did ypu wash new baby clothes?

[ditsydoll]

Will be packing my hospital bag this week and have bought some new white packs of vests etc..
Should I wash them before use?
Did you wash every outfit before your baby wore it?

[Audrey2013]

I've been to several clothes factories in Thailand, I've been to a few retail stock rooms... I will wash everything for our new baby:))
Just as I wash all underwear/sleepwear we buy for ourselves - never even thought there was an option not to do it tbh

[chattychattyboomba]

I washed EVERYTHING. Was a little obsessed (to the point i worried about spores and air particles!)
Now i am not so concerned. It's up to you... If it puts your mind at ease then go for it.

[Teaandflapjacks]

ha ha - the last thread on this scared the pants off me! anyway, I have washed and stored all the second hand stuff we got, mainly because they had been in storage and were a bit mouldy smelling. With new stuff, I reckon it is practical to wait to see what size the little one is before opening and washing it all with wild abandon, in case you need to exchange? I would probably have chucked in the wash stuff that had been hanging in shops, and probably packet stuff too, but I never bother for myself I must admit, including pants in packets . But all the stuff we have is second hand apart from blankets and muslins, which i washed as they were from ikea etc and when you see kids wandering about picking nose and touching stuff etc, then you think 'lets just wash that...'

[mrsbugsywugsy]

would have done but dd was prem so everything was bought at the asda next to the hospital.

[2Labradors]

I remember that I washed the little vests & sleep suits that I took in my hospital bag and that I had bought ready for home. I also loved having them out on the line.

When friends & family bought lovely news outfits for my babies I don't remember washing them before putting them on them.

They're 9 & 7 now and I definitely don't wash new clothes before they wear them, or mine.

I do love the smell of fairy & comfort pure, ahh that lovely baby smell.

[BriansBrain]

I went on mat leave 2 weeks before DD made her appearance and was bored brainless after 7 days of nesting so washed everything.

It's only one wash for newborn clothes and you need to wash the Moses basket and pram sheets so might as well pop the grows and sleepers in with them.

[CiderwithBuda]

I washed everything. Knew someone who worked with a clothing manufacturer and she washed everything she bought for herself and def recommended for baby stuff.

[tilder]

I always wondered if it was necessary but washed everything anyway. It was part of preparing.

Then ds1 wore a brand new unwashed vest (neglectful parent that I am) and ended up with a virtual red vest when I took the vest off. Was really shocked, thought the need to was was hype but the new clothe thing definitely affected his skin.

Always wash second hand stuff. If I was given clothes for me that had been stored for a couple of years in a bag in the loft or garage I would wash before wearing. Same for my kids.

[oscarwilde]

Yes. Washed everything except woollies. I don't fuss about myself so much but DH gets nasty rashes from new unwashed clothes so couldn't face doing it to my pfb. I used to work in retail and I know that cotton is treated so it doesn't crease in transit, especially shirt type fabric.
DH is over 6ft and my sister recommended buying big as easier to dress the baby so I only bought 0-3. DD1 was a little swamped for about two weeks but nothing was wasted. She was a pukey little thing so we got through everything with no tumble drier in the house!

[weeblueberry]

No idea about the chemical thing. I washed ours but it was mainly out of a self indulgent desire to feel as though I was doing something motherly already

Also there are quite a few skin issues in DPs family so I thought it couldn't hurt to wash everything through in non bio stuff.

[pinkteapot]

I did with dc1... did everything people said you 'should do'. not for dcs2 or 3, seriously life is busy enough! anyway washing powder has chemicals, baby food has chemicals, baby wash, lotions, shampoo, wipes, formula,... it all has chemicals, so I dont see the point. I dont select purely organic veg and triple-filtered water either,bad mum! I think do it if you have time to kill and like seeing them drying on your line. else dont worry too much

[chickydoo]

Dear God, never crossed my mind to wash new baby clothes!
Have 4 DC none of them have suffered any harm. The eldest DC is now nearly 18

[syl1985]

Yes, I'd wash them.
Others might have touched these clothes in the shop, but also:
For to let new baby clothes look nicer they use sometimes chemical products for that.

Even if they didn't use any chemicals to make it look nicer. Or no one ever touched these clothes before.
It still has been a long time ago since these clothes or fabrics have been washed.

I'd wash them and iron them before using them. I think it's more hygienic.

Sylvia

[Littlemissexpecting]

I have washed everything we have in up to 3 months.
Personal preference really, and I thought it was something everyone did. I was washing the bedding so to wash a load of vests and sleepsuits wasn't a big inconvenience. I won't be ironing them though!

[rrreow]

I tend to wash new baby clothes because of the shrinking they do, because when they're new and unwashed they end up swimming in them, when they're actually the right size once washed. It's how we ended up buying lots of stuff that was too small for DS as we put him in the unwashed newborn clothes and they were HUGE on him, cue us thinking he needed early-baby clothes, but once washed the early-baby stuff was pretty small and he only wore them for a week.

I don't wash them for any other reason though.

[80QuidYoniJob]

I did last time and I will this time too.

[kalidasa]

Basically no. I bought almost everything second hand and only washed a few things (in fact everything was perfectly clean but in a couple of cases I just didn't like the smell of the powder/fabric softener so washed them again). I didn't wash any of the handful of new things either.

But then I never wash new clothes before wearing either whereas I know some people do.

[slightlysoupstained]

Waiting I got a bit freaked out by how big the newborn outfits seemed compared to my belly! Now they look tiny.

[slightlysoupstained]

I didn't. DP did all the newborn stuff washing. We only washed a few outfits for the first few days before the birth - figured we only needed enough to last as long as it took for DP to pop into supermarket on way home for more of the appropriate size, stick a wash on, and dry them.

Have always washed any of our clothes that are in direct contact with skin before first wear, so seems sensible to do so for baby, esp as they suck on their hands/sleeves/etc.

[WaitingForMe]

I washed everything. I just loved handling all the tiny things and imagining an actual baby wearing them.

[rowtunda]

I washed the first things we bought for DS (before he arrived) once he was born I was a bit busy to be washing already clean clothes! Doubt I'll bother for DC2

[notso]

I did but only for something to do while start-of-labour-spotting.
The outfits we were given afterwards I didn't, most of them were only on for about an hour before getting poo or sick on them anyway!
Somethings do smell chemically when new but washing powder is also chemically it just smells nicer.

[carrielou2007]

I might have to try to find the thread again now, one poster's husband was some sort if chemical scientist then other posters shouting get down about what he had said it was farcical! We should start one on 'washing newborns with cotton wool and water v baby wipes' to get same sort if reaction

[OneFingerSjupesUpTheYoni]

Carrielou i bet we were on the same one - i was freaked right out and seriously confused!

Yep auntiestella as carrielou said it went from i do/i don't to ''you are bringing deeeeeeath to your chiiiiild won't somebody thiiiink of the cheeeeeeeldren'' within 30 odd posts

[Steffanoid]

I have done like a previous poster purely because I like seeing things hanging on the line and then folding them all and putting them away, they look so lovely