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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Advice needed from experienced mums regarding sizing of clothes to buy for my 1st baby

51 replies

MagicalCreatures · 10/08/2018 09:04

Hi
I’m having my first baby due at the end of December and I’m clueless at how quick babies grow and what sizes to get.
Do they grow out of newborn/first size very quickly?

I’m particularly interested in knowing about snow/pram suits as I’ve bought one in first size from Asda (up to 9lb/50-56cm long) and baby will be in it from the moment it’s born but should I have got 0-3months (up to 12lb)
Me and DH were regular size babies. 6lb 7oz and 7lb 4oz and baby is measuring on target at the moment. So not expected to have a huge one but obviously I know that means nothing really 😀

Help!!!!

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GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 10/08/2018 09:07

Well I had a 10lber and he still fitted newborn stuff for a good week or two (they drop a bit of weight to begin with) giving us time to get some 0-3 clothes and lots of gifts were 0-3 anyway.

december212 · 10/08/2018 09:08

Think you’ve bought the right size for a newborn - most 0-3 will swamp a newborn. First size might not last too long, though I did find Asda stuff a little bit wider than other brands so quite good that way. Mamas and papas stuff is tiny so skip to larger sizes if buying there at all.

Mhcb · 10/08/2018 09:23

I am due in December and I have bought at mostly a mixture of newborn/0-3.

This is my first baby but my step sons who are teenagers where both in the 10lb range so being prepared incase there brother follows suit.

ew1990 · 10/08/2018 09:28

DD was 6lb 7 and looked lost in a 0-3 snowsuit, she was in her first size one for about 2 months

Original poster

MagicalCreatures · 10/08/2018 09:35

Thanks so much everyone.
What would I do without you all.
You just have no idea when it’s your first. My friends baby was 6lb 15oz at birth, lost abit of weight and then within 2 weeks is now just over 8lb. I didn’t realise they grew that quick. That’s why Im panicking. 😂

OP posts:

SpectacularAardvark · 10/08/2018 09:37

No way of knowing really, mine was an average size baby but in newborn size for the first three months. I had to buy more newborn stuff, fast!

SoyDora · 10/08/2018 09:39

Mine were 7lbs 12oz and 8lbs 8oz and were in newborn for about a month, 0-3 swamped them. That’s even with DD2 putting on 1lb a week for her first 6 weeks!

SpectacularAardvark · 10/08/2018 09:41

My friend's second baby was straight into 3-6 at birth and grew out of his first car seat in just a few months, completely different from their first who'd been very average size-wise all along.

DameSylvieKrin · 10/08/2018 09:44

For the pramsuit I'd consider exchanging it for the next size up. My DD was 5lb 7oz and we only had a snowsuit 2 sizes up. At the beginning we didn't put her arms and legs through the arms and legs of the suit as she preferred to curl up. Didn't make a difference when she was just lying in the pram.
We left the house so rarely at the beginning as the weather was bad that it didn't come up much.
I've always put her in jackets a size too big since then as it was so hard to get her arms into the right sized jackets, especially if she had a jumper on.

Fatted · 10/08/2018 09:48

Depends on how big baby will be really.

Big babys run in our family. Nephew born just before my kids was 8lbs. DS1 was 9lbs. DS2 was 8.5lbs and he was two weeks early.

I didn't bother with new born or first size stuff. Had a couple of bits for the hospital bag that didn't last long I think. Both boys were in 3-6 months stuff by 8 weeks old.

ew1990 · 10/08/2018 09:53

Oh and every place seems to make there clothes differently- I've got a bodysuit from boots that's 3-6 months and it's still too long for DD who's 9 months!

ProseccoPoppy · 10/08/2018 09:57

My 9 and a half pound first baby was in first size for five days. TBh she could have gone straight into 0-3 but I got excited buying tiny clothes while pregnant so was desperate for her to wear the stuff at least once! My second was just under 8lb and was in first size stuff for nearly 2 months.

My to tip is to buy second hand bundles for the first year - babies grow so quick that the clothes don’t wear out so are still in excellent condition second (and sometimes third) hand and buy colours and patterns that you’d be happy to put a baby of either sex in - means you can use clothes for a second baby and/or easily sell on or give away when you’re done. Buying second hand also meant my little ones are in nice quality clothes (Jojo, John Lewis, Gap etc) without me paying out much.

Chimchar · 10/08/2018 09:59

I really wouldn't stress too much about it.
Get some soft, newborn baby grows and vests for the first few weeks. You will have loads of presents of clothes I'm sure, and lots of people buy bigger sizes for the bay to grow in to.

You won't really know how big your baby is or how quickly he or she will grow until they're here.

Good luck!

househunthappening · 10/08/2018 10:03

Agree it's impossible OP!

DS was 9lb 6oz and all I'd bought was 0-3. They swamped him but luckily a kind friend had given me a bag full of hand me downs to get started and there were some newborn baby grows in there. I think they said up to 7lb or something like that but DS wore them for several weeks even though he barely lost any weight and grew like a weed from the get go.

I suspect the pram suit will be ok, I've found they tend to be quite roomy. If you wanted to be on the safe side you could take it back and buy it again nearer the time so you can swap it if you have a whopper, although to be honest Asda are pretty good and would probably let you exchange anyway if they've still got it.

You will find that baby/toddler sizing is completely unreliable and you'll probably have to keep doing trial and error. DS is 1 now and I'm constantly redressing him because stuff that should fit is too small/too big but the problem is that he ends up not wearing some stuff because it says 12-18 months but it comes up small and I've missed the opportunity to put him in it.

DreamingofSunshine · 10/08/2018 10:04

I would definitely get some newborn stuff. DS was 8lb but ended up at 6lb as he was unwell so wore newborn for far longer than expected. He then grew out of 0-3 in 2 weeks.

Polestar50 · 10/08/2018 10:10

Slight tangent here: As a PP says above, newborns like to stay curled up, which means they often pull their legs up out of the legs and into the body of baby grows, leaving the leg parts dangling, especially if the baby grows are roomy.

They then get ‘stuck’ in this position and can’t stretch their legs out. I don’t think it bothers the baby at all by the way. I just didn’t like the idea of it.

To keep their legs and feet in the baby grow we used Sock Ons on top of the feet part. Works a charm. They can still curl up but keep their legs in the leg parts.
www.mothercare.com/socks/sock-ons--2-pack/LQ8441.html (lots more colours available on Amazon and Ebay).

To answer your question, our baby was 8lb but quite compact. He put in weight normally and stayed in newborn size for at least the first month.

Manderleyagain · 10/08/2018 10:16

I should get a mixture of new born and 0 to 3. Mine grew out of the new born size in a couple of wks though. But you are probably right to get the new born size for the pram suit. Different brands vary so in the end it's easier to put the clothes you've got in order or length rather than going by the label.

welshweasel · 10/08/2018 10:21

I’m not really sure what the point of a pramsuit is anyway! You can’t use them in the car seat or sling and every time you go indoors you have to take it off - just dress the baby normally (vest and babygro) then pop a hat on and however many blankets you need when you go out! Then you can whip the blankets off when you go into a shop/cafe/back home without waking the baby!

rubyroot · 10/08/2018 10:24

I just got 0-3 and waited for him to grow into them- he fitted them fine by the time he was two weeks old. But if you want everything just perfect for your baby then buy newborn stuff. I couldn't see the point personally!

thenorthernluce · 10/08/2018 10:30

I found first size useless on my 7lb6ozs baby, with most stuff unworn after the first week. Best was up to one month, which she was in from about 1 week until six weeks, IIRC (was this time last year). But sizes differ between brands. M&S, John Lewis and Tu come up big, Tesco, H&M and Primark were small. So my advice is buy the bare minimum in the newborn size, slightly more in the up to one month size and reassess once the baby’s born. You’ll get given tons in 0-3, so you’ll definitely have some kicking around if your baby ends up bigger than average (it happens!). Enjoy!

thenorthernluce · 10/08/2018 10:33

To add, not all brands do the up to one month size - from memory, maybe JL? Or maybe the retailers label it as up to 9lbs/10lbs? Either way, more generous than newborn, which is typically up to about 7lbs, I think. Gosh, I’m starting to doubt myself now, and all her old clothes are packed away in the loft!!

Onesundaymorning · 10/08/2018 10:38

I bought a lovely little snowsuit for my November born in first size but he only ever wore it once! It wasn't very practical to try and put him in it while he was so tiny and I found that a soft coat (a size bigger than needed as it's easier to wiggle the arms in) and then blankets was the best and easiest way to keep him the right temperature when in the pram and going in-and-out of shops etc. It's exciting buying things like a first snowsuit but I found that he didn't actually need one for that first winter. Plus, I realised that he changed size so quickly in those days that I actually bought some second-hand ones from ebay so that I could keep replacing the same style of snuggly coat each time that he grew.

Angelmiracle · 10/08/2018 10:55

Mothercare have newborn up to 10lb with mmittens on sleeves and lasted DS at 9lb9 - 1 month but by sounds of it your LO might not be so big and I'm sure you'll get use out of the newborn gros. And may be a slightly bigger pram suit to get the wear out of it.

FlotSHAMnJetson · 10/08/2018 11:43

My mum told me not to buy newborn stuff as I never fitted in any... I had a premature baby who needed tiny baby clothes.

Baby no.2 I took 2x vest and 2x baby grow in Prem, new born and 0-3 and a couple of cardigans. If you put each size in a sandwich bag and such out the air they take up very little space.

usernotfound0000 · 10/08/2018 11:48

I don't think there is a rule that suits all babies. DD was fairly average sized (7lb2) but very petite and newborn stuff drowned her, we had to go out and buy lots of tiny baby stuff. She was about 8 weeks before she fitted into newborn and I generally got bored of stuff before she outgrew it. I'd buy a few bits but wait until baby arrives, you can pick stuff up in 24 hour supermarkets if necessary and next day delivery, so baby won't go without.

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