Baby clothing necessities

[M24L]

Currently 34+3 with DC2, DD1 was born 8 years ago so feeling like a first time mum all over again.

Went through all babys clothes today and I'm panicking I don't have enough

So far I have
Newborn - 8 x outfits
10 x short sleeve vest
2 x sleepsuits

0-3 Months - 7 x outfits
3 x sleeveless vests
5 x short sleeve vests
2 x long sleeve vests
3 x pairs of pyjamas
2 x sleepsuits

3-6 Months - 2 x outfits
10 x short sleeve vests

I have loads of socks, bibs, knitting etc just more worried that I don't have enough vest for the baby and looking for some help, I remember with my DC1 that we were gifted loads of clothes but I really just want to make sure that we are sorted for the baby. I've probably went over the top with the outfits so please no hate 🙈 just Purley looking for help regarding having enough vests and if not then what would you say I need more of.

Thanks in advance

Sounds about right to me. I have a newborn and they sick/poo on about 3 changes of clothes a day so if you are washing every couple of days you have enough

What are the newborn outfits? I would have thought you’d want more than 2 sleepsuits, mine had a lot of mucus and went through several sleepsuits a day whilst in the hospital. And just to warn you in spite of my first wearing newborn for a full month, my second was in 0-3 months within the first week. So I’m really glad I didn’t buy any fancy newborn outfits and just stuck with the sleepsuits! Have you got swaddles/sleeping bags as I don’t see them on the list? But list looks pretty good and you can get whatever else you need quickly online, so don’t worry about having enough vests or whatever!

I think i would get more sleepsuits

I agree more sleepsuits.
My son was very sicky after being born and we went through 5 sleepsuits in the first day. My partner had to bring more into hospital 🙈

Yeah sleep suits and vests is all my baby wore 0-3 months

Didn’t bother with anything for the baby when she was any older !! I got heaps of gifts anyway and easy to pick stuff up as you need it tbh

Ours have all lived in bodysuits and sleepsuits in their early days because they are comfy and easy. 14 of each per baby per size is usually enough without having to wash too often. We have oodles of them as we had twins last time and having a singleton this time.

I'd get more 0-3 month sleep suits, you can get through 2 in one day

More sleepsuits less outfits is always my advice. Babies are fiddly creatures, sleepsuits (or just bodysuits if hot) are easier until around 3 months

@LakeShoreD newborn outfits are Knitted rompers, Knitted legging and cardigan sets etc its mostly knitted or soft outfits for when visitors are coming/days out etc so nothing too thick, heavy or uncomfortable for the baby.

More sleepsuits are on the list 100%. How many sleepsuits for each age range would you recommend?

You can wash them easy enough though wouldn’t go to mad really.

I used mostly vests and sleepsuits and found that 9/10 of each was a good number. I used an average of 3 a day and they often come in packs of 3.
Zip up ones are the ones to get if you can. Much less faffy than poppers especially at night for nappy changes.

@Megan2018 did you use both short and long sleeve vests or more short sleeve? With my DC1 I used short for under sleepsuits and outfits etc. Can't remember having a reason for the long sleeve ones other than to maybe pair them with a pair of leggings etc but im sure that was more for the bigger months like 3-6, 6-9.

I feel utterly clueless 🤣

[quote M24L]@LakeShoreD newborn outfits are Knitted rompers, Knitted legging and cardigan sets etc its mostly knitted or soft outfits for when visitors are coming/days out etc so nothing too thick, heavy or uncomfortable for the baby.

More sleepsuits are on the list 100%. How many sleepsuits for each age range would you recommend?[/quote]
I've had about 10 day and 10 night sleep suits until my son was about 6 months old. Afterwards we used them mainly for sleeping.

@TedHastingsweeDonkey thank you, did you just have them in a mixture of sizes?

DC4 is now 5 months so this is fairly fresh in my mind. She mainly wore babygros for the first few weeks because I got fed up changing her outfit every time she sicked up/did one of those up the back squirty newborn poos. She started wearing outfits more regularly around 3 months. I'd get some more sleepsuits. You also mention knitted outfits, might those be a bit warm if baby is due in the summer?

[quote M24L]@Megan2018 did you use both short and long sleeve vests or more short sleeve? With my DC1 I used short for under sleepsuits and outfits etc. Can't remember having a reason for the long sleeve ones other than to maybe pair them with a pair of leggings etc but im sure that was more for the bigger months like 3-6, 6-9.

I feel utterly clueless 🤣[/quote]
I used sleeveless and short sleeved vests mostly, under everything inc sleepsuits apart from when it was hot. DD was born in a Sept heatwave and the first month she was mostly in just vests as it was boiling.
I think we mostly used long sleeved vests when older under dungarees etc.

I wouldn’t buy anymore newborn. Mine only fitted newborn 2 days!
And 0-3 is fine to wear for vests and sleepsuits if they are a little baggy a week or two on newborn

If baby due in 6 weeks time, I can’t imagine many knitted outfits will be worn as it’s usually hot in August. Last August my baby was around 3 months old and I think he wore just short sleeve vest and socks most the day when hot, with sleepsuit or cardigan added when cooler.

Long sleeve vests we use alone at night in sleeping bag when it’s too warm for short vest and sleepsuit combo.

I’d get about 6 newborn sleep suits, if baby is small you can order more online and get next day delivery. I’d have about 10 for 0-3 months. Outfits for that age I wouldn’t personally bother with but it’s up to you, knitted might be a bit warm for summer though. My youngest has reflux so goes through a lot of clothes and I cannot be bothered with anything more complicated than zip up sleepsuits!

Long sleeved vest I use a lot under sleeping bags when it’s too warm for a sleep suit but not completely boiling so they’ll want their arms covered. I also use them under just about everything in winter.

I think you should buy more sleep suits. If you buy a couple of multipacks then you will probably get topped up with gifts too! If not you can easily grab more.

I never use long sleeved vests except for if they come with dungaree sets. They just feel totally unbalanced to me and I worry that the baby's legs will be cold :o

Defo you need more sleepsuits in newborn and 0-3. About 10-12 in each size. Maybe one more pack of short sleeved vests in each size.

Would hold off on 3-6 months for now as you won't know what season you're buying for until you find out how big baby is and how fast they grow.

I would get 1-2 cardigans in size 0-3.

You can always buy more clothes once they are born if you run out.

Bear in mind there are actually two sizes before 0-3 months. In Europe these are called 50 and 56.

UK shops vary on what they call them.

50 = Newborn, First Size or Tiny Baby.

56 = Newborn or 0-1 month.

I find size 50 only fit my babies for about a week or two. Whereas 56 fit them perfectly at birth (0-3 months was too long/baggy) but actually continued to fit for the first 6 weeks or so.

For reference they were born at 3040g (6lb 11oz) and 3420g (7lb 8oz), DS2 was 52cm long, no idea for DS1, they never used to measure.

Even with a big gap your baby likely won't be huge in comparison to DC1, probably a similar size.

So if you have a choice between newborn or 0-1 month, go for 0-1 month.

If the shop offers you a choice between first size/tiny baby and newborn, go for newborn.

I tend to mix the 50/56 things in the drawer and count them as one size.

My DD didn’t make it in to 0-3 until she was 3 months old! She was 6lb 10.5oz and 2nd centile at birth (40+3).
Newborn lasted us for 12 weeks so they are all different, and it was the feet that she outgrew first!

Baby is currently measuring big so the newborn stuff I have I've made sure it covers up to 10lb to be on the safe side. My DC1 was 8lb 5.5oz and she fitted into newborn for around 4 or more weeks if I remember correctly so hence why I've got quite a bit for newborn.

I will be sure to get more sleepsuits for all sizes.

You know what you should do, look on Facebook marketplace and there will be people on there selling newborn and 0-3 (and up) bundles really cheap. It's a great way to pick up a load of vests and sleepsuits for about £5!

[quote M24L]@TedHastingsweeDonkey thank you, did you just have them in a mixture of sizes?[/quote]
I only bought new born and 0-3 prior to birth, so I had 10 / 10 sleep suits not as a mixture but of each sizes. And I just kept replacing them as DS got bigger. I started to actually buy a bit more as I soon realised that I hated to do the laundry so frequently and liked to go at least 5-6 days without having to wash clothes. They did last longer too not being washed so often. Think multi pack, very reasonably priced ones with a few nicer ones amongst them for outings etc.

I did have outfits that I bought before DS was born (or were gifted) but I honestly put most of them away without him ever wearing them, or wearing jsut once or twice. You'll soon see which combo works best for you so don't worry too much about having everything ready. Yay for online shopping and fast deliveries