To suggest you don't buy newborn sized clothes as a gift?

[NeedingAGoodNap]

Unless you know the baby actually needs them? I was just clearing out my dds old clothes and found lovely newborn clothes that were never worn. We will donate them of course but it still feels like a waste. DD was born bigger then those clothes so there was no way to use them.

I think just don't buy clothes for others babies. Just ask parents what they need. Which may be clothes but then at least you're not just inundating someone with a job.

Could I add, don't buy those gift sets made of loose nappies and a couple of pairs of socks and loads of cardboard that I've I've got to dismantle, bin the packaging and store loose nappies.

I was really grateful for the newborn clothes. So YABU

I followed this advice and I had to run out and buy tiny baby clothes as the one or two newborn bits we had were far too big! I was very surprised as I’m 6ft and not exactly slim!

I think it really depends on the baby. My baby was tiny and I was really grateful for all the Newborn clothes, they were actually really loose and baggy on her. I got lots of wear out of them. It may have been a waste for you but not for others.
Your best bet is to wait until baby is born and then decide what size clothes to get.

I always buy either 0-3 months or depending on season if baby is born in let's say September, I will buy 3-6 months so it can have something nice and warm to wear in winter and early spring.

It depends what you are used to!

My family tend towards small babies. Neither of mine fit the newborn stuff until a couple of weeks old, out of 9 babies between my siblings and I 5 have been under 7lb and none have been over 7lb 8.

DD started off in 3 & 4lb prem clothes and wore newborn for months

Ah now I wouldn't have minded some more newborn stuff, we didn't know what we were having so just have a few white bits we got before birth. Now she's here some more interesting clothes would be nice! If they had zips I'd love you forever.

No to the full outfit sets though, they just don't need hats and booties and mits and bibs right now.

As someone in the thick of it I've also decided I'll definitely add more edible gifts for parents to any future baby gifts I buy. A box of doughnuts or something would be heaven right now!

Oh and all the people who bought me bigger sizes generally got the season wrong so those got wasted. Children's growth varies loads, so its hard to guess when a child will move up a size.

DD was born at term but tiny so I would have been happy with newborn size! Obviously this is trivial but looking back on early photos I do wish I had a few nice shots with clothes that fit.

The best gift we got was actually a bath towel/robe thing. It totally slipped our minds to get one and the robe was used almost every day until she could walk.

I always buy 3-6 months clothes for that reason. Though my poor mother had to run to the 24 hour supermarket for me as dd was born far smaller than expected and her newborn clothes drowned her, she then nipped and bought two lovely dresses the next day in tiny baby size which I was most grateful for - I had taken the advice of friends and bought very little in newborn and mostly 0-3 months! Both my babies were 6lb as was I interestingly, my DD's hope this is genetic!

I do 0-3 months usually, but if somebody has had a baby early then I'll buy them newborn or maybe "tiny baby" clothes (my family tend to have babies under 7 lb, so any born just a few days early are a bit dinky for even newborn clothes).

I like it when people announce the baby's weight — it takes some of the guesswork out!

Yanbu. The best but impersonal is a voucher. This would be so much more appreciated. You can use it up to a year later as well.

It’s always helpful when people buy the next size up tbh so 3-6 months or even 6-9 provided its seasonal so not winter jumpers in 3-6 months if they’ll be 3 months old in July.

Most new parents have too many clothes in newborn and 0-3 but not as many in the bigger sizes.

I'm due my second any day now (edd yesterday) and I have loads of small clothes etc so I haven't bought anything.

What I have bought I'd went for 3-6 or 6-9. I'm not buying anything for seasons until baby is here and I can try and guess sizes.

I love it when people send vouchers. They are the best. Especially when it's a Costa voucher for me. Both times I've ended up with loads of cute outfits but no vests. Also agree with PP about things in the wrong size - had a winter baby so obviously got a 6-9 month snow suit as a gift.

I disliked the amount of random toys my eldest got sent when we had our second - I get the sentiment behind it but it just really irritated me that I had all these extra toys to sort out.

I think it's worth thinking about how long the outfit will last.

I bought my nephew a set of sort of dungarees / short sleeved overall type thing, as a new baby it fitted him and had long sleeves and legs when I visited a few months later (probably about 6 - long distance travel) he was still wearing it but it looked like shorts.

I must admit this was a lucky accident at the time but I still tend to look for things with a bit of give or some growing room.

Best to ask. My second one was tiny (she still is).

For couples where I know the parents are tall I tend to go for leggings and tops or a soft pinafore and top. Things where it doesn't matter so much how long their legs are!

@StreetLightsHoney

YABVU. It depends entirely on the baby.

My baby was very small and didn’t fit in newborn clothes until she was a couple of months old.

Don’t try to control what other people gift. Just be grateful someone (you or a charity) is getting use out of them.

Oh, it's the next target for the 'give me money' brigade. There was even a thread on here, got pulled, from an OP who wanted to send out this message to all she knew, not to give gifts besides cash.

We were in newborn clothes until 2/3 months and up to one month until about 4. I think baby gifts should all be given with the gift receipt so that if baby is small/big/you already have enough the gift can be exchanged. It can be so wasteful otherwise!

I feel like it's nice to have gifts regardless, but I do kind of agree.

My baby was prem and born at 3lb 9, so she didn't fit into any of the clothes people bought for a good six months, by which time it was the wrong time of year etc.

The best gifts we received were vouchers! amazon, or clothing shops etc. As it meant we could choose the stuff we needed.

I never do and when asked I always said get bigger sizes for mine.

My DS was born on the 10th centile (6lb 4oz) and his weight gain stalled in the first couple of months for various reasons. At one point he was below the 2nd centile. He was in newborn clothes for ages and we even had to buy some "tiny baby" babygrows for him as his legs would get tangled in the newborn ones.

The gifts of clothing that we got the most wear out of were hand knitted cardigans and jumpers from my mum and a friend of mine, as we could roll up the sleeves when he was on the smaller side and then they stretched when he was on the bigger side. Those were really special gifts.

I can't knit so generally my go-to gift for new babies is some oversized muslin squares which can be used for swaddling or just as burp cloths or coverings in the pram etc, and you can get ones with gorgeous designs on them. I think vouchers for somewhere like Next or Jojo would be more useful for most new parents than trying to guess the right clothes size as there is such variation.

However, if the unused clothes end up being donated to charity anyway then it's not a huge deal is it?

I had to make an emergency trip to get newborn clothes for DS1 as he looked lost in the 0-3. I know it doesn't matter; it's not like he was going to trip over, but I did want him to wear clothes that fitted him.

For gifts I always buy larger though.

I always do a patchwork blanket (and pick relevant fabric!)
Acts as play mat, blanket, comfort thing and can go on end of bed when older