Newborn clothes amounts & washing

[Kt2108]

Hi all- couple of questions
Firstly which gets asked often I'm sure. How many of each item did you all have for example; vests for day time under outfits, babygrows, sleepsuits, hats, socks, bibs etc

Secondly did you all wash them before baby was here

And lastly- for washing: do you wash your babies clothes with your own clothes? If so what detergent/softener do you use? Or just keep everything separate?

Thanks! X

@LisaSimpsonsbff previous user name referred to a biscuit haha!

Thank you very much.

I bought shed loads of tiny baby, 0-1 and 0-3 for my DTs (had no idea what size they’d be born or how far we’d make it) which was far too much. I’d say 10 sleepsuits and 10 vests would be a good number. I never bothered with socks (still got about a billion pairs I need to get rid of!) because I only used the sleepsuits with the built in feet and mitts. I had loads of cute outfits but they spent the first 4 months of their lives in sleepsuits and vests as they were winter babies, and I just didn’t have the time to dress them up. I did buy very snazzy sleepsuits though.

In my defence I couldn’t do much for the last 8 weeks of pregnancy and spent the time shopping online! I washed everything before they were born. I normally have enough for a wash load for just their stuff, but I happily chuck ours in too to make up a load - I’ve switched to fairy non bio capsules for all our washing.

For muslin squares, I have about 30-40 and could quite easily get through the lot in a couple of days. They fed 8 times a day in the beginning, so 16 minimum a day!

I bought 12 of the tomee tipee bottles but DS had colic so switched to dr browns bottles, and they had 4 each because they’re super expensive.

I bought almost nothing! I got so many presents of clothes that all I needed was to buy a few bits to complete outfits.

Babygrows are much easier to wash and iron than proper outfits.

Momentarily winded at the thought of ironing babygros.

I really underestimated to muslin square requirements. I will add a few more on the weekly shop then just need mam bottles,a crib and a nice coming home outfit.

Actually need a wardrobe too or drawers if anyone has suggestions.

@foxotterhare 😂😂😂 My DMIL would happily iron babygros all day not for me either.

I had 6 babygros and 6 vests - 4 days in hospital and ran out!! Got an emergency supply of seconds from my cousin until the pressies rolled in though I found most people buy you 3-6months!

Washed in Fairy non bio and comfort pure at 40degrees- the smell is devine and takes me right back to DS as a newborn!

Must say I love Avent Natural and DS was a silent refluxer.

Momentarily winded at the thought of ironing babygros
@foxotterhare My DM irons EVERYTHING. I am repeatedly informed of the error of my ways as she fishes all the unironed babygrows out of the wardrobe and sets about ironing them “so the poor little mite looks presentable”. This is usually after she’s ironed my tea towels and socks.

How much newborn size stuff really depends on your baby's birth weight, sorry if that doesn't help, it's just the truth. On average after being born they'll lose some then regain birth weight in 2 to 4 weeks and gain 5 to 7 oz per week after for the first 6 months.

Stock up on nappies if you see a good sale, Tesco has Pampers for half off sometimes, we bought I think 8 packs of size 1, 12 of size 2, 12 of size 3, 8 of size 4. She hasn't outgrown any sizes so far before we moved on or been too small when running out of last size.

Stock up on baby wipes too since they won't outgrow them.

We had tons of newborn clothes from gifts and buying used clothes bundles. I thought I wouldn't have to do laundry for ages, I was SO WRONG.

Take a decent amount of extra clothes for the baby at the hospital because they will likely be regularly throwing up black stuff they inhaled on their way out. I was shocked how much a tiny baby could inhale of it, took about 3 or 4 days to clear her body.

Decent amount of muslin cloths, if you buy larger high quality then you'll need less imo. We have these, love them. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01ELBF9F4?ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link&coliid=I3346VRMC5BN1U&tag=mumsnetforum-21&colid=2QV7F0MCACK0Y

I wouldn't try fabric softener until out of the newborn stage.

Hope some of this helped.

@BigBlueBubble

"This is usually after she’s ironed my tea towels and socks."

Holy dafuq!

@BigBlueBubble

Did she try to iron the muslin cloths too? 🤔😂

So far I've got 10 sleepsuits and 10 vests in each size up to 12 months and 2 nice knitted cardigans and a shawl its all plain white too so the stains can be boiled out and no dirt can hide in them. Nothing cuter than a baby in a white babygro imo. You can buy them a few fancy outfits for showing them off when you go see relatives but its not essential.

Work on the basis of needing 2 baby grows and vests per day- poo accidents, sick accidents etc happen but don’t be tempted to buy more if you have had a previously colicky child (like I did). I believe in establishing a normal as possible routine from birth so my kids have always been changed for the day/bed from day one.

As for sizes there is no way of knowing- DS was 8 days overdue and weighed 9lbs 7. DD was a day early and only weight 6lbs 12

If money is tight but you want to buy some new stuff, buy in 3 months and get your newborn stuff second hand because they won’t be in it for long if at all.

(Sleep deprived here)

I disagree with FullOfNothing about stocking up on baby wipes before your baby is born.

As someone with an immune deficiency that has caused lots of bouts of contact dermatitis from babyhood and knowing other people including children with similar issues, toiletries are one of the common causes of an outbreak. Wait and check that a specific brand of baby wipes doesn't cause problems then stock up if there is a sale.

Incidentally I've only once that I can remember having an issue with a new item of clothing. Most of my outbreaks have been due to laundry washing products, toiletries and sponges.

BigBlueBubble

This brings back memories of my mother ironing my sheets with rose water. Those were the days!

I don't know if Dettol Laundry has dispensed with the need for Napisan? It's only been a couple of years since we had babies but things change so fast.

I would not be happy to throw baby's gear into a normal wash without something to kill the bugs hiding in their clothes.

Stick socks on under the sleepsuit to keep little toes extra warm especially winter babies as they loose the most heat through their head and their feet. Reusable wipes are better than disposable as they are cheaper you never run out and they don't cause allergies or blockages

Foxotterhare im washing ours in with our normal clothes as i was everything on 60 or higher anyway but if your really worried the dettol laundry cleanser could be a good idea but anything hotter than 40 kills bacteria anyway

What bugs hiding in their clothes? I have literally never worried about this. Normal washing is fine.

Apparently bacteria in the milk stains isn't killed by at least a normal wash in the washing machine. It may be one of those things that is usually fine but earlier generations certainly always steeped in napisan and it's what i did. Not knowing about dettol laundry until i had to look after an incontinent parent last year. I read books and did what they said without questioning it. It makes sense that bacteria in poop and milk survive a wash. But possibly not strictly necessary (as Americans would say about our sterilising palava!)

"What bugs hiding in their clothes? I have literally never worried about this."

Me neither. I only ever use a 30 degree setting, but with a decent quality detergent, the 3 hour () cycle on my washing machine followed by an hour in the dryer, I very much doubt that there's any nasties left over.

I bought some Dettol laundry cleanser in a PFB haze when DD was newborn, but it made the clothes quite rough and smelt very strongly, and I felt bad about adding unnecessary chemicals to the environment so stopped using it.

I see it like hand washing- you don't need an antibacterial soap, warm water and ordinary soap is usually better actually. Because you don't need to sterilize something when you're washing the dirt away.

Perhaps for a sickness bug I'd wash at higher temperatures or use something like day too, but not otherwise.

Why would you want to sterilise your baby’s clothes? Baby’s need exposure to bugs, it’s essential to build their immune systems. Washing at 30 degrees is absolutely fine and you don’t need to soak or use dettol!

Newborns certainly don't need to be exposed to bugs.

A lot of parenting books explain that baby's clothes are particularly unsanitary because they end up covered in milk. That is the perfect habitat for bacteria to grow in. An ordinary wash does not kill this bacteria (or really get rid of the milk stain) so unless you treat it, you're putting this bacteria back on your baby (along with milk stain) when you put 'clean' clothes on. I can only go by what I've read. Obviously it may not be strictly necessary. Many hygienic processes relating to babies can be skipped without ill effects...most of the time.

I love the mam anti collie bottles too. You can also order the teets individually as your baby gets bigger . I had about six bottles I think. Mam dummies are good too and are dentist recommended . I had about 14 vests and sleep suits which my baby was in until she was about six months, then I only put her in sleep suits at night. Had a few hats too and muslins were very handy. I wash her clothes in fairy non bio on a delicate wash, which I do separately from my clothes unless it's socks or underwear . Usually wash every one or two days .

I read a few baby books and not one mentioned this bacteria in milk stains business. Also, I tend to think that if something's really important they will tend to make an effort to get the knowledge to parents who don't read baby books - so I think sterilising bottles, safe sleep practices and keeping your baby the right temperature are important, because they talk to you about them/give you leaflets on them in hospital. No one talked to me or offered me any information about how to wash his clothes so I don't think it can be a big issue where they see lots of babies harmed from their parents doing it wrong.