Baby clothes confusion

[TeaAndToast85]

DD1 due in April. I'm starting to think about buying clothes fairly soon.

Short sleeved vests
Long sleeved vests
Sleep suits

Are the first two just summer/winter? Should I not bother buying any long sleeved ones if I am having a spring baby? Do you have vests on underneath sleepsuits, or just the sleep suit on its own? Is a sleep suit just a long sleeved vest with legs?

How many of all the above things do you think I will need?

Sorry if any of these questions are a bit dim (clearly they are)

Yep sleepsuits are vests with legs. Very useful, you'll need quite a few of those (Baby is likely to be sick/wee/poo on them so you need enough to cover that)

Assuming you are UK based I would still have some long sleeve vests - it's not that warm in the U.K. I wouldn't buy loads of either, you'll probably get a lot of gifts and you can always buy more when she arrives (honestly I bought quite a lot from
Asda online when DS was born but most places will deliver)

Short sleeve vests go under everything including babygro & help hold the nappy on more securely.
I rarely used long sleeved vests.
Top tip though, in case of poo explosion the vest can come off down the way instead of trying to get poo over baby's head.

Babygro/sleepsuit

Brilliant, thanks both xx

Yes I would buy lots of sleepsuits (mine lived in these for the first few months) a few long sleeved vests and plenty of short sleeved ones. I put vests on under sleepsuits unless it was very warm.

Then you have to decide how many newborn/ 0-3 or possibly tiny baby ones you buy.

From experience i had one actually small baby so we had first size/tiny baby suits. But also for my average sized baby the first sized ones were nice for when she was all still wee and curled up.

In April I would put short sleeved vest under sleep suit, just sleep suit in summer or just vest if very warm.

Long sleeved vests are good under dungarees instead of t-shirts but I don't tend to use them under clothes as sleeves get bunched up when you put next layer on.

I'd start with 6 each of vests and sleep suit in both newborn and 0 to 3 months and go from there.

My first baby was born in April. We only had short sleeved vests and baby gros, which we used together. No idea how many we had, maybe 8 of each to start with. I had long sleeved vests for dc 2 and 3, but short sleeved were easier I seem to remember.

SS vest under sleep suit April-Oct then useful to have some LS ones for the winter. We used them for March born DD.

I had about 10x sleep suits ranging from 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12 then 12-18. Same with vests. Mix of SS and LS for the winter. You can't have too many.

Cardigans very useful, jumpers less so as they are harder to put on. Mix of thick and thin to account for the temperature.

I had no need for the newborn size but getting a couple of cheap ones won't hurt.

Look out for the sleepsuits that have cuffs that can be folded over their hands to stop scratching. These are really useful.

I was thinking the same as due as well in April. Might get a few long but mainly short ones.

How many baby grows do you recommend as well ?

Just a long sleeve vest when in a growbag can be useful in the warmer months. My first baby was April and we had some of all (loads of all actually because he was a vomiter)
I'd strongly recommend second hand if you can, they stay in the early sizes for such a short time, save new prices for the odd bits that are too gorgeous to resist!
Good luck x

Sorry should clarify, unless your a laundry goddess you will need more then 6 changes of clothes. But that will get you through until you see what you are gifted, what size baby is and what works for you. You can easily get more once baby arrives

DD is an April baby. I used a lot of 0-3 month long-sleeve vests during the summer as they combined well with a light sleeping bag. Gets her down to a single layer without letting her arms get cold.

I then proceeded to buy loads in the next size as they'd proved so useful, but August was cooler and she was back in vest/sleepsuit a from then until it got really cold in late Nov.

So, I'd say get a few of each, but then see what you seem to be running out of first and send DH out for more of those. Remember they don't spend long in each size at that age although they can regularly manage to get through four or five outfits a day

I’d say bare minimum you want 10 short sleeved vests, 10 sleepsuits and a thin cardigan. Anything else you can pop to your nearest supermarket and pick up as and when.

Think of it like what you'd wear. I often wear a t-shirt under a jumper, or a vest top under a long sleeved top. In the summer, I drop to one layer. It's the same with babies. So, I find short sleeved vests useful even in the winter as you can pair them with a thicker outer layer. Long sleeved vests equally useful under thinner layers, or as a single layer with dungarees. Sleepsuits for sleeping or wearing all day when tiny. Get all of them! How many depends on how on top of the washing you tend to be. 10 would have been more than necessary for me (7 seems enough) but neither of mine were particularly pukey.

Oh yes, and long sleeved vests in warmer weather in a sleeping bag.

Fantastic info everyone thanks very much

I will definitely be picking up some long sleeved ones then, because I bought a lightweight grobag the other day

I had 8 short sleeve vests and 8 babygrows for my March born DD. They wore them until 6 months with a cardigan then I switched to long sleeve vests and jersey trousers.

Size wise it's a hit or miss, I was told both of mine were going to be big babies so bought first size but had to run out and buy tiny baby as they were 6lb 15oz and 7lb 2oz and swamped in anything bigger for the first month or so!

Get 8 short sleeved vests and 8 sleepsuits to start with. Probably “first size”. You'll only need then for about a month. By then, the weather may be warming up, and you can rethink what to replace them with in a bigger size. 0-3 months really means about 9-10 pounds to 3 months.

Supermarket bavy clothes are fine, although H&M do sleepsuiits in a wrap-over style which are very handy.

Also get a couple of knitted hats and a couple of cardies.

Don’t panic. The shops will be open once the baby is born!

Brain dump for you @teaandtoast

1. Sainsburys have great deals on children’s grobags and tops etc so you’ll be able to stock up now; I also find their stuff lasts well ie doesn’t hideously shrink in the tumble drier
2. Depending on where you are in the uk I would say you deffo need a vest and sleepsuit for baby in general but maybe a lightweight grobag instead of a 2.5 tog?
3. Top tip - are you tall? If you are assume baby will be in 0-3months for 8 weeks then up to 3+ months. The threshold for most 0-3months is 58cm x

Oh and on sleepsuit, DO NOT buy ones which fasten up the back or have fidgetty little buttons! I was gifted a few and they were a total pain in the arse!

I at the moment just use long sleeved vests for bed but that is more because my baby won't sleep with a blanket on and try our best to keep her warm at night. I don't think you will need them at that time of year. I have around 15 short sleeved vests and 10
Sleep suits. If you have more means you don't have to wash as often!

My first baby (girl) was born on April 1st 2015, i had one pack of long sleeved vests and we didn’t get the use from them.
However I love babies in long sleeve vests and leggings! Didn’t really have a clue what I was doing with my daughters clothes and had a lot that didn’t really match so for this baby (boy due 6th May) I’ve got a few long sleeve vest and leggings outfits, a few babygrows and short sleeve vests and might get some short sleeve rompers close to the time as I have no idea what the weather will be like xx

Don’t get too much in the newborn size. 9lb DD outgrew it all in two weeks and went straight into 0-3mths. Same for size 1 nappies - we had to give a load away!