January 2014 (thread 9) Pregnancy half time is over. Fast growing bumps, braxton hicks and we thought we would worry less!

[Frizz1986]

Hope its ok me setting up a new thread.
Couldnt see one, but if I am just being blind please tell me.....

Lots to think about with clothes! I haven't seen any vests, sultana, only bodysuits. I figure baby won't care how she looks for a while, so I'll have some time to experiment and figure out what is easiest!

I'm confused with terminology here. When I google "vest" I get bodysuits with short sleeves. Is that what you guys mean?
Then there's sleepsuits which have long sleeves?

Yep. Bodysuits are used like vests. Sleepsuits are the same as a onesie -- long sleeves, poppers down the front, long legs with feet.

MrsGSR Lots to think about, I'm sure! Only just started looking into it. Every new thing I look into buying turns out to be more complicated than it seemed at the start ;)

I spent 3 weeks (!) researching re-usable nappies online, and still haven't quite decided what will be the best option. DH eventually veto-ed any more talk about nappies as it was all I talked about for weeks.

I'm really struggling to find interest in anything non-babyrelated at the moment...

We havent really got anything ourselves and neither of us has a clue about what things are called.
We have lots of things with no legs/feet and some things with legs/feet. We have been calling them feet and feetless items lol.
Hoping family and friends get us some things and that should bulk it up enough. Am sure once baby arrives we will get to grips with it and figure out what works and what doesn't. We may end up with baby dressed like a loon for a while as we try and sort ourselves out lol.

Basically you put something underneath and something on top of that. Then a cardigan or something if they need it. Socks if the item doesn't have feet. Maybe tights underneath if it's really cold.

It'll all work itself out :o

Frizz I'm with you as we have had dsis preloved clothes too! I'm going with the fact she only had the stuff she has given us so that's what baby will wear regardless of how they look

All the clothes we have so far are second hand, too. We're going to need more newborn stuff, but it'll wait until much nearer the end.

frizz I think I know what everything is called now just about.

toby the reason for vests is my mums influence because that is what she used and she said having an extra set of poppers is a hassle. However, I said the same thing to her as u have said to me about vests without poppers riding up. I just wanted to check bodysuits are basically vests with poppers (apparently common sense deludes me when it comes to baby stuff....). Spot the first timer....!

lalunya I hear ya! There is just soooo much choice and its soooo confusing! Am glad we have finally got most major purchases so I can stop the bewilderment!

I suppose maybe if the ones with poppers weren't around when we were babies it might explain what your mum's saying, Sultana...

But just think about how annoying it is when you've got a top on under another top and the bottom one rides up underneath and you've got a big ridge of fabric. Ugh. It actually makes me feel a bit irritable thinking about it! I may be a mental.

Yes, bodysuits are basically vests with poppers.

Thanks toby. You are not a mental! It makes me feel irritable too... bodysuits it is! Finally clear on something else! Hurray!

I feel as though I need to take a degree in baby stuff. It will all sort itself out, but I just want to feel as though I at least partly know what I am doing.... Thats the control freak in me!

I am also confuddled when it comes to clothes, but I do have a spiffy spreadsheet, with listings for 'short-sleeve, white, vests/bodysuits' and 'long-sleeve, white, vests/bodysuits' and 'onesies/sleepsuits with feet', 'onesies/sleepsuits without feet', and then Newborn, 0-3, 3-6 and sometimes 6-9 months categories, so I can keep track of what I have accumulated
I may not understand what all the things are for, but by god I have listed the hell out of them

Thank fuck it's Friday, eh? Tonight is my first pg yoga class, and tomorrow I am buying myself some more comfy nan shoes - I have got to the stage of achy feet where I cannot wear ballet flats any more. I need cushioned soles and serious support now. Grim, but walking is getting painful.

I have another clothing question! How long generally will babies be in newborn before moving on to 0-3 clothes? I know it varies depending on the size of the baby, but so far I haven't bought any newborn bits! How much should I buy?

Holy crap, Humpty! You are the most organised person ever!

MrsG, there's no way of knowing. Your baby could be 6lbs or 9lbs. When my sister had my nephew we had to run out and buy Tiny Baby sized clothes because he was at the small end of 6lbs and nothing fit him, even though he was overdue.

DS was 7lbs 11oz and was in newborn for at least a month or so.

There is absolutely no way to know. I'd say buy a few packs of bodysuits/sleepsuits in newborn nearer the time (keep the receipts!), wash 5 or 6 of each to take to hospital and keep the rest in their packets. Then you'll know how big the baby is, and how many you're likely to need. You can return the ones you don't use if the baby is big, and make DH wash the rest as soon as the baby's born if you'll be needing them, so they're ready for when you come home.

MrsGSR unless you live up a mountain, I'd go for not many newborn items at all - you can always buy more if you have a teeny baby, and I think it's nicer choosing clothers for someone you've actually met . Maybe 6-12 vests and sleepsuits at the most. DS was out of newborn within a fortnight and was 7lb 7 at birth, so not huge.

Clothers? I meant clothes.

Cross post Toby

I meant to add that you can always buy more when it's born!

Could one of you please repeat once again for the slow ones among us : what is the difference betweeen a bodysuit and a sleepsuit?

To my mind, a baby will need vests, a few long-sleeve bodysuits for sleeping and possibly to wear during the day, and then some on-top stuff like t's and leggings, cardigans and so on. Yes?

Bodysuit = long or short sleeves, poppers under the nappy, no legs. Like a swimming costume with sleeves. Goes under sleepsuit/clothes.

Sleepsuit = onesie. Usually long sleeves and long legs with feet and poppers all the way down. Wear for sleeping or all the time in the first few months.

tobylerone - not only do I love your name (even though it makes me crave chocolate and I've just had to pop out for a crunchie), you are also an amazing source of valuable info. Thank you!!

toby ah, but I haven't bought any of the practical things, like white short sleeved vests. Instead I have a selection of costumes to make bean look like a bear, a dragon onesie and a superman outfit. Not so organised...

lalunya also, meant to say - my DH keeps doing the annoying 'let's wait, people will buy us stuff' chat. It makes me ragey, as most of his our friends have totally lost touch since we told them we were expecting, and family, bar my Mum & his, have been pretty disinterested. Who are these 'people' who will magically materialise with clothes, then? Bloody man.

Oooh, I ate our last Crunchie last night. I think a trip to Sainsbury's is in order on the way to collect DH from the station later. Thanks for reminding me!

The information comes of being an old lady who has a teenaged DS and an almost-teenaged DD. Practical info, I've got. On the inside, I'm bricking it because I can't remember what to do with a child :o

:o @ bear costumes. What more does a child need?

This time I'm planning on keeping the baby in sleepsuits (all in ones with feet) and vests (sleeveless mostly) for the first six months. I've got pictures of dd in 0-3 dresses and she looked ridiculous because she was so small but in "grown up" clothes.

You can get some lovely sleepsuits. My favourite companies are greenbaby (which has sadly gone bust but you can now find stuff at tkmaxx ) and organics for kids. Mostly it'll be tesco and hand-me-downs though.

I think it's shape as well as size. Newborn swamped my 7lb dd. Particularly mothercare who size large. Unless its very cheap I wouldn't buy many clothes in advance - just some in each size - and buy once baby is here and you can see why works best.