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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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anotherangel2 · 10/08/2018 11:51

I had a 9lb 9oz but very long baby. My community midwife told me not to buy newborn and she was right. My DD was only in vests for up to one month for 2 weeks.

Narya · 10/08/2018 11:51

My 7lb baby was in newborn for about 4 weeks (he lost a fair bit of weight though). Up to one month is a really useful size, but do be wary of the huge size variations between brands. Only get the sleepsuits with the built in scratch mitts on the cuffs (Next, M&S, Mothercare, Boots etc). Seriously.

Tuupence and Crumble star wrap is a must for winter babies - massively easier to get on and off than snowsuits/pramsuits and works brilliantly with prams/car seats.

Onthebrink87 · 10/08/2018 11:54

When I had my first ds I bought lots of newborn as did lots of friends and family, as it happened he was 10lb and very long so couldn't wear any of them 😭

SevenOf1981 · 10/08/2018 11:55

My dd was 8lb5 so not a small baby, but she must have been compact as we had to buy a few tiny baby things for her!

I found the gifts we'd received of newborn things all varied in size enough that we managed a good while before we had to buy new things.

It doesn't matter if they wear things that are slightly too big anyway :)

Bezm · 10/08/2018 11:55

Don't buy too much! You will get loads of clothes as presents when baby arrives. You will need plenty of vests and baby grows, but most supermarkets sell packs of these, so if your baby turns out to be very small you can nip out and buy small sizes.

TheCag · 10/08/2018 12:19

As others up thread have mentioned too... I had two winter babies and never used a snowsuit or pramsuit, they are really impractical for newborns. You can't use them in the carseat anyway. Just use blankets when moving from indoors to outdoors, it's easier to control temp and comfort and you'll be cursing trying to get a sleeping baby out of a snowsuit when you get home!

Mousefunky · 10/08/2018 14:19

I had three 10 lbers and they did not fit in newborn size AT ALL. All of the NB clothes I had bought or gifted for DC1 were a total waste and because I was a clueless FTM the only thing in my hospital bag that fit was a vest and socks . My DM had to bring in some 0-3 clothes for him. As a result I never bothered buying newborn again.

If you are likely to have a regular sized baby though (and it sounds like you will) I would get a few newborn sleepsuits and vests as well as 0-3 and pack both in your hospital bag just in case!

RedPandaMama · 10/08/2018 14:21

Had our daughter last year. She was 7lb 6oz at birth so very average weight, but she was long (95th centile).

She fitted tiny baby for 2 weeks.
Newborn/up to 1 month til 6 weeks.
0-3 from about 1 month to 4 months.
3-6 3/4 months to 6 months.
Then pretty much in accurate sizes.

FlotSHAMnJetson · 10/08/2018 14:23

@Narya I HATED the Tuppence and Crumble Star suit, bought on MN advice and spent the whole time trying to stop the hood suffocating the baby and if you didn't put the hood on in the car the head wouldn't sit right in the seat. Blankets much easier!

Viviennemary · 10/08/2018 14:26

I agree that a lot of gifts will be either newborn or 0-3 months size. And then you could face a shortage after 6 months. Depends I think on how many presents you get Hope that doesn't sound too grabby) .

dinosaurkisses · 10/08/2018 14:28

Seconding the Tuppence and Crumble star wraps!

Much handier and more practical than a snow suit- easier to wash and there’s no messing about trying to get tiny scrunched up legs into them. Once dd grew out of the 0-6 style I immediately bought another in the next size and we still use it constantly at 10 months.

We had a pramsuit for dd in 0-3 from the mothercare sale and she had it on her about four times- only for walks in the pram as I was paranoid about the car seat thing.

lifechangesforever · 10/08/2018 14:32

My DD is 3 weeks old and was 7lb 6oz, at last weigh in a week ago she was 8lb 1oz.

She's still in newborn size (some are even too big for her) and 0-3 is wayyyy too big on her.

We expected her to be a lot bigger from growth scans so we had to go out and buy all the newborn stuff the day after coming home from hospital. We're in the same 5-6 outfits and just loadssss of sleepsuits and babygrows.

DunesOfSand · 10/08/2018 14:39

Bizzarly, my 7lb DS1 went straight into 0-3. His 8lb brother fitted in new born.

twoundertwo1234 · 10/08/2018 15:05

My babies were 7.11 & 8.13 so both lather.

I only had 0-3months and I rolled up the sleeves as didn't want to waste money on stuff that wouldn't last.

Don't buy loads of newborn get a mix of that and 0-3.

Snow suit things are quite awkward when they are really little as it's hard to get them in them so I always did socks , gloves and cardigan and layers of blankets for outside.

Magpiefeather · 10/08/2018 15:16

In my experience.....

Only buy basics in newborn and 0-3m (sleepsuits, vests) also have blankets and grobags if you intend to use them (I loved grobags as no worries about baby wriggling down inside blanket).

You probably will get lots of gifts and yes baby will grow out of the smallest sizes quickly.

3-6m and 6-9m my baby was in for longer and we had more fun clothes for this stage.

9-12m and 12-18m have both lasted over half a year

What I would say though is.....
Dresses are a bit of a nightmare with a non moving baby because they just tuck up and get all bunched because the baby is being picked up a lot. Also a nightmare on a crawling baby as they trip over the dress with their knees
If you buy anything which buttons at the back in early sizes (before baby can roll) you will curse yourself
Cardigans / jumpers last a bit longer as they stretch quite a bit
You will always use basics like vests, sleepsuits, t shirts, leggings, cardigans. They work across the seasons so safe to buy bigger sizes to save for future
With leggings though I had some really cute 0-3m ones that I never used, I felt awful putting a tight elasticated waistband across my tiny baby’s tummy!!
Prob a bit PFB of me but I just wanted her to be comfy!

Good luck OP

reeldoop · 10/08/2018 15:19

2 of mine were in newborn for about 5/6 weeks. One (longer and now taller) was only in them for a few days. Basically, there's no way of telling, which isnt very helpful, I know. I'd just buy a few newborn and anything like a snowsuit, I'd always buy in 0-3.

RidingMyBike · 10/08/2018 15:23

Mine was quite big (7lb 13) and fitted in newborn size for about 3 weeks. We'd mainly bought 0-3 month size and borrowed newborn stuff as it isn't worth buying it when they're in it for such a short time.

I found the M and S 'up to one month' size quite useful - we bought one pack of vests and one pack of baby gros in that size. It got worn a lot and fitted until about 6 weeks. And those are the things we've kept as keep sakes.

Mine was December baby. We bought 0-3 month snowsuit which was the perfect size. She grew out of it as the weather got warmer.

Also, they don't need loads of stuff and outfits just make your life difficult. Mine was almost entirely in vests and babygros to nine months as it makes everything so much easier.

happymummy12345 · 10/08/2018 16:35

We got ours from mothercare. We got newborn size (up to 10lb) for the hospital. We only got a few as we didn't want to know the sex, so the idea was to go out when the baby was born and get more, and we'd know what size we needed as well.
We ended up having to get size tiny baby (up to 7lb 5oz) as baby was 6lb 7oz, so newborn size was huge on him. He was in tiny baby for a couple of months, then went in to the newborn size.

bowgumdrop2018 · 10/08/2018 17:38

My daughter was 8lbs 6 at birth and she is 4 weeks old now and still comfortably fits into newborn and first size outfits and baby grows ect with some having still abit of room for growth..everyone's baby's grow at different rates but I think unless your predicted a larger baby which you arnt then newborn should do just fine

kikibo · 10/08/2018 18:07

Don't buy snowsuits. My DD hated being forced into coats and snowsuits and got quite distressed. I got two of them as presents, but only ever attempted one once.

Get a star wrap. Lifesaver. Putting it on doesn't last long, so the discomfort for baby is minimal and they come in size 1 (0-6months) and size 2 (not sure, but probably up to 1 year). As baby isn't walking, the swaddling doesn't matter either and it's nice and snuggly.

www.notonthehighstreet.com/tuppenceandcrumble

Best thing we ever had.

As to clothes, I'd buy a mix. 0-3 will probably swamp baby at first, though they won't care.

Original poster

MagicalCreatures · 10/08/2018 20:59

Great advice everyone. Thankyou so much.
So many mixed opinions and experiences though. I think it really is a case of be prepared for everything. All babies are different.
So much for ‘The average baby this and the the average baby that’ 😂
I just thought that since I don’t plan on going out a lot in the car when the baby is first born, that having the snowsuit for the pram to keep him warm, I could go for some nice walks around my area instead. To get me out the house for an hour each day.
We will see. Things never quite go to plan. X

OP posts:

Greenwomanofmay · 10/08/2018 21:15

I bought mainly 0-3 months and got plenty of wear from them, a few nice newborn baby grows for hospital, photos, etc. The newborn only fitted for a couple of weeks. DS was 8 12.
I didn't have a snowsuit until DS was 4/5 months but as pp said get a size bigger it's much easier to get the baby in and if you choose one with poppers all down the front and legs when they fall asleep outside and you need to bring the pram in you can just undo all the poppers so they don't overheat. Blankets are easy as well.

ProseccoPoppy · 11/08/2018 10:19

Op for the pram the best thing I had was a star wrap from Tuppence and Crumble - they are awesome and fit for ages.
tuppenceandcrumble.com/shop/index.php?route=fleece-baby-star-wrap-brights

dinosaurkisses · 11/08/2018 10:20

Just saw that Tuppence and Crumble do a third size of 10-18 months which I’ll definitely be ordering once DD grows out of her current star wrap

RidingMyBike · 11/08/2018 13:09

I did a lot of walking initially (and after, spent most of maternity leave walking, I got incredibly fit!) with the pram and the snowsuit was invaluable. We didn't really use the car very much. Get a snowsuit that has poppers/zip all the way down legs as then you just unzip them if you go into a cafe etc and they're asleep - that way they're basically just lying on it without the extra layer on top. Blankets useful too as an extra layer if it's really cold. They are very easy to adjust layers wise depending on where you are (walk in countryside as oppose to in and out of shops for example).

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