Congratulations on your new baby! Life with a baby is an exciting adventure. Actually, just preparing for the baby can be a bit of an adventure. Because many new moms and dads don’t know what to anticipate when shopping for a new baby, the baby supply industry offers one million products that you might not really need.
In fact, just shopping for the best baby clothes for your baby can be overwhelming. Who can resist cute baby girl tees that say, “If you think I’m cute, you should see my mommy?” How can you not buy baby boy pants with an applique of a crab across the butt that you can dress them in when they’re being crabby? There are so many adorable baby boy and baby girl tees out there that you might be tempted to collect a new shirt for every day of your child’s life. However, your baby is going to double in size in their first six months, so buying tons of baby boy or baby girl tees before they even arrive is most likely going to leave you with a lot of clothing that they outgrow quickly.
So how how many cute baby clothes is just the right amount? If you want a stocked closet for for the first year, it’s a good idea to buy five to seven of each of the following items in size 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months.
You’ll probably be tempted to stockpile size newborn clothing so you’re ready to roll when they arrive, but in reality, your baby might have outgrown newborn sizes before they are born, otherwise, they probably will only fit into for two or three weeks; we recommend stocking three of each item in size newborn.
An Essential Baby Wardrobe Includes:
- One-piece Outfits: One-pieces are appropriate for playware and pajamas for babies, making them a versatile clothing option. Look for onesies that easily open and close so that diaper changing isn’t a hassle.
- Pants: Dressing your baby in separate pants and a shirt makes it easier to change out just the soiled piece when they have a mess. And babies make a lot of messes.
- Baby Tees: A babies head is proportionally a lot larger than an adults, and their neck is delicate, so getting a shirt over their head can be a challenge. When you were shopping for shirts, look for shirts that either have wide necks, or snaps at the shoulders so that getting them on and off isn’t difficult.
- Outerwear: The amount of sweaters and jackets that you should have on hand for your baby depends on the climate you live in. However, you might want to only invest in one or two pieces since they are little more expensive and your babies going to outgrow them quickly.
- Extras: Shoes aren’t incredibly important until the baby can walk, so it’s not important to have more than one pair or so before size six months. Socks on the other hand are a parent’s best friend. Treat yourself to a liberal amount of socks!
What baby clothing advice did you with you knew before having your first baby? We want to hear it in the comment section below!