Infant Clothing

Page Updated on July 28, 2007

When it comes to clothing don't be eager to buy cute tiny newborn outfits. You'll only need a couple of 0-3 month sizes because babies grow out of these outfits so quickly. Splurge on the 3-6 month sizes instead. Some people skip straight to the 6-9 month sizes, but I've found those to be simply too large for the first couple of months. When your child is ready for the 6-9 month size, skip that and go straight to 9-12 months or even the 12 month size. Also consider what size your baby will be during various periods. Many people buy the cutest little winter outfit only to discover that by the time winter comes, junior has outgrown it. Look for outfits that you can mix and match to stretch that fashionable wardrobe.

Next to most items is my suggested quantity to buy. For items that need to be washed, I try to suggest how many you need per day. This way you can decide how many you need to buy total. If you only do your washing once every few days or so, you'll need more. If you wash more frequently, you can go with the minimum.

Products to Avoid

Buttons and Decorations that Aren't Secure Yes, they're cute, but if baby can pull them off and choke on them, it's just too dangerous.
Drawstrings Babies can get tangled up and strangled in drawstrings. Newer infant clothes don't usually have drawstrings anymore, but older ones still do, so be on the lookout.

Products to Buy

Booties and socks (2 pair per day) Skip the cute little booties and go with the socks. Booties come off too easily. Sock will come off too, but they cling a bit better onto little feet. Stick with solid basic colors so you can wear them with most outfits and you won't have to go through that "one missing sock" torture which makes laundry easier.
Winter hats (2) The head is a major point of heat loss, and since babies can't regulate their body temperature well, you'll want to be sure to cover it up with a warm hat during cold temperature.
Sun hats (2) Even adults should have a sun hat. Babies have super delicate skin, and you don't want them to get burned, so cover their heads and faces when they go out in the sun. Besides, babies don't like having the sun in their eyes.
Mittens (2) If your baby scratches her face a lot, mittens could be a good idea, but an even better idea is to just trim your baby's nails and use the money on something else. Plus, mittens can be frustrating for a baby who likes to suck on her hand or fingers for comfort. They can keep your baby's hands warm, though, so they're good to have on hand if you're in cold weather.
One piece underwear / bodysuit (2-3 per day) These are also known as Onsies® when made by Gerber. During the summer, your baby will live in these during the day, so grab a few cute ones for outings. During the winter, you'll use them under other outfits to keep baby warm, so appearance isn't very important. Look for bodysuits that open all the way up, from top to bottom, using snaps on the front. (They're the easiest to put on and take off.) Long sleeve body suits are great with pants in cool weather.
Sleepers (1-2 per night) Clothes designed for baby sleepwear were once required to be flame-resistant to protect baby in case of a fire (big or small), but now such measures are no longer required for infants under 9-months-old (because most can't move well enough to put themselves into a situation where their clothes could catch fire). You can still find flame-resistant clothing or clothing treated with flame-retardant, though. The sleepers have feet to cover up tiny toes, and they're designed to help keep baby warm. Your baby will practically live in sleepers during the day in the winter. The reason you should have 2 per night is that it isn't unusual for diapers to leak or for spit up to soak the outfit, and you may need to change baby's clothes in the middle of the night.
Sleeping bag / sack (1 per night during fall and winter) No, these aren't the things you crawl into when you go camping. These are little warm bags with arms that keep baby snuggly and warm without having to put a blanket in the crib. You can try to get away with only having 1 for every 2 nights, but only if you're lucky enough to have a baby that doesn't spit up during the night and never has a diaper leak.
Gowns (1-2) Gowns are great for new parents because they allow easy access for changing diapers. Many are designed as sleepwear, but because they're open at the bottom, baby can get cold during the night, and they're not as safe to sleep in as fitted outfits. Use them as daywear instead. Buy one and see how you like it. If you decide that you would like to use them, go out and buy more. Whatever you do, don't buy gowns with drawstrings because they could strangle your child (even if they don't look like they could).
Jumpers / rompers / one-piece suits (1-2 per day during the fall, winter, and spring) These are an adorable alternative to sleepers during the day. They usually snap all the way open from top to bottom, and on the best ones the legs even snap open, but many of them don't have any feet, so you may need to use socks on chilly toes. (I prefer using ones that have feet because babies just love pulling off socks.)
T-shirts / side-snap shirts / pull-over shirts (2 - 4) Some people put their babies in t-shirts all the time because they don't have to fumble with snaps when it comes time to change the diaper, but the problem with t-shirts is that they keep creeping up, and you'll eventually get tired of pulling them down. It's a good idea to have a couple on hand for warm weather, though.
Pants (2 - 4) Pants are cute, but they're not practical for everyday use. It's actually a hassle to put them on and take them off repeatedly. However, they are good when you go out and need to dress your baby in layers. Put a pair of pants on a kid with a bodysuit in the morning to keep him warm, and take them off later in the day if he gets too hot. Stick with solid colors when it comes to buying pants. I learned the hard way that most shirts and body suits have cute little designs on them, and if you have pants that also have cute little designs, it becomes very difficult to mix and match. Also, you may want to purchase pants with feet because babies just love taking off their socks.
Sweaters (1-2) Sweaters are cute, but like pants they're best used during outings for layering. You'll probably never use them around the house.
Dresses / tiny suits / overalls / cute little outfits (2-3) You will not be using these on a daily basis simply because they're expensive and too much trouble for daily use. These are what we refer to as "dress up clothes". Most of these outfits you'll get from family members and friends as gifts, so don't splurge on them unless you can afford it. Some outfits, such as dresses (just basic ones, not the frilly kind), can be practical and inexpensive, so if you must buy lots of cute little outfits, these are the ones to look for. You will need one outfit for baby's homecoming (because it looks so good in pictures) and one for professional photos (which you will most likely get). You may need to purchase an additional one if you plan on having your baby in any special events or ceremonies (such as baptism).
Bunting (possibly at least 1) If you want to save money, buy sleeping bags, which are flame-retardant, and use them as bunting as well as sleepwear. Bunting has one advantage over sleeping bags, though, and that's the holes between the legs that allow you to secure baby in his car seat by putting the safety strap right through the clothing. If you live in a cold environment and plan to drive around with your baby in such an outfit, you might wish to purchase a few (or at least 1).
Coat (1) Coats are cute, but they're far too expensive for the limited amount of time that you'll use them. Stick with layers and buntings / sleeping bags.
Mild laundry detergent -- dye and fragrance free Don't waste your money on incredibly expensive detergent specially designed for babies. You'll be doing so much washing that those expensive detergents will break the bank. Simply buy laundry detergent that is free of fragrance and dye, which are the same price as regular detergent. If you want your baby's clothes to be extra soft, buy softener that is also free of fragrance and dyes. If you can afford to buy dye and fragrance free detergent or you just can't find any, run your baby's clothes through an extra rinse cycle for awhile. Then occasionally just wash one or two outfits without the extra rinse cycle, put it on baby, and see if it causes a reaction (like a rash). If it doesn't try dressing baby in these normally washed clothes for about a week or two. If still nothing happens, you can probably skip that extra rinse cycle.
Dresser / chest of drawers (1) Dressers are great for storing away clothes that are simply too big for baby to wear or for storing toys, grooming items, etc. They simply aren't practical for clothes that will be used on a daily basis, though. First of all, you'll have to fold all those tiny little outfits. Then you'll have to sort through all of those little folded outfits every time you want to change your baby's clothes, and some of those outfits will require you to unfold them to look at them, realize they're not the outfits you want, and fold them back up. It simply takes too much time, especially when you're trying to hold a crying baby at the same time, and your drawers will just end up a mess anyhow. Dressers are good for storing things like socks, hats, mittens, etc. as well as clothes that are too big or too small that you want to hang onto and aren't ready to put into a storage box yet.
Baby clothes hangers (stock up) Now when it comes to storing clothes that will be used on a daily basis, hangers are the way to go. You can just flip through them to find the outfit you want and pull it off the hanger. After you've washed the clothes, just pop them back up on the hanger. (For extra efficiency, I recommend grouping similar clothing items together when you hang them up. For example, shirts together, body suits together, dresses together, etc. It really helps to save time.)