What do babies wear?

[PoppyAmex]

35 weeks with my first child and just started buying clothes but I'm seriously confused.

The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to dress my baby in really comfy "baby" clothes until she starts crawling. I can't bear the idea of outfits and especially dislike the idea of buttons, zippers and uncomfortable looking fabrics, but then it all gets really confusing...

Is a vest the same as a bodysuit? What's their purpose? Do they go under something?
Is a sleepsuit the same as a babygrow? Can you wear them just on top of nappies?
Do all babygrows/sleepsuits have poppers at the front? (the ones that tie that at back look fiendishly hard to to put on!)
How many of each did you get and how many can you get through a day?

Any help would be great (don't be afraid to patronise me)!

Bodysuits are worn under clothes as a vest. They fasten under the crotch so they don't ride up and baby's back stays warm. Babygros (sleepsuits) usually have poppers at the front but not always. If you want comfy and easy, you can buy leggings or joggers, t shirts and sweaters.

Does that help?

A vest is a bodysuit, it has poppers that fit over the nappy so that it doesn't ride up. Baby will need one to keep it warm. Usually a baby will have one extra layer of clothing than you are wearing, when it really hot baby will wear one layer less than you.

And yes a babygro and a sleepsuit are the same thing. Some people call them sleepsuit because they prefer to dress baby in something else during the day but its fine to let them wear them all the time, they are very comfy after all.

With DC1 I bought them all in neutral colours in case I had a DC2 and that worked out nicely for us.

Don't worry about buying too many though, we were inundated with gifts when we had DC1 and although he was full term we had to buy early baby clothes because he was so tiny. You could end up buying loads and loads of clothes and the baby not being able to wear them because its the wrong season. Like most things baby related its probably best to wait until baby is here and then see what you really need.

We had some sleepsuits with poppers on the back given to us. Avoid like the plague.

Think 7 bodysuits and 7 babygros should be fine. How many they get through in a day is hugely variable, depends on how well their nappy fits and how much they are sick and whether you have one with explosive poos .

I needed LOADS (very pukey baby!)

Vests/bodysuits to go underneath (unless it's really hot)

Babygrows/sleepsuits come with or without feet - ones with feet and poppers are the best.

When DD was newborn she was in a vest with a babygrow all the time - anything else was too fussy and looked uncomfortable.

Next stage is probably leggings/ t-shirts/ cardis/ cute little smock things - but that is like when they are 4,5,6 months.

Don't worry I was just as clueless pre-DS. They generally wear vests/ bodysuits which come in long sleeve, short sleeve and sleeveless as a bottom layer (these are the ones that don't have legs) then on top a sleepsuit/ babygrow which generally have poppers and do up down the front and round the legs. The if it's chilly maybe a cardigan on top.

Before DS was born I had a 5 pack of 5 long sleeve vests which were newborn size, 2 cute short sleeve vests in 0-3 and one 3 pack of babygrows in up to 1 month and another in 0-3.

Once he'd arrived and I knew what size he was DH bought in more supplies in the right size.

He was only in the newborn vests about a week before they were too small, but they weren't expensive and he looked adorable. The best fit were the up to a month. The 0-3 swamped him and I worried that he'd be smoothered by them but of course he was soon wearing them.

My DS lived in just vests for ages (it was a very hot summer), then sleepsuits, then vests with jeans and t-shirts.

I bought multi-packs of vests and sleepsuits from tesco/asda, so I probably had about 15 vests and 9 sleepsuits. They're not expensive and it's useful to know you can just go through them as required without worrying about getting them washed so quickly. DS was quite a dribbly sicky baby, though, and he got through a lot!

DS lived in babygrows for the first 6 months. Then if we went out he had a jumper and trousers/dungaree (also with feet) on and wrapped in a fleece blanket + hat. He was a Nov baby (in Switzerland)

Don't buy the ones which popper up at the back, they are really awkward to get on. We were given a couple and they were used only as emergency ones!

You will be given lots of clothes. Although we were given loads of useless ones e.g. we have 5 snowsuits, 2 of which are aged 6 months...

In the winter you need a vest and babygro. In Autumn/Spring a babygro and maybe a vest if it is colder. In the hot summer months a vest is enough.

Get loads of vests (at least 15) and lots of babygros (at least 10) if you don't have a dryer. They are cheap and will get used. Get short sleeved vests with "envelope necks" because they are kind of folded so it is easier to get over the baby's head, and get babygros with poppers on the front and feet. Socks will not stay on, unless you put them under the babygro on a cold day.

Also, put a clean t shirt for yourself in your change bag, because if you have a sicky baby, they WILL be sick on you when you don't have a change.

I found the sleep suits from Next and Sainsburys the best because of the built in scratch mitts.

I second built in scratch mitts. They are a must. Scratch mitts are the work of the devil and designed to send you quite, quite mad. Next makes very good value sleepsuits - they can be washed gazillions of times. Think they tend to be about £15 for 3 which is a bit more expensive than some other places but you will get lots of wear out of them, and they have the blessed in built scratch mitts. Also, when you start looking for proper clothes, imo nothing beats a long sleeve vest (body suit) and a pair of leggings/trousers. Then add cardi if it's cold. H&M have dirt cheap baby clothes that seem to be better quality that the adult stuff!

Little cardy is useful too. M&S do an adorable plain White flat knit one with little buttons and a lined hood.

Ya poppers at the back - avoid!!! Pretty much all of what I was going to say has been covered... vests/short sleeve bodysuits underneath clothes are useful to prevent drafts, especially in winter. We used them until about 8 months (but then we hit summer anyway). You may want to put on a pair of socks or booties underneath the sleepsuit/babygrow since we found his feet got a little cold! Sleepsuits/babygrows really are the easiest and comfy-est at the early stages. We had about 7 of each and that seemed a good number for us, even with a sicky baby, didn't usually get through more than 2 a day.

Right, all makes sense - exactly what I was looking for, thanks everyone!

Off to look for inbuilt scratch mitts now... can't seem to see any in John Lewis or Next.

I had planned to file her nails, does that not work at all?

Final question: is a pramsuit like a snowsuit and do I need one for a March baby?

Yes it is like a snowsuit and you could get away without having one. A coat or jacket should do. May be more fiddly to put on though or you could try one of these.

Next ones definitely have inbuilt scratch mits

DS is 11 weeks old and still exists in vests and babygro combos! I second next and sainsburys but next come up bigger - he's completely grown out of sainsburys 0-3 months but still wearing next ones.

So am I the only one who makes my 4 year old still wear vests then.....

I didn't find scratch mitts that useful as they fell off, but you do have to cut their nails and it is TERRIFYING the first time you do it! My son liked being swaddled so he did not scratch himself at night, my daughter only liked being constantly cuddle so she did not scratch herself either but the state of my upper boobs and lower neck was not pretty!

I like baby jumpers over sleepsuits, you can get nice little sleeveless V necks and cardis.

Ooo I found the nail cutting a bit of a nightmare on tiny tiny fingers... They grow so quickly too! Filing really didn't work for us, but you may just have to experiment and see what works best for you. I resorted to biting off the nails sometimes (they're so tiny and soft) when he was little, but my husband seemed to nail the art (hehe:) with his pocket knife scissors! These days (DS is 18Mo) I tend to use clippers.

We had August baby, but we managed fine with a cosy toe and plenty blankets in the pushchair. He did wear a number of layers and sometimes a kind-of snowsuit (like, a fleecy, thick bodysuit) through winter. Think you could manage without the suit for a March baby, but would recommend a cosytoe of some sort for your pushchair.

My 2 year old is still in popper vests, I worry about her getting cold and how all her clothes and nappy will stay put when we switch to knickers and vest!

My 4 year old still wears vests! Old man style ones now, but he wore the poppered ones unti he potty trained as they were brilliant for keeping his nappy in place

OP, I found it easiest (and least scary) to bit DS's nails when he was tiny. They were so soft, I used to just nibble them off while he was feeding.

Socks stay on hands much better than scratch mitts.

I preferred trousers and tops on DS from quite an early age as he was so sicky, it was easier to whip a top off and on than wrestle with all those sodding poppers on a babygrow a millon times a day!

Listen to your midwife if she comments that your baby is a big un- I have stacks of new born clothes that my ds outgrew before he was born! I second the no back poppers rule but would add that I found assymetric ones a nightmare on a wriggly newborn. Next do nice cardigans and jackets to stick on over a baby grow for outings. Oh, and cheap vests are a good idea if your baby has an explosive bottom, I have scissored a few off my DS. Asda sold 100% cotton ones for much cheapness.

I rang my mum in a panic asking what babies wear on their legs before ds was born, you are not alone

My 4 yo wears vests too - he wore the ones that did up underneath until he was potty trained, but he wears sleeveless vests too. And when the weather was very cold, he wore thermal vests! I do like to know that he is snuggly (PFB, obviously).

I have stacks of clothes that fit a baby up to about 7 1/2 lb that DS never wore as he was 8 1/2 lb when born and barely lost any of his birth weight. I thought I'd be able to sue them this time around (I am 31 weeks pg), but this one looks to be on the bigegr side too.

"New baby" goes up to about 10 lb, and they lasted us all of a month before DS went into 0-3 months (which fit up to about 14 lb I think).

I just did lots of washing!

My golden rules/lessons learned:
You only need one pack socks for 0-3 months, a) they don't get dirty and b) they wear babygros
Don't buy anything that needs ironing, you'll be lucky if they haven't been sick on it before you are finished dressing them
Poppers - before you buy anything try to imagine dressing a cat in it. It's a similar experience with a wriggly baby. Poppers down the back = baby lying on stomach, poppers only at bottom = bl**dy nightmare getting over head and aligning vest sleeves with babygro sleeves, plus getting them off without getting poo everywhere is pretty tricky.
Babies fairly frequently produce poo that goes up to their arm pits. ALWAYS carry spare clothes and at least a spare t-shirt for you when out and about plus several spare muslins.
GAP in particular produce clothes that go from 0 to 10 yrs. Warning, babies have no necks so turtleneck jumpers/dresses are just a useful sick receptacle.
GAP sizes are v little and designed for skinny babies IMO. You'll usually need the next size up and their vests are not at all stretchy so avoid IMO. Their socks are good though and they do some really cute stuff especially for boys.
Big sizes are your friend - see wriggling and poo.
Girl with plump thighs - boys trousers from Gap :-) the girls are designed for twiglets.
You might be perfectly happy to keep baby in babygro's, your partner might not and will definitely not appreciate that at 6pm baby is on 3rd change of clothing that day. It's worth getting a few alternatives so the child looks like it has some "going out" clothes to avoid shopping expeditions with partner when you will invariably end up with all of the above or an argument about why you always know best. :-)
A sleep suit can also be a flannel/velour babygro with grippy feet which goes over a regular babygro/pjs and is worn like a dressing gown. We put our 1.5 yrs daughter in one and then a 2.5 tog grobag when it is v cold. Its handy on the weekend too when they are not getting dressed immediately.

There always used to be a very good checklist on the back of the mothercare catalogue. I'd get 10 short sleeved bodysuits, 10 sleep suits, two cardigans. Weeny babies are happiest in a sleep suit and a cardi.