits. Such cute and nice things. Ohhh I am itching to get it all out and sort through it for DC3. Sitting on my hands though until we know the sex, or I'll just have to do it all again.

I'd feel really wasteful and wrong spending loads on newborn outfits, they only fit them for about a week. You wouldn't have time to put them in 20 different things FFS.

crimsonlake · 31/01/2021 12:30

I think you are being very sensible.
Each to their own of course, but recently we have had 2 new babies in the family. In photographs they never seem to be wearing the same thing twice, they are the best dressed babies.

Original poster

Changeythenamey · 31/01/2021 12:34

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the sense check. I think I just woke up feeling a bit wobbly about it all!

Yes, friend is a bit odd. I wonder whether it’s more of a dig at mine and husbands fortunate financial position (luckily we’ve been able to wfh during the pandemic).
Thanks everyone. I really do appreciate this village!

OP posts:

MessAllOver · 31/01/2021 12:37

friend was suggesting that we need 20-30 outfits for every age bracket.

Charity shops/family and friends are going to be doing well out of you if you follow this advice .

BlueSuffragette · 31/01/2021 12:40

OP YANBU.Your friend is nuts. Babies don't need lots of fancy outfits. Clean supermarket sleep suits and cardigans are just fine when they are really young. They grow so quickly, a large number of outfits would be worn so few times it would be a waste.
Grandparents tend to like to buy an outfit so I bought basic supermarket clothes. My MIL knitted beautiful cardigans for my DD's. They looked gorgeous.
As other PP have said you can buy some lovely second hand children's clothes that have hardly ever been worn. Probably off somebody like your friend!

YukoandHiro · 31/01/2021 12:41

They are in newborn and 0-3 clothes for so little time - and they often need to be changed multiple times a day due to spit up abs explosive poos - that there's absolutely no point buying anything "special" at the start. You are absolutely NBU.

And especially in lockdown! It's not like you've got tons of places to take a baby....!

YukoandHiro · 31/01/2021 12:42

She's right that you need a lot of outfits though. That's why it's best not to over spend

81Byerley · 31/01/2021 12:44

20-30 outfits? She's mad!

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