Easy to put on baby clothes

[teacupnic]

Not sure if this is the right section so if not - sorry!

I'm due my first in July and very new to this. Husband has a disability whereby he has very little use of his left hand and full function in the right. Although I will be the stay at home parent, he very much wants to be able to do everything I do (apart from the boob feeding bit, of course!)

We've found that most baby clothes come with poppers, which he finds extremely difficult to manage. On speaking to a Physio, they think he will 'find a way' - he has with everything else!

However, are there any other options other than poppers?

We've seen a couple of Zip up bodysuits, and some with magnets but they're about 3 times the price of most others unfortunately. Anyone know about any other options, places that sell these or tips/tricks for dressing baby one handed?

I think i can manage most elements of dressing babies with one hand, you just do! Poppers aren't that hard to do by lining them up and squeezing them together with thumb and forefinger. What is most difficult, whether one or both handed are sleeves. If you can, get sleeveless bodysuits, babies hate sleeves! In July hopefully it'll be warm enough for the bare minimum of clothes. Maybe a sleeveless vest without the underneath attachment would be better? With a little loose cardi on top.
And little pyjama trousers or leggings instead of sleep suits?

Oh, I broke my fingers and wrist when my ds was a couple of months old so that's how I know!

Off the top of my head:
go for pyjama-style leggings + top sets rather than sleep suits (H&M good for these)
if you ever go to France look in supermarkets at baby clothes because some do up with a velcro-ed slit at the back (my aunty picked up a load of these for me at a vide-grenier which I think is the French equivalent of a car boot sale :) )

disabledpositiveparent.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/dreaded-poppers-on-baby-clothes.html this might help?

They sell baby clothes with ties for premature babies, which might exist up to newborn age.

You can also buy little soft trousers and long sleeved tops which don't have poppers - perhaps a couple near the neck but you could leave them undone or you could do them up later. And cardigans often come with velcro, zips or buttons. Home knitted have especially loose buttons. You can buy normal top-and-trouser pyjamas from newborn size too (try mothercare but lots of places have them)

H&M do reasonably priced zip sleepsuits, although they are footless.

I got done GAP zip up baby grows very cheap in the sale, I think Costco have then at a good price too.

For baby vests if you get envelope neck ones you could wash them etc with poppers permanently done up and slide baby in fron neck. A bit like putting a one piece women's swimming costume on.

You could probably get away with these in the day too! www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Spotty-Dear-Pyjamas---2-Pack/741439,default,pd.html#q=newborn

You can look for non-poppered vests too - they're popular with elimination communication / cloth nappying folk (as the poppered kind don't always fit well with a reusable nappy) so there are usually hot tips on who has them in baby sizes atm on related message boards - IIRC John Lewis and ?Matalan are worth trying...

There are some sleepsuits that open diagonally across the body (like the one at the front here ) instead of down the front and each leg, so that means fewer poppers (only 6 on that sleepsuits compared to 12 on the others), and they are easier to do one handed I find than the y shaped front opening as you don't usually need another hand to hold it in place.

For days I'm struggling with my hands I put DS in soft joggers and tops.

And something like this for sleeping? www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Stars-and-Dreams-Bundler/359538,default,pd.html

Vertbaudet is good for sleepsuits with fewer poppers, however the ones with only 3 at the neck at awful for getting on and off a newborn, especially one with a leaking nappy. Sometimes they have the bum-velcro ones. Also try Petit Bateau and La Redoute.

H&M and Mothercare also do leggings with feet which are a miracle. H&M usually do a set of two with matching coordinating tops available.

It might work out cheaper to get Tesco babygrows and sew some velcro strips on a the bottom though.

The zipper kind are tricky to find in the uk (I got a few from H&M) but my MIL sent me a few from America where they seem to be more common and where I live now, Australia, they are everywhere. So it might be worth a look on the Internet.

I have v limited use of my l hand (can nudge things with it and thats about it), and though I acquired this after ds was a baby, I hate poppers too. While the baby is wriggly, I'd stick with t shirts and leggings.

If he puts his thumb and first two fingers down a sleeve, you can grab their hand and pull their hand through, rather than pushing it which needs two hands.

A baby nightie is easier at night than fighting with a babygro for each nappy change.

So he can hold the baby and still do things, a pouch sling would let him pop the baby in and have his good hand free

He might find changing the baby on the floor easiest to begin with, so he's confident the baby can't roll off, though if he can rest his bad hand on their tummy if might help stabilise them.

I second Gap zip up baby grows. They zip up diagonally ( well the ones I have do) and they are really easy to put on and off. Not cheap but not extortionate

I hate poppers and my dcs have mostly worn leggings/stretchy trousers and long sleeved tops, with a vest underneath in cooler weather. Most places sell these, supermarkets, h&m etc

Thanks for all your replies - really helpful. It has given us a few more ideas. I think as a first timer I had somehow assumed that all babies must be put in a babygro/sleepsuit. No idea where I've got this from!

Think our next steps are to buy a variety of the different things suggested, cheap as possible and see how we get on with them when baby arrives.

He thinks he might have a bit of struggle with leggings/tights too but we'll work it out. Not sure how much clothing a newborn needs on in the summer, but like everything - trial and error I guess.

Legging/tights - hold baby on lap, legs outwards. Hold garment by waistband, and hook onto one leg, then put hand round their lower leg and pull garment up. Then pull onto other and repeat. Then grab at waistband and manoevre over nappy. Again, I'd start off on the floor for security

A good guide on clothing is one layer more than you

My baby spent most of last summer in tshirts and shorts - he got too hot and bothered in bodysuits.

Get big sizes of shorts/trousers. I would say tracksuit type ones rather than combats or leggings, as they are easier to put on. I found pj bottoms the easiest to slip on and off and have to admit I sometimes stick him in those during the day if I am having to change him a lot. Plain ones don't even look like pjs (well that's what I tell myself!)

Doing up poppers with one hand I imagine is not too difficult, until you factor in a wriggly baby....

Gap do regular 30% off baby clothes events if you sign up to their mailing list which is how I pay for their clothes - the zip up suits are great!

Primark are usually quite good and cheap, and the pjs etc are usually cotton same as anywhere else. I have found they do come up smaller than other places though.

You can but baby nighties which are like longsleeved vests at the top but are long nighties with elastic around the bottom so no poppers- you can just pull them up- they also have integrated scratch mittens which are much easier than separate ones(that just get lost anyway!)- you just fold the sleeves over. I got Mothercare ones- they were £8 each so not the very cheapest way but they're still on DS long after sleepsuits bought at the same stopped fitting as they are open at the bottom so his legs haven't outgrown them (although there is a bit of cute toe peeping out now!)

JoJo maman bebe sell leggings with feet - they are baggy so easier. mothercaee do too. tbh tights on a newborn are like controlling octopuses and many people struggle dh baggier clothes are better.

Buying a size too big helps regardless of any disability. Best advice I ever got. Babies just won't bend and push their arms down a sleeve when you need them too.

Try not to do 'outfits' and keep it simple.
Accept any cast offs if they are the right type of clothing.
Sometimes it's ok to just put the poo explosion clothes in the bin. I'm not a big fan of disposable clothing but cheap vests can be a lifesaver for your sanity.

Aldi had zip up sleep suits in their last baby event.

DP had a stroke when ds was 5 weeks, he has some use of his left hand but is clumsy still (ds now 15 months)

Vests with envelope necks go on both ways - you don't actually have to undo poppers, you can slide them down over the baby's body. So, he might find it easier to never undo the poppers at all, just slide them up iyswim.

Leggings are acceptable for boys, or you can get soft jogging bottoms. I had some lovely trousers with feet in from H+M for ds who was a winter baby and lived in the sling. You can get babylegs in some amazing designs that would cover any gap between trousers and socks - think they're 99p on tinynippers?

DP also found his buckled carrier (we have a Rose and Rebellion but there are lots of good wide-based buckled carriers around) easier than a push chair in the early days. I had to buckle him in, but from just a few days old ds would snuggle in to whoever was carrying him, and because the weight was evenly distributed across his body, dp found it easier to manage even with his left side weakness. Avoid most of those sold in Mothercare, Boots etc (basically, pretty much anything that says you can face baby outwards) as they put all the weight on the back of the wearers's neck - wide based carriers spread it between hips and and shoulders.

The stroke association were trialling a new add-on thing for car seat clips. DP wasn't suitable for the trial as he can manage the regular one, but it would be worth contacting them to see where they've got to with the research? It was last summer I heard about it iirc :)

Lol @ putting poo explosion clothes in the bin! :) I do this now, losing a vest one or twice a week is far less stressful than trying to stain remove baby poo!

Here you go - Hatley sleepsuits usually have zips. They come up a bit small imo so go for larger sizes if you have a lanky child/use a tumbledrier. Bit pricey but under the circs I think you would be totally justified in stating a preference to any family who ask about gifts you would like.
www.johnlewis.com/hatley-whales-sleepsuit-whales/p747438
Polarno Pyret - also excellent quality and nice bright colours. Keep an eye out for their sales (direct on their website). Generous sizing in length imo (Scandinavian brand so perhaps that's why)
www.johnlewis.com/polarn-o-pyret-baby-jogging-bottoms-apple-green/p1140063