FTM clueless about buying clothes for baby help!

[Luckyme30]

I’m a first time mum (17 weeks pregnant) and we’ve just found out we’re having a boy.

It’s our first baby and I just wanted to buy a couple of bits for baby And I thought it would be nice to do it in bits to spread the cost over the months.

So I thought it would be nice to buy a few bits of clothing the only problem is being a first time mum and having no idea about babies - what size should I buy?

Generally what sort of size is newborn - ie if we were to have a baby over 9lb would he fit into newborn? Should I buy 0-3 months to be on the safe side?!

I’m so confused can someone give me some tips?!

Newborn and first size is about 6-8lb i think, my DD was 7.6 and was in newborn for two weeks! My advice is don't get many pretty outfits for newborn + 0-3 (by pretty i mean trouser/tops) literally just stick with baby grows and sleepsuits as you're changing them so often and buttons and trousers are an absolute pain especially with an exploded nappy! I started putting my daughter in nice outfits from 3+ months. Get a few newborn maybe 6 or so, then if you need more you can buy more but if you don't then you can save the money for later on

Actually she was 7.8 (bad mum moment)

DS was 9lbs5 (natural birth - had a great time with that!) and he was too big for newborn/first size - it didn't help that he was very long.

However, he did lose about 6 ounces in the first couple of weeks and the 0-3 was far too big for him for the first month - the best size I found for that first month was 0-1, but not everywhere does it; I actually wasn't prepared for this and ended up emergency buying quite a few vests and sleepsuits from Sainsbury's which were pretty good, and M&S also do 0-1 month and the quality from there was better - again, you don't need anything other than vests and sleepsuits.

My daughter was 5lb 3oz when she was born and she was in tiny baby for about 8 weeks. She didn't go into 0-3 month clothes until she was 5 months old!

Mine was 8lbs 15oz and newborn was too small. 0-1 fitted perfectly but as @GivenchyDahhling said, not everywhere sells it. We made do with 0-3 a bit big for a couple of weeks. He was going into 3-6 at about 6 weeks.

I'd get sleepsuits and vests (to be worn alone over a nappy in hot weather) in age 0-3m. Maybe some romper suits(like short sleeved/legged sleep suits).

They're in the newborn sizes for such a small amount of time and they can wear a sleepsuit a bit big.

You'll be changing their clothes several times a day, IME you wont want or need "outfits", you want easy to wash and no ironing plus you'll be given somethings, probably in newborn sizes.

I’d go for 0-3 months. My babe lived in bodysuits and then sleepsuits. And we got through a fair few of each throughout the day with all the voms and poops.
I’d wait to see how you measure up towards the end of your pregnancy and see if you need a few newborn or 0-1 months bits and bobs.
I also strongly advise against sleepsuits with poppers! Nightmare when you’ve got a screaming hungry baby who’s just shit through at 02:00. Zips for the win!

Body suits! That's what I mean, best with poppers between the legs

Sigh; vests with poppers....

The smallest size I would buy any “outfits” in would be 3-6 months to be honest. Up until 12 weeks I haven’t had mine in anything other than vests and sleepsuits.

My eldest was just under 7 pounds, my youngest was 7lb 11oz, both wore newborn for a few weeks.

Supermarket/primark/M&S/next multipacks are fine. I did buy one “nice” sleepsuit from Jojo as a going home outfit but that was it.

I wouldn’t worry about outfits until about 6 months old. You’ll get them as presents and actually babygros are the most lovely thing for younger babies to wear. They look lovely in them.

Baby sizes come up quite large in my experience. My baby is 75th centile for her age but tends to only really fit clothes towards the end of their age bracket, ie she only properly fitted size 3-6 when she was 5 or 6 months old.

Unless you are predicted a whopper, I would buy just a few bits (a couple of babygrows and vests) in size 'tiny baby'. They say up to 7lb but they fitted my daughter until she was about 8lb (she was born at 36 weeks 6lb5).

Then I would buy 10 babygrows and 10 short sleeved vests in size newborn which fits up to about 10lb. Maybe one cardigan just in case.

As PP said, don't bother with cute 'outfits', you really wont ever use them. If you really want to then you could buy 1 just for a nice photo, but they're a total pain and IMO uncomfy for little babies.

Zip up babygrows are fab, no messing about with poppers. Can reccomend GAP and M&S if you have a bit of money to spend - very soft and they wash very well. Otherwise Sainsburys and H&M.

Newborn was too small for my 8lb7 s
DS, he wore first size and 0-1 for about 3 weeks. I won't buy any newborn size this time round I'll get a few 0-1 bits then more 0-3 🙂

I'd buy a pack of 0-3m, and have someone on standby to nip to the supermarket for new born size if he comes out small. If you wait till closer to the time you can buy stuff that you can then take back if you need to.

Thank you all so much! Every comment has been really really helpful!! Think I will stay away from buying any ‘outfits’ as you all say they probably won’t get much use at all :)

some upto 1 month if you can get it and 0-3m. The upto 1 month don't last long so basic stuff would be fine. My son was 7lb 5 when he was born so had to get the dad to go out and buy smaller stuff as 0-3 was way too big, but he quickly grew into them. Some people I know had much bigger babies so 0-3 was fine. Really can't tell how big or how long they will be until they pop out x

I'm just a few weeks ahead of you at 22 weeks pregnant and I've been buying the up to 1 month size from Next and M&S.

My first two boys were 8lb 10oz and 9lb so the newborn size would've been pointless.

0-3 months is too big for the first few weeks/months.

Good luck!

0-3 months drowned my 7lbs 4oz baby. He was in newborn and then first size for a fair while.

DS was long and skinny at birth - only 3.5kg (about 7lb10) but 57cm long! So he only had one or two newborn vests/sleepsuits that were long enough, and those only for a week or so. If I was doing it again I'd just put him in 0-3 from the start and they'd be slightly too big for a couple weeks.
He's still long for his age and has now also chunked out a bit. So he went into 6-9 month clothes at 5 months, and now he's 6 months I think he's got about another month in them before we move up to 9-12s.
Agree with PPs about "outfits"; vests and sleepsuits are so much easier! Also something called "bundlers" which I hadn't heard of before but are great for night time nappy changes. Like this: www.piccalilly.co.uk/magic-dragon-baby-nightgown?fee=11&fep=7336&gclid=CjwKCAjwh472BRAGEiwAvHVfGul9z3k_urt-9YyTy7WtwjoW31LxyG4KA9yJ0L2yunTd5VThnMex-RoC4yoQAvD_BwE

We bought 0-3 month clothing except two newborn outfits ( just incase ).

Well my DS was born at 37 weeks and was drowning in the 0-3 month clothing . It wasn’t a big deal though as my husband popped out to John Lewis and picked up some newborn sizes . Our DS didn’t fit into 0-3 until 1 month old at the very least , probably closer to 6 or 7 weeks actually.

The problem is you don’t really know until baby arrives . If covid19 has passed by then and shops are open then you could do what I did . Or just buy some newborn clothing in advance , maybe second hand so it’s not too expensive.

I’m 14 weeks myself! Congratulations 🥳

We got all Newborn and 0-3 when we brought clothes.
He was 6lb 14oz and actually everything was a bit big for him!
We got some first size from Asda a few days later as they fit him better the first few weeks!
Id Defo just go with vests and baby grows for the first few months.
I don't think I dressed my son in an outfit til about 3 months! Babygrows are just so easy, comfy and cute!

*first size = up to one month for smaller baby fits perfect. May be worthwhile getting a few smaller bits just in case, but agree with PPs, 0-3 will be huge on most babies.

It depends to some extent on your baby's shape and how particular you are. We were hard up when DC1 was born 8lb 3 oz. we had 0-3 only and they were fine. My skinny middle child was 6 lb 12oz and had to make do as we still had clothes from first child so didn't need more. He was given 2 0-1 babygros which definitely fitted him better and he was less likely to get his legs tangled but we managed fine without. DC 3 8 lb 3 again was ok in the bigger ones . It's only a few weeks so it is hard to justify the extra expense. No need for outfits btw; vests and babygrows are all a baby needs.

All babies are different. I wouldnt buy much in any one size, just a small amount of stuff in newborn and 0-3 (think supermarket multipacks) and then when the baby is born you can see what fits and buy more of it. With online shopping and supermarkets now selling kids clothing, you can pick up more stuff at any time.

My DD was too small for newborn (she wasnt premature or even a low birth weight, just compact!) So I had to send my husband out to buy tiny baby clothes which she wore for the first few weeks.

DS was 8lb12oz and fit into first size for a while.

You'll need vests, sleep suits and cardigans mainly. Buy some socks as babies get really cold feet so I always put a pair of socks on feet under the sleep suit too. You'll also need a couple of hats and a snowsuit/pram suit.

I'd get a mixture of newborn and 0-3. How many of each depends on how often you want to wash tbh and how much your baby spits up etc.