Dressing your baby!

[Lilkat]

I'm a new mum to a 5 week old little girl, and I'm just curious about how everyone dresses their babies! I love onesies, I think they're really sweet, easy washed - no ironing required, built in scratch mitts and easy to take off and on when my lo does explosives poos!

But... People keep gifting us little outfits. And I feel clueless! If she wears little leggings how on earth do you keep socks on a baby?! Is she meant to wear baby shoes with them? And how is anyone bothered ironing tiny dresses and tiny tops?!

90% certain I'm going to dress her in onesies until she's about 9 months!

I used to put dresses over onesies.
Socks on under the leggings, and if they came off I'd not bother with them again.
Onesies are the way forward.

Yanbu.
I took a lot of the outfits back and exchanged them for bigger sleepsuits and older baby dungarees.

Soft leggings and t shirts over the little vests with the envelope tops and poppers underneath work well. Frilly dresses not so much (too much ironing, and not comfy for them to lie on). Baby grows with a little knitted cardigan over look super cute! You do what feels right for you, and don’t feel bad about exchanging gifts you won’t use for something you will.

Take outfits back and exchange for a larger version when they are more likely to wear an outfit.

I preferred leggings to babygrows because I hated all the poppers, especially once baby could move.

Socks - look up sock ons they are great. Also use their moccasins but you can get versions from other shops such as the supermarkets to keep feet warm/stop slipping once walking.

Ironing very rarely only a few dresses that really looked bad if not ironed.

Dont bother ironing
Dont bother with shoes
"Sock ons" are little elasticated things supposed to help keep socks on if you want to wear an outfit with leggings.
Mainly I would just stick with babygros. If the gift giver included a gift receipt, maybe return the item and swap it for size 9 months + when outfits are easier

I have an 8 month old who’s just started to walk. I kept her in sleepsuits all the time until she’d outgrown her 3-6 month stuff, then moved onto leggings with long sleeve vests and cardis as sleepsuits got rucked up when she crawled. And always tights under leggings, socks never stay on. Right now it’s mainly dungarees instead of leggings as they’re a bit warmer. Now she’s upright I’ll start thinking of outfits when she has her next change of clothes in a few months. That’ll be 12-18 months so if there’s any lovely outfits you’ve been gifted, that’s the size I’d swap them for.

Knowing what I know now I wouldn’t buy any new parents little fiddly outfits for their babies. Sleepsuits / onesies and T-shirts and joggers are all my son lives in and boys are far easier for dressing. Everything else is just a massive faff. He hates getting dressed so it needs to be done ASAP haha

Babygros all the way, or at least 9 months! But to keep socks on try sockons or the best baby shoes I found were from dottyfish.com. They actually stay on unlike those socky moccasins. Congrats on your baby!!

I’m in exactly the same boat. I feel ungrateful but I’m debating trying to exchange the outfits for sleepsuits. Can you do that without a gift receipt?

Yanbu - baby grows / onesies / sleep suits are comfy for babies.

Mine still wears sleep suits some days and he's 16 months. Sometimes he wears comfy joggers and a top. He's never worn demin, I just wouldn't feel happy with him wearing it. Comfort first.

I didn't start routinely dressing DD in outfits until about 12 weeks I think, other than the odd occasion and only ever when going out. She was just in sleepsuits with vests under. She never wears dresses as I don't like them

She's 10mo now and mostly wears tops and leggings. We got some dresses at the start but I think people have got the hint as she's never ever in dresses whenever they see her or I send pics, so for Christmas she got things like dinosaur tops and trousers instead, whew!

Blade and Rose and Jo Jo Maman Bebe do good leggings, and they tend to last for around six months at a time so they're good value too. We've got loads of wears out of ours and DD is a big baby.

Never ironed a baby outfit in my life and we never bothered with shoes. They aren't meant to wear them till walking anyway AFAIK and tiny shoes on tiny babies just look uncomfy and ridiculous IMO.

I used to put mine in babygros with a pretty knitted cardigan over the top. I hate to see tiny babies all trussed up in jeans or things that are tight round their tummies. And babies don't look delicious in dresses or shorts until they grow a bit of chubbiness - scrawny baby chicken legs are not a pretty sight.

I was babygros all the way with DS2 - now 5 months, but came unstuck taking him to baby classes where all other mums seemed to have cracked the shirt, trousers, shoes full outfit to the extend I felt a bit embarrassed.

Like PP I’ve now moved onto T-shirt’s, joggers, hoody or long sleeve vests and dungarees. Both quick, comfy and easy.

I was given a gorgeous Christain Dior baby dress from a colleague in France. However the season wasn't right and there was never an opportunity for my daughter to wear it! Such a waste.
It was onesies most of the time with the occasional cute dress when it was warm enough not to bother with tights or leggings. And I never bothered with shoes - you'll always come home with one missing!

Ours lived in babygrows until about 7 months. Whilst they are spending so long sleeping I wanted them in comfy clothes. When more active and alert we changed to outfits during the day but always comfy clothes xx

My son was mainly in baby grows until he was 3 months then tops and joggers, dungarees.

Sock ons dont work for us because he pulls the sock so hard they come off. I put them on and then when they come off i just leave them.

He still has a few babygrows that i put him in if we are having a day in, but he gets all tangled up when he is crawling.

Ah love some of the tips! And so glad I'm not the only fan of babygrows. I've returned quite a few things, and set others aside for charity shops. I do feel a bit guilty, but I'd rather return stuff or give someone else the chance to use it than have it sit in the back of a wardrobe!

@pipandmum it's made me laugh how people have bought us full on winter gear to fit her when she's 6 months... When it will be summer!

I have a 6 week old and was going to do only onesies! However, I have been putting her in the odd pinafore/ Xmas dress. I also bought some leggings today just for something a bit different. Wouldn't dream of putting her in jeans or skirts etc though

Recommendations for baby cardigans please. What do young mums want for their babies over babygrows?

Mine lived in babygros until she was 3 months old, then I found it easier to put her in leggings etc.

She’s still forever taking her socks off now at 10 months.

We got given a lot of OTT dresses that there was no point in her wearing, especially at under 4 months. I’ve still got them with the tags on. Need to do something with them really...

Baby grows and onesies are amazing. My 14 month old still lives in them. They’re just so bloody easy

I'v loved my 3dc in babygrows, I just pair them with a lovely cardigan. If I want them a little more dressed up I find dungarees far better than dresses when they're tiny.

Hate sleepsuits and babygros; too many poppers.

We do vest, leggings (tights underneath if it's cold), top. Or bodysuit, tights, dungarees. In summer she just lived in a vest and nappy.

Never once occurred to me to iron baby clothes, outfit or not! Just exchange stuff you don't want/need/is unsuitable and get credit.

People kept buying mine denim outfits and critising me because "He's always in nightwear" ?!? He's asleep most of the day? Would you sleep in jeans? I found it so odd. Babygrow or onesie all the way. When toddlers soft trackies so they could play in comfort. Jeans are for fashion and my babies didn't need to worry about fashion!

Mine didn't really wear babygros much - they're long legged as hell (sure as hell don't get that from my side of the family) so to get the leg length I always ended up having to go so sized up that you'd end up with a pissed off ball of baby stuck scrunched up in the body part of it. Mine mostly wore leggings and soft tops for day and then were in pyjamas quite young for sleeping in. Was just what worked for us best.

Now they're older they're never out of bloody onesies though given half the chance!