Baby clothes - what size?

[B65]

I’m 20 weeks this week and hopefully finding out the gender. I can’t wait to go baby clothes shopping! What size/sizes did you get most of and what did you buy? I don’t want to go overboard and buy the wrong things but I’m just sooo excited to pick out some cute little outfits! 🥰

Tbh I wouldn't go mad. The size of your bump might give an indication of what centile baby will be nearer your due date.

Get a set of onesies and vests (short sleeved or sleeveless are soo much easier those first few days) in newborn and then see how big baby is when they arrive. Some people need tiny newborn.

My second was out of newborn stuff within a week, we had a couple of up to 1 month sets then into 0-3 months. Plus you will get bought so much for a first baby! We had loads of outfits that my first only wore once or outgrew before getting a chance to wear.

It's difficult to guess because you won't know the size of the baby until they are born (obviously).
I had an 8 pound 6 first baby and an 9 pound 1 second baby and they weren't in first size for very long. The majority of baby grows/outfits I bought were 0-3 months but I did buy around 10 first size or up to 1 month outfits as well.
If you are looking to buy in bulk then I would buy less first size than 0-3 months just because they grow so quickly. Same with nappies, my two were only in size 1 for about 6 weeks.

I would recommend getting a few sleepsuits, outfits, vests 0-3 and a few tiny baby just incase, but then honestly I’d buy bigger sizes rather than keep buying 0-3, buy 3-6, 6-9! When people buy gifts for you baby they ALWAYS seem to buy 0-3 so you end up with loads and then when they hit 3-6 you have much less. We got loads of 0-3 gifted from friends/colleagues/family and lots of it my daughter never got a chance to wear. She’s 6 months now and we’re having to buy a new wardrobe every 2ish months so I’d defo recommend buying the bigger sizes so you’re prepared x

Congratulations! Such an exciting time. I remember buying my dc1's first ever item of clothing after our 20 week scan. We didn't find out the sex so just got a fairly neutral thing for 1-3 months I think.

When they're really tiny they only need vests, babygros really. If you're twenty weeks now, I guess you're having a winter baby, so hats, pramsuit and blankets.

Enjoy the scan and buying some bits 💐

I’d get mostly 0-3 but get a nice newborn or 0-1 month for the home from hospital outfit. My two were 9lbers and were still in newborn for the first week or so.

If you are measuring small or your baby is born early then you might need tiny baby at first.

I'd wait until you're in your third trimester to buy baby clothes as you'll have a better idea of how big your baby might be. Mine was in newborn clothes for a month before moving to 0-3 months. Many babies are straight into 0-3 months.

DD was born 8lb 11oz and long, she fit into Newborn size for exactly 1 week. She had a lot of outfit changes because we wanted her to wear the clothes at least once 😂

I'd get a multipack of vests and of babygrows in newborn and then buy anything else in 0-3. If you stick to vests, babygrows, cardigans and hats then seasonality isn't that important because you either add more layers or remove them depending on the weather on the day. So they will be able to wear them either straight away or in 3 months.

I wouldn't buy things like the coats/snowsuits till you have a baby in your arms and know what size they are because you need the right size for that month and that weather.

If you are investing in cute outfits go for 3-6 or older. At that age they actually wear them for more than 3 hours before they get covered in body fluids.

Assuming you live near a clothes shop just buy about 8 vests and 8 baby grows. Then sit back and wait for the gifts to overwhelm you. People you barely know give you stuff for your first. People you barely know's second cousins give you stuff. It's insane.
If you can get some second hand stuff to tide you over the first two weeks, even better. You might have a local baby/child stuff Facebook group.

If you wait until nearer the end of your pregnancy, you will get a sense for how baby is growing (especially if your trust does a 36w scan). DD1 was 5lbs 12oz at birth and was in tiny baby for two months before we even got to newborn. DD2 was 6lbs 3oz and in tiny baby for a few weeks, but gained weight quicker than her sister so moved through newborn very quickly into 0-3. If you want to start buying now, you could just get a few 0-3 bits as they will definitely need those at some point!

Thankyou so much everyone! That’s really helped, I’m just so excited to buy some cute bits!

Also, definitely get two way zip sleep suits and ask anyone buying you gifts to do the same!

do not bother with

• dresses or skirts at all under 1
• those cute onesies that have ZERO stretch (they are often smocked and / or velvety and popper at the back. Almost all are crazy adorable and impossible to put on / take off)
• ANY dungarees with no poppers - just say No!
• most hats. they just sliiiiiiiide off or cover your babies face while in the pram asleep and you are scared you killed them

Also avoid buttons if you can, regular are just a bit of a faff, wooden ones are awful

DO bother with

• long sleeved vests in winter
• zippy sleep suits
• zippy hoodies are good from 6m plus
• anything stretchy
• also remember you can put a pair of joggers over sleepsuit if layering

Also…if in doubt buy a size up

Vests and sleep suits I got new but
you pick up great bargains on vinted for under 1s as most of it gets little or no wear…

most importantly… enjoy!

If you’re wanting to get cute outfits then I’d go for at least 3-6 months onwards. Up to 3 months you’re best keeping it basic because you’ll find you’re changing them, so often you don’t want anything fiddly. So mostly babygros, or basic trousers and a top. Honestly don’t waste your money on things they’ll literally wear once and then be sick on and outgrow before you can put it on them again! Once they’re past the newborn stage then the cute outfits are bit easier as they tend to be able to stay in an outfit for a bit longer 🤞
But like everyone else has said, you’ll be given so much stuff for newborn / early months. If you’re buying stuff yourself I’d maybe wait for sales and get stuff from 6 months onwards so that you have it ready to go. I’ve always got a few pieces in the next size up ready to be grown into.
M&S do 3 for 2 on some of their items and they’re really good basics. I find they tend to fit longer than the age they’re for. H&M also seem to run quite big so their clothes last for months longer.
But enjoy the shopping! It’s one of the perks of having a baby haha. I used to love online shopping for myself but now I spend my time looking at cute outfits for my son 😅

I found Asda first size to be a good start size. It's 6-9lb, my daughter was 6lb13 and it was great for her and meant we didn't need tiny baby which only went up to 7lb in most places so we would have outgrown them pretty quickly. If baby is closer to 6lb tiny baby is probably worth it.
5-6 vests and sleep suits in smallest size and same again in 0-3 months will see you through the first few days. Once you see what size the baby is you can get more. We did cloth nappies we were washing 5 days a week so we only needed 5-10 vests and 6-9 sleep suits.

As it turns out I hate sleep suits with a passion. I kept with them until 12 months when I discovered pjs. If I do it again I will use PJ's from birth with the odd sleepsuit. I used leggings and t shirts /jumpers during the day or dungarees. Using clothes helped me separate night from day and it made a difference with my pnd.

We generally did a mix of Sainsbury's and Asda for clothes. For us Sainsbury's came up large and Asda smaller. It meant that not everything was out grown overnight. I don't know how they do it but something could fit in the morning and not it the afternoon! This way we still had some clothes whilst I looked for replacements

Don’t go mad on zip sleepsuits, if your baby has long legs they’re pretty useless because the zip is down one leg so getting the other leg into the Sleepsuit is a bit of a battle. It’s not any easier than just doing the poppers up both legs. Don’t waste your time on separate scratch mitts but in built scratch mitts can be handy.

Different places have different sizes. Newborn in Matalan, George, M&S, Sainsburys, Next are up to 9/10lb. If buying from other stores like tesco or mothercare (via boots) then the same size is up to 1 month. I would go with a couple of 1 month from tesco/mothercare or newborn from next/sainsburys/M&S/Matalan. When baby is born you can then grab a better size if needed. Bump measurements and growth scans are inaccurate. DC was predicted to be over 9lb and they were 7.5lb. We’d bought newborn from the bigger shops as we were expecting a bigger baby but then we just picked a multipack from tesco of newborn when they were too small for the sleepsuits we’d bought.

Generally don’t go mad in any particular size you’ll probably get loads of gifts that are 0-3m and you don’t know if your newborn will fit in newborn and if they do, for how long. You also don’t know how quickly they will grow, so no point buying something 3-6m that’s summery and thinking they’ll definitely be in it. Do get one item from a few different shops. You’ll work out what fits best with your baby as some are better for slightly wider babies or slightly longer babies. You’ll also find which work bets for you. I’ve always found DC to grow out of primark or Tesco first but a couple of outfits from here are useful when they’re in between sizes so the don’t look like they’re drowning in their clothes when you move up a size. Sainsburys and next generally work well for us and I find they wash really well. I find Frugi and Kite massive but great quality and you can pick up easily on Vinted.

I think I had a couple of M&S multipack vests and bodysuits ‘up to one month’. Skipped newborn size. I then had some 0-3 as well and went from there. Don’t buy too much of one size at first as you could end up with loads of stuff and never use it. You can always get someone to pop out and get more if really necessary! I found M&S washed really well and stayed soft more than supermarket brands.

My baby was predicted to be 7-8 lbs so I bought mainly newborn and up to 1 month clothes.
She came out at 5lbs 15oz then dropped to 5lbs 4oz because of some feeding issues so my.mum had to run out to get some tiny baby things and size 0 nappies.
The 'coming home' outfit I took to hospital didn't fit her till she was almost 3 months old.

My cousin had the opposite and ended up having a 10lb baby. The newborn and first size clothes were too small so.a lot of things she'd bought had to be returned or exchanged for bigger sizes

My advice from these scenarios is biy a few items from all the sizes but keep the receipts

My little one was super long. I’d taken a newborn outfit and some up to 1 month to hospital. I put him in the up to 1 month but then realised it was too short. Brand also matters as these were next that were small and some other up to 1 month did fit for a few weeks.

Honestly don’t waste your money on newborn and younger baby clothes, just get some bundles from Vinted in various sizes. They’ll mostly get ruined! Or see if you can get any hand me downs. I’ve only got a minimal amount, you can get next day delivery on stuff if you need once baby arrives.

Are you doing cloth nappies ? That will impact the size and shape of the clothes - my little one was almost always in dresses because the ridiculous bum!

she’s three now and walked into the kitchen the other night wearing a 0-3 month outfit I’d put on her doll so if your child has talents other than growing - you might get a lot of use out of tiny outfits !!

Ha my daughter is like this. She's 4 and managed to squeeze herself into some 6-9 month pjs the other day! She's still wearing a 12-18 month old dress but is mostly in 2-3 y clothes. She was in first size until 8 weeks up to 1 month until 10 weeks (used alongside first size) and 0-3 months until nearly 6 months!

We did cloth nappies and quickly learnt that leggings in two pieces of cloth with seams at the edges were much better than 4 pieces or 2 pieces seamed at the crotch. Two pieces rather all ones meant we could size up bottoms earlier than tops to accommodate the big bum when starting to outgrow clothes. Sainsbury's generally had a good amount of room for the cloth bum. Frugi was good too and we picked up loads second hand on eBay for similar price to supermarkets new. Branded outfits (Peter rabbit, that's not my etc) generally came up short in the vest but vest extenders can help. M and s outfits were generally generous.

Or things like blade and rose but I just went with tights because they tended to have more stretch… I exclusively baby wore as well so didn’t want any compression problems!

im dreading her starting school - I don’t think she’ll be in size 2-3 unless she has a massive growth spurt so there’s no way we’ll find a uniform that doesn’t look ridiculous!

@IMBCRound2 my daughter is August born and just started school a 4 and a few weeks and is on the 2nd percentile. She went into 2-3 in July! M and s was ok for most things but the trousers were huge so we ended up getting another set in Sainsbury's. We have a few jumpers and cardigans in 3-4 because I couldn't get 2-3 and they are ok. Big but not ridiculous! Pinafores and skirts were better as if they are a bit long they don't look out of place, frustratingly she prefers the trousers. School shoes were tricky as a lot of places only start in size 7 or 8 and she was 5.5 at the start of the summer but thankfully grew at the end of August and found a few options in a size 6.

I bought majority 0-3 months, then panicked last minute I didn't have enough newborn or the "up to 1 month" size they do (which is generally up to 10lbs)

So I went out last minute and got a load of newborn and up to one month sleep suits and body suits, and a couple of newborn and up to 1 month outfits! She's been in babygrows most of the time because you probably won't feel like leaving the house much the first few weeks!

It's a good job I did, because baby was born 17 days ago at 8lbs 6oz, so was in the " up to 1 month" stuff really, but she's dropped weight to 7 lbs 5oz so is now just in newborn god knows when she will get into the 0-3 months stuff I went crazy on and lots of friends and family have bought stuff in!