How many baby clothes of each size?

[bestwisheskindregards]

I'm a FTM and due at the start of July.

How many baby clothes of each size should I buy?

Newborn/first size (7lbs 8)
0-1 month (10lbs)
0-3 months (10-14lbs)

I'm mainly looking in Next and Sainsbury's.

Also did you make use of any outfits in 0-3 months? I imagine baby will mainly be in sleepsuits but is it worth having a couple of outfits in 0-3?

Baby is measuring very average so far. Both my partner and I were within the 7-8lbs range as babies although unsure if that has much relevance.

I'm not sure about Next but I always found Sainsbury's to be on the bigger side and Asda, Matalan to be a bit smaller (and thus a better fit for my boy). So you may not want to put all your eggs in one basket, if you'll pardon the seasonal pun.

I had loads in 0-3 and my small (6lb 15) baby was able to fit them from around 2 months. But I still put him in stuff and rolled the sleeves and feet etc from a month or so old.

Do you have any friends who've offered you old clothes or could you get a bundle on eBay? That might give you a good selection.

Hey, congratulations! I have a handful of sleep suits in newborn, probably 3 or 4, then gradually more for each size. I think I have 15 sleep suits in 0-3 (second Dc due this week)

I do have a couple of outfits in each size but that's because I know the grandparents have been buying clothes for months!!

In this day and age you can nip to the shop or order online and have more clothes the next day if needed.

Congratulations, from my experience I would say:

• no outfits for 0-3, except some soft trousers which are handy for summer days. A couple of pairs. They will live in sleepsuit otherwise.
• people will buy you tonnes of clothes, particularly 3-6 months outfits and 0-3 sleepsuits
• nobody buys you socks, you’ll lose them so have plenty
• vests are main thing you’ll get through and people are less likely to buy you.
• dungarees / trousers with feet are great if you plan to carry baby in sling and avoid missing sock situation
• long sleeved vests are generally more useful than short sleeved so make sure you have a mix.
• you grow out of 0-3 quicker than you think with an average sized baby
• some emergency ‘tiny baby’ vests and sleepsuits are handy for the hospital bag, keep in the packet and you can return if not needed.
• how many you get through will depend on your laundry capabilities, but I’d say we get through 10 vests in the space of 2-3 days, and have a couple in the changing bag.

The newborn and 0-1 month are pretty much the same size, both my babies were small (just under 6lbs) so the 0-1 month clothes were handy once they were out of the ‘tiny baby’ size but had outgrown them in the space of a few weeks, so I would only buy those if and when you need them

Based on recent experience, I wouldn't get too many newborn ones. My little one was measuring 'average', born at 39+3 and was 10lb 7oz! Luckily we were at home as I'd got out all newborn clothes for him to wear which were nowhere near big enough! Most supermarkets have some stock so not too difficult to ask partner/family etc to buy more once you know what size is required!

8lb 8 baby didn’t fit newborn at all, so I wouldn’t say 1month is 10lb+. It’s also on length ( I’m only 5’4), Ds was a long baby.

So for me I would say
Newborn - one pack of 3 vests and sleepsuits as emergency
1month - 6/8 of each vest and sleepsuit
0-3 - 6/8 of each vest and sleepsuit. A few pairs of baby leggings, socks and x2 cardigans

No need to by cardigan smaller than 0-3 as you just fold sleeve over first 1-2 weeks if needed.
Leggings I used sometimes in 0-3 as Ds was in them at 1 month, and it was hot weather so sometimes easier to dress in short sleeve vest and leggings and cardigan, then remove to just vest as the day went on and it was hot.

We were in 3-6 month by about 2 months here also. So the first few sizes buy minimal. If baby is really tiny, you can alway get more delivered if they are going to be in them for months.

I ended up cutting that feet off I load of sleepsuits as DS was so long. Don’t buy loads of stuff in sizes bigger than Tiny/Newborn. Grannies and aunties tend to go overboard on clothes, especially with first babies. How many clothes you need depends of how sick-y your baby is, and what you laundry facilities are like! Where you get them from depends on how tall/skinny/round your baby is - all baby clothes sizes are not equal. Gap always was tiny, Asda was always huge.

I know you want to be prepared, but the shops will still be open after your baby is born.

I also wouldn’t buy any long sleeve vests for a July baby. Just vest and sleepsuit or vest and cardigan fine. They are better in winter, but you won’t know if July baby will need in 3-6/6-9/6-12 months until they are born and how they grow the first few months

I don’t think I split out newborn and 0-1 month, DD definitely didn’t noticeably grow out of one and into the other. I think she wore a mix, then went to 0-3. She was 7lbs 3 when she was born.

I agree with the poster who said Asda clothes are smaller, sainsburys are bigger so I’d get some from a couple of shops to have a range of sizes.

We didn’t have any outfits really for DD (we’ve just gone through all her newborn clothes again as DD2 is due next month) except for maybe a couple of tops and trousers. She pretty much exclusively wore vests and sleepsuits day and night. We had some cardigans to go over the top if cold though.

I’d also look on Facebook for second hand bundles. Newborn clothes get worn for such a short time that they’re often in pretty good nick. I got 2 massive bags of pristine newborn/0-1/0-3 clothes for about a tenner. We basically didn’t need to buy anymore.

Get a couple of packs of newborn sleep suits to tide you over for a few days.

A trip to sainsburys or similar is a nice first outing with baby and you can buy some more then.

I found primark great for sleepsuits but they do come up a bit smaller than other places.

I would get minimal/none in newborn and an few more 0-1 but more in 0-3. Ask relatives to get stuff in 0-3 (but they will still buy you loads of newborn stuff) I was 6lbs 3oz at 41 weeks. DD came at 38+2 and was 6lbs 7oz. DH had to nip into the nearby Boots and get some more newborn and 0-1 vests and baby grows. If baby is small then someone (not you) can alway nip out and get some newborn and 0-1.

DS was measuring on the 50th centile. He was born at 41+1. He was very 9lbs 1/2oz and very long. He wouldn’t fit into newborn or 0-1 and went straight into 0-3 (which he outgrew at 6 weeks old!) I’m short and DH is average height.

Both my babies had reflux so we needed many.

No outfits at 0-1 they are all scrunched up and it's impossible to get them on.
A few 0-3 outfits like soft dungarees but mostly leggings/vests and sleepsuits/rompers.
Newborn 5x sleepsuits
0-1 8x sleepsuits
0-3 12x sleepsuits
Many many vests of all sizes.

If you plan to use a sling remember to get some footless sleepsuits or leggings and long sleeve vests. You shouldn't really use footed outfits with slings as it can crush their toes- everything gets hitched up when they are in M position.

Also I think with DS we had over 10 sleeping swaddle/ bags for under 10lbs- sometimes he got through 3 a night

I didn’t bother with anything in newborn or 0-1, I just had a feeling my baby was going to be big. He was at 9lb8 and went straight into 0-3, was in those for a month maybe then into 3-6.
He’s now 5 months and squeezing into 9-12, with 12-18 still just slightly too big 🤦🏼‍♀️ He seemed to skip 6-9 altogether.
Anyway, I digress! Next definitely comes up a little big and if you’ve no reason to suspect a big baby, then buying 6-8 vests and the same in sleepsuits in 0-1 will more than suffice to start with I would think. Couple of little cardies in 0-3 just in case.
As for outfits, I was putting my little boy in outfits from the word go really. I struggle with a pain and mobility issue which has an effect on my hands and so stretchy leggings and tops were so much easier than fiddly bastard poppers but it’s personal preference really.
You’ll get gifted lots of dear little clothes I’m sure. Also, buy everything you can second hand would be my advice. It’s barely worn as they grow up so fast, and it’s just so much cheaper!
Best of luck and congratulations!

I can't remember how much I had for my 1st but my 2nd was 6lb and I needed to buy the 'tiny baby' size. For first weeks she lived in 7 sleepsuits, 8 vests and 2 cardigans.
My first was a big baby (90th centile) and newborn never fitted him, he went straight into 1 month size and moved through sizes quickly. My second was 9th centile and is moving through sizes much slower so getting more wear out of stuff.

We didn't have any newborn and the couple of 0-1 month things we did get gifted were too small by 2 weeks with both babies. I probably had 12+ sleepsuits plus more vests for both of mine in 0-3, both of them had lots of leaky nappies as newborns and DC2 had reflux so was sick lots, my washing machine was on all the time.

You can pick them up fairly easily in supermarkets or click and collect so I wouldn't worry about buying your complete stash now.

My DD was 7lbs 1oz and didn't go into 0-3 until 8 weeks old. We ended up buying some tiny baby. Unless money is tight I would buy maybe 6 sleepsuits and a a few leggings and tops in new born (they qualify as an 'outfit' to me, but are super comfy.

I'd be wary of buying loads other than sleepsuits up to 3-6 just because seasonality can make some clothes unsuitable. Loads of people bought DD things in 0-3 which was lovely, but she never got to wear them because it was October before they fitted, and not appropriate for a pretty cotton dress at that point. For her first birthday (July!) people also bought her things in 12-18, which didn't fit until we were into the cold weather again. She's not a small child either, she's average weight and 75th centile for height. Clothes just seem to come up big

I also remember reading MN and because I am tall (5'9) didn't get a lot in newborn and it backfired because she was a very sicky baby so I was doing a lot of online ordering in the early days. Covid had meant baby clothes were really hard to get too so wasn't much choice at times.

Have a look at eBay bundles. You'll get given some clothes I'm sure but the boring stuff you need the most of can be found in the bundles so cheaply.

Also you can always get more or next sizes.
Ds was born during first covid lockdown, we hadn’t bought bigger than 0-3 to start with and he needed 3-6 when the shops were all still closed where we live and online running out of stuff. Still found stuff easy enough online to dress him another 3 months before stuff started re opening

DS was 7lb5oz and grew out of newborn clothes after about a fortnight. We just dressed him in vests and babygrows for about the first month, the multi packs of plain white ones are handy for frequent changes after any sick/wee/poo incidents I wouldn't buy any newborn outfits and tbh I wouldn't bother buying 0-1 month, we had a couple of things in that size and he must've only worn them once or twice.

We had some 0-3 outfits which I did like putting him in sometimes, things like soft dungarees. We were given loads of 3-6 outfits but had almost no vests or babygrows so had to buy some. He's coming up to 5 months now and wears a mix of vest & babygrow or a little outfit through the day depending on how I feel that morning/what we're doing

I would also advise buying lots of vests as they're used all the time. We hardly ever use long sleeved ones unless it's part of an outfit, or if it's very cold at night.

Really depends how fast your baby grows.

My baby was born 8lbs 13oz. He was in newborn clothes for about 10-12 days. 0-3 lasted about 6-8 weeks. He went in to 3-6 months when he was about 2 months old until 4 months old. 6-9 months only lasted about 5 weeks. He's been in 9-12 month clothes since he was 5 months old.

I bought a pile of clothes in all different sizes when pregnant and I'm glad I did because he seemed to grow overnight, stuff that fit him one day was too small a day or 2 later.

1 multipack of each size- return if needed. If you're looking at next it comes really quick and you can return by courier

Agree with not buying too much especially expensive 'outfits'. DD was born at the start of July, we had a heatwave when she was two weeks old so she basically only wore a nappy or a vest and by the time the heat wave was over she'd grown out of all her newborn things

Don't do what I did, naive and very young, thought three babygros would be sufficient! 😳They were all dirty within 2 hours of being home and husband had to go out to buy some quickly, what he could get locally were horrendous but I was stuck with them until he grew out of them as we were on a very low income🤦