Baby clothes - what size to pack for 90th+ centile baby?

[DefinitelyMaybe92]

FTM here. Currently packing LO’s bag, but we’ve been told he’s likely to be on the bigger side.

That said, for anyone who has had a slightly bigger baby, what sizes did you pack for the hospital?

We have both first size and 0-3 vests and sleep suits, but now I don’t know if 0-1 might be better… somewhere in the middle? Worrying first size might be too small and 0-3 too big. It’s all very confusing to me. 😂

Also conscious that sometimes fundal measurements and scan measurements aren’t quite right and they ended up being slightly smaller.

Any help would be appreciated!

Hello, I think you are wise to have a variety. A friend was induced early as her baby was definitely going to be big and ended up just under 7lb. My one wasn't picked up as hugely big and was 10lb9.

Do you know if you're going to be in for a while? They normally try to get you out quite quickly and if youre in for longer someone can always drop more in for you.

If it were me and I'd pack 2 first sizes and 2 0-3 sets (I'm a horrendous over packer). First sizes will fit the majority of even bigger babies, my first was 8lb8 and no problem in first sizes, but you have the bigger back up in case. And if you're in longer or need changes, nothing wrong with a slightly loose onesie.

@Cocomelonhauntsmethis is so helpful, thank you. ☺️ With your 8lb8 baby when were they able to fit 0-3 without it being too big?

I’m about to undergo testing for GD - and he’s also suddenly decided to lay transverse at 35 weeks 🤦‍♀️ - so although I don’t want a c-section, I’m planning as though I’m going to be in for longer, just in case.

The 1+ month were good.
My Ds was long born and I couldn’t do up the vest poppers on newborn size

But the 0-3 were still big on him. But the 0-3 cardigan a fine as you just fold over sleeve a bit a few weeks. So I recommend not buying nice newborn cardigans

Also not buying too much of any size. Ds flew through the sizes the first 6-9 months. Before slowing down

@Caspianbergthanks so much. ☺️ Apparently our LO looks as though he might have long legs. How much did your DS weigh when he was born if you don’t mind me asking?

@DefinitelyMaybe92 8lb3. 53cm long ( newborn size is up to 50cm)

I was told my baby was going to be over 10lbs and she ended up being 8lb8, so I really wouldn’t put much reliance on their measurements!

We had a scan just before DD was born. We were told ‘it’s not really reliable to give a size estimation this far along but she looks about right’.

She was born at over 10lb10!

Zero heads up at all. DH had to go out shopping as the only outfit we had packed that somewhat fit her was bursting at the seams! The midwives had to do a bit of running around after the C-section to find a hat too.

She then lived in 0-3m for the next four months. Completely passed the new born and up to one month clothes.

Apart from having to have an unplanned C-section, I’d have another chunky baby in a heart beat. I was able to breastfeed in peace. The doctor said at our check up ‘I’m not even going to bother weighing her… I can see a healthy baby’.

Good luck!

It's not just straight weight, shape matters too.
My 7lb 3 baby went straight into 0-3 - swamped round the waist, but needed for his legs.
In comparison, his 8lb brother fitted in newborn.....

Just take the mixture you already have, and then buy more of whatever you need when you know what works.

Induced as ds big on growth scans I was having for other reasons and going up centiles. He was 8lb 9 at 38+4 (coincidentally exactly what the growth scan said). I'd packed 0-3 with that in mind and not even bought first size so had to ask my parents to stop off on their way to visit when we got home.

What I did was pack a bag with 2 vests and 2 sleepsuits in each of newborn, 0-1 and 0-3 months.

Then I packed a set of 3 of each of those sizes into sandwich bags and labelled and left in the car. So once baby was born and I worked out which size fit them, I asked DH to bring me the relevant "top up pack".

I know, so many people have said this to me. Even the MWs themselves. This is my exact issue, so I have had zero clue what to pack!

Oh wow! Poor you. But great that there were positives there minus the emergency c-section. Thanks, that’s really helpful!

@GoatCatTacothank you ☺️

Ahh so the 0-3 were definitely too big then? By the sounds of it a mix of first size and 0-3 will work! I had just worried as 0-3 seems to fit up to about 12lb, whereas first size is up to about 9lb it looks like, which seems like a big gap, if you’re, say, 9lb4oz.

@BertieBottsgreat idea. ☺️ I’ve been loving a sandwich bag of late!

Don’t panic. If the clothes are too big, it won’t be the end of the world. You should be able to get someone to pick up stuff for you fairly easily once baby is born - most larger supermarkets sell vests and sleep suits.

Both mine were 90th percentile. For my first, I went for newborn and it fit him perfectly, but not very long at all. For my second, I went for 0-1 and it was huge on him. Both had exactly the same birth weights. You can always buy both and return the one you don’t use?

There are ‘newborn’ size clothes and then there are ‘up to one month’ which are slightly bigger.
My 9lb baby was fine in the 1 month clothes, although I did have to cut the toes open because his feet were so big.

I had a 90th centile baby 2 weeks ago who ended up weighing 8 pound 10 and 52cm. I packed a combination of 0-1 and 0-3 and shes in the 0-1 at the minute. I had no newborn clothes at all in my bag.

I would pack some footless babygrows with socks.

I would pack 2x first size, 2x 0-1 and 2x 0-3, you can have more brought in once you actually know how big they are! I’d take all the measurements up to now with a pinch of salt though. I was told all through my last trimester that my daughter was off the charts huge, they wanted to induce me because they scanned me at 37ish weeks and supposedly on that scan she was already over 9lb so they predicted a birth weight of 10lb+… she was born 7lb 14😂

Mine was straight into 0-3. She was very tall.

Thank you all!! Super helpful. ☺️

Baby boy born 8.4lbs but 51 cm so quite long. Newborn and first size clothes were too short in the body so we had packed a few just to not use them! But 0-1 were perfect, we were in for a few days so also ended up using the 0-3 which were only slightly too big. Take lots of all in one baby grows and short sleeved vests for underneath in case yours leaks through nappies as often as ours did !

I wouldn’t listen much to the scans. Buy a few 1 month size and if too small you can go to a supermarket and get newborn