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Pregnancy

Anyone not washing all their newborn stuff?

128 replies

Ohdeargod1 · 22/03/2013 21:18

DC2 due shortly. I washed all of DS1s new stuff - the baby grows in packets. This time I don't really want to! I'm going to do the blankets. What is everyone else doing?

OP posts:

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Weissdorn · 22/03/2013 22:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

UniqueAndAmazing · 22/03/2013 22:12

I didn't.
I have never washed any of hers before wearing for the first time..
she suffers from eczema too,and it has made no difference.

Abra1d · 22/03/2013 22:13

The chemicals you refer to are specifically listed as banned in M&S clothes for children, anyway.

corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/how_we_do_business/environmental_and_chemical_%20policy_module1.pdf

IsSpringSprangedYet · 22/03/2013 22:16

I remember seeing a bit on a pack of baby gros saying 'just because I'm new, doesn't mean I'm clean! Wash me at...'

I always wash anything and everything.

UniqueAndAmazing · 22/03/2013 22:18

of course there are chemicals involved, but they're only bad if you react to them.
it's exactly the same as if you react to soap powder or wool or man-made fabrics.
they're not inherently bad chemicals.

Havingkitties · 22/03/2013 22:27

Although I wash second hand stuff (but mostly to get rid of the overly floral scent of someone else's washing) I do not and never will wash new clothes. Don't you think there would be a warning in clothes to wash them if it was such a problem?

There are probably chemicals on clothes...but then there are chemicals on everything. Did you know that chemicals actually make up the vast majority of everything around us, both naturally occurring and man made? (shock horror!) They have even made a periodic table full of these elements that make up the chemicals, and scientists have known about them for years? There I've let the cat out if the bag

Come on, let's not push mummy guilt anymore.

ChippingInIsEggceptional · 22/03/2013 22:29

U&A - not it's not only bad for you if you 'react' to it. Have you considered that if you did wash the clothes her eczema might not be so bad?

No, of course formaldehyde isn't an inherently bad chemical to be absorbing into your skin

ChippingInIsEggceptional · 22/03/2013 22:31

God how naive are some people?

MintyyAeroEgg · 22/03/2013 22:33

But why on earth wouldn't you wash it? What is it going to be, in all honesty? One extra wash! One extra wash for your precious new born baby! If you cannot be arsed to do this then you are a genuine lazy fekker imvho.

BabyHMummy · 22/03/2013 22:34

i have washed everything - you never know who has pawed at stuff in the shops etc!

but its all a question of personal choice. if you know where stuff has come from then that should be fine

UnrequitedSkink · 22/03/2013 22:36

Am astonished - sorry, I'm normally very unconfrontational, but how difficult is it to stick a load of tiny baby clothes through a wash and then hang them on an airer? It's the first act of love you can perform for your newborn - why WOULDN'T you want to do that?

I rarely wash new clothes if they're for me. But a newborn is so tiny and defenceless, their skin is seven times thinner than an adult's. Gah. I despair.

whethergirl · 22/03/2013 22:39

I always wash new stuff, think it's quite yuk to put it on straight out of the packet, would never give it a second thought for a newborn. I've been inside some of these huge factories where these get made, it's quite common that these places are full of mice and cockroaches.

You can't be arsed? To put some clothes in a washing machine, take them out and let them dry?? TBH I think it's more bother to start a thread and respond to replies on MN than it is to chuck a load in.

DewDr0p · 22/03/2013 22:39

Yes I washed everything. I actually quite enjoyed it (and I am no domestic goddess), part of nesting for me.

sjupes · 22/03/2013 22:45

Bugger. We find out the sex next week - once i buy clothes i'm banging them in the wash dp will i don't do washing these days and i'll be washing the other two's new clothes in future too.

I feel bloody awful. Wee shites they are but i'll not affect their dodgy skin any more than necessary - ds in an excema fiend..

Ohdeargod1 · 22/03/2013 22:56

God some of you can be bloody rude sometimes. I didn't say I couldn't be bothered/arsed - I said I didn't WANT to as they feel so lovely and new from the packet. Clearly I would wash stuff that's been manhandled in the shops.

Jeez. First act of love?! That's pushing it.

OP posts:

UniqueAndAmazing · 22/03/2013 22:58

chipping it makes no difference.she doesn't react to clothes.

Ohdeargod1 · 22/03/2013 22:58

And just to prove that I love my unborn child I managed to find the energy to put the baby clothes from the loft through a cycle. It almost killed me. Lazy bugger I am

OP posts:

UniqueAndAmazing · 22/03/2013 23:01

dd didn't wear half of what she was given as a newborn. what a waste of new clothes.

I have washed her clothes since, just not for the first time she wore them

I don't react to new clothes, but I react to biological washing powder and most fabric softeners.

atrcts · 22/03/2013 23:02

I did, simply to avoid irritated skin. I was glad I did as within a week or 2 we were being treated for eczema - am sure it would have been much worse without gentle fairy liquid soothing it all first!
Second time round I have no choice either, as its all been in the loft for years. Wouldn't wear anything unwashed in those circumstances myself!

whethergirl · 22/03/2013 23:07

Sorry Ohdeargod, I swear I read upthread that you couldn't be arsed. But it appears you didn't. It must have been another thread. About something totally different.

UniqueAndAmazing · 22/03/2013 23:12

dd didn't get eczema until she was about 4 months old.

GreenEyedGirlxxx · 22/03/2013 23:12

I agree with other posters that it jut seems crazy not to wash clothes before your baby wears them. I washed everything of DS's. He's 2 now and I still do it.

It's hardly any effort, why wouldn't you just stick them in the wash? Surely even if it just 'might' be some sort of risk to your newborn baby then it's worth protecting them. I'm shocked by some people - not realising it's an issue is one thing, but knowing it is but not bothering is just ridiculous.

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UnrequitedSkink · 22/03/2013 23:28

Ohdeargod1 sorry, I got a bit dramatic there. I blame the cider. You're right, you didn't say you couldn't be arsed. And the first act of love is usually the conception bit.

Dannilion · 22/03/2013 23:29

There's a lot of judgemental hysteria on this thread, and unnecessary aggression. It's like a bf/ff topic on AIBU.

No-one I know washes their kids clothes before dressing them. DM didn't and I've always had great skin

Wash your kids clothes if you want, don't get all holier than thou about it.

willoughboobs · 22/03/2013 23:50

My dc washed absolutely everything for the arrival of her dd and then she gave birth to a DS, she couldn't return one single item hundreds of pounds down the drain

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