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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

washing new clothes for a newborn... did you/ will you? really?

91 replies

tyaca · 06/02/2008 23:51

just wondering.

i have got a bit of a mental block on this and its holding me up packing hospital bag. partly, its just a superstition thing - feels v final and i'm tempting fate in some stupid way that all may not go to plan

also, i cant help wondering just how necessary it is. is it like a NHS guideline? has anyone got any experiences of their baby's skin reacting badly to non-washed clothes? have people just not done it, or is everyone washing new baby clothes?

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spugs · 07/02/2008 12:12

ive washed and ironed all my baby clothes for no.3 most hand me downs but figured i may as well chuck in the new stuff to. next job will be to wash bedding, muslins and reusable nappies

lucysnowe · 07/02/2008 12:45

Is it ok to use fabric conditioner then? I've bought some fairy stuff to use on some towels I've been given because they are nasty and scratchy. Or should it just be non-bio?

PuppyDogEyes · 07/02/2008 13:26

i used to work in a children and baby clothing store, and if you saw the dusty state of the store rooms you would wash all you baby's.
Also most of central london has a problem with mice - and they are incontenent - so i'm sure store room floors (and probably shelves) would have mice pee on them, things got dropped on the floor äll the time.

but i think people often use too much washing powder. i wash everything (baby) with only a little washing powder, and as they are not soiled or very dirty, and they come out clean.

use a small amount of fabric softener too. (no where as much as they recommend)

carmenelectra · 07/02/2008 13:59

I use Fairy softener or the sensitive Comfort/Lenor for the babys stuff. Couldnt wash without softener. No cardboard clothes!

JingleyJen · 07/02/2008 14:01

We wash everything before it is worn, by us and by the children. Definately for a newborn.

thais · 07/02/2008 16:01

I did as well with non bio washing powder. I am pregnant again and although I still have a long way to go I can say I will definately be doing the same again.

To be honest, I still iron my DD clothes (including babysuits)!

lailasmum · 07/02/2008 16:51

soap nuts are great if you can get them, very natural and leave things nice and soft and clean without adding softener. You just shove 6-8 nuts in your wash in a little bag (they are not actually nuts by the ways-sort of a dried fruit).

soph28 · 07/02/2008 16:53

No way, they get washed soon enough anyway!

BearMama · 08/02/2008 09:32

Oh you could go crazy mad with all this info - I didnt even think abt washing baby gros when new, only ones from charity shops. I unpacked the new ones and put them in a drawer. Now of course I will have to wash them.
Oh well its good prep I suppose

ladylush · 08/02/2008 09:37

I did - with non-bio. It turned out his skin was quite sensitive in the early days - he got a kind of eczema (?sp)

Nataz27 · 08/02/2008 09:53

I washed and ironed everything. Had it all neat in her drawers. Looked so lovely. Must admit I dont iron her stuff anymore... not enough hours in the day, and she doesnt notice. Still like her drawers nice and neat. At least until she can get in them herself

I use ecover, doesnt have a noticable smell and lovely soft washing afterwards. Esp if I've bought second hand and they smell of their laundry liquid. Cant stand the smell (reminds me too much of MIL!)

Bessie123 · 08/02/2008 14:41

Hi, Tyaca.

I have washed almost all the baby clothes up to 3 months now, and I made the cleaner iron the wrinkly ones. It is my only preparation for LO, though, apart from packing my hospital bag.

FillyjonkisCALM · 08/02/2008 14:58

yes I always do, if they are new they have crap on them (formaldehyde etc) and if they are second hand/hand-me downs, its not a bad ideas...

ironing...hmm...no.

Bellbird · 08/02/2008 15:24

Yup, if gut feeling for you is to wash the clothes, then wash them.

A low dose of unscented detergent that rinses out well, is a good idea and it'll get rid of any chemical residues without leaving a new soapy residue. Hang out to dry on a sunny day (if you can)and the U.V. in the sunlight will act as a natural disinfectant.

kekouan · 08/02/2008 16:14

I did, and some of them shrank.. I would wash to get the shop smell off them, and to pre shrink them, otherwise you might only get one wear out of them.

Good luck!

daydreambeliever · 08/02/2008 17:51

Yes, I did wash new clothes at first, to get the smell of plastic out. But only clothes wrapped in packets- like a plastic wrapped pack of babygros. Im a bit freaked out by the tales of mouse pee etc in store rooms, the things I should have been washing were the non plastic wrapped ones I guess...

When I was on maternity leave I prepared the nursery, washing out all the drawers and cupboards and throwing stuff away to make room for the little piles of baby things. I kept telling DH about how I was arranging all DD's stuff. Still, when she was born and we were still in hospital, I sent him home to get some extra baby clothes. He rang me, bewildered. Who had done all this work? Who had arranged all her little things in her fresh tidy room? Proof positive that he never listens to a word I say. I honestly think that for a minute he thought the elves had been in.

It os hard not to feel superstitious about it all. But you will be so glad afterwards if you have got everything organised.

misboo · 08/02/2008 18:16

It never occurred to me to wash new baby clothes for DS, it seemed a bit much even taking them out of the packet i felt that odd about it all. #

This time around i will just think of it as being something i have to do before they go in the hospital bag: I have to pack the bag and these certain things have to be done first, and i think that will get me through it! Feels much easier if someone else has told me to do it IYKWIM?

Belgianchocolates · 08/02/2008 18:20

I washed all new clothes before my newborns wore them and I will again if I were to have another. I just don't trust what they put on the clothes to make them so smooth and soft.
Do pack a bag ready. Last thing you want to do is think about what to take when you're going into hospital in labour!
I remember this couple that didn't pack any clothes in their bag, because they thought they'd see what the sex was and then just buy something in the little gift shop at reception! Obviously they thought that all babies are born during daytime See if they had thought about their bag properly, they would have had everything ready.
By the way, don't put everything in there wat the magazines say. Half the stuff you wont need. Take a change of clothes and plenty of underwear for yourself and more clothes than you'd think you'd need for LO, because they have this habit of either weeing, pooing or vomitting on their clothes the minute they have been changed into new ones

Belgianchocolates · 08/02/2008 18:22

I don't use softner though, ds has v sensitive skin and the one time I used it when he was a baby he had a terrible exzema flare up. The dryer gets towels quite soft though.

berolina · 08/02/2008 18:31

I always wash new clothes before use. But I never use fabric conditioner.

We had the towels back from ds1's kindergarten to wash last week (it's an almost-co-opy type place with parents sharing the washing and cleaning). The last parent had obv washed them with softener, and they stank, before washing and after too.

3madboys · 08/02/2008 18:51

yep wash all clothes before wearing them, even now the kids are older. well they may have a quick try on session to check things fit etc.
but all baby clothes get washed before use, i have just washed all the stuff for bump (due in 3wks) most of it had been in a suitcase in the loft for 3yrs so i wanted to make sure it was fresh

mumzyof2 · 08/02/2008 18:54

I never did (didnt realise you were meant to at the time) , and theres nothing nicer than a brand new smelling baby grow on a tiny baby!
Doubt i will be washing them with ds2 in april either - got enough to blardy wash!

FourPlusOne · 08/02/2008 19:30

I didn't know about the chemical thing when pg with DC1 so didn't wash them first. Got them out of the attic a bit early for DC2 and washed/got them ironed about 2 months beforehand (it was summer and I thought the weather might have got much worse before the birth! - also was excited!). Am looking forward to doing the same for DC3 in a few months time. Never iron babygros afterwards though - only before they are born so they have a nice ironed one straight away (after that it's downhill). Only use a small amount of ecover though and no fabric softener. Don't want any nasty residues rubbing on the skin!

Fluffsuptheduff · 08/02/2008 23:20

wash them? iron them????? Even with my PFB eagerly awaited in 3 weeks time this seems far too much like hard work. There's clearly a whole world of fabric-anxiety out there that I didn't know about....

gigglewitch · 08/02/2008 23:26

DC1 - washed and ironed (???!!!) them many weeks before baby due
DC2 washed and packed them two weeks before due date
DC3 - that was "next weeks job" when i was supposed to finish work, she arrived just over 3wks early. wore them straight from the packet, in reality lucky to have new ones (packed bag whilst in labour)

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