Newborn clothes - to wash or not to wash?

[maldivemoment]

Awaiting the imminent arrival of our bundle of joy! My current dilemma is, should I do as the packaging says and wash ALL our baby's clothes before s/he arrives, or just rip open packaging and dress baby???

As always, thank you all advance.

wash

seconded - wash

Wash - shops are dirty places and also I am sure they treat new clothes with something during manufacturing that is then washed out.

I never washed any of my newborn clothes , it never occurred to me. They were fine BTW.

I washed mine and used fairy fab cond to make them all soft
they are a bit scratchy when new
loved seeing al the little white vests and babygros on the line

Yeah I had a really pleasant day washing everything and hanging it up lovingly. As tragic as putting 'pleasant day' and 'lovingly' in the same sentence as 'washing and hanging up' is!

I ironed all the muslins ffs

I always wash everything before wearing it, I did the same for the babies, factories are horrid places I loved seeing them all on the line, all the clothes they owned fitted in one wash

With dd I washed and ironed everything weeks in advance

This time I have washed everything and shoved it in a drawer, finishing literally hours before EDD

So yes to wash, but up to you whether you iron everything and arrange it in lovely neat little piles, sniffing and sighing as you go.

wash and consider extra rinse cycle in case baby is sensitive to powder!

I saw this topic come up on another website once - a lady who makes baby carriers said that every few carriers she has to go and wash her hands, because the residue left on the fabric during manufacture would accumulate on her skin and feel horrible.

So yes!

Wash - but not all at once. I unwrapped and washed all my newborn baby clothes and when dd arrived at almost 10lb and none of them fit her, I couldn't take any back

Manufacturers add chemicals to all clothes (adult and baby) prior to sale to keep them unwrinkled and neat in the packaging and on the hanger. Often formaldehyde is used to treat clothes that have to be shipped a long way to prevent mildew. Formaldehyde resins have a very sharp odor and can also cause allergic reactions. Definately definatley wash - this is not an urban myth !

wash - they will be softer

Wash also - but I agree with Tillyscoutsmum, dd2 was 10 lb 9oz and non of the newborn clothes fitted her.

We also knew we were expecting a girl with dd1, but after I'd lovingly washed, ironed and hung all her new little pink vests, pink sleepsuits etc on hangers, all I heard was stories about how people found out at the scan they were having a girl/boy and then it turned out they were ended up with the oppostite. All I could think of was all of the pink clothes in the wardrobe.

Wash! My son came out in a horrible t-shirt shaped rash as a result of putting a Mothercare white T straight on him from the packet at 8 weeks old. Don't risk it...