When I was pregnant, a friend of mine told me how lucky I was to be having a baby girl because the choice of clothes for girls is much more fun than for boys. When my new-born daughter was lying on the bed, right next to her was a mountain of clothes we had received – presents from relatives and friends: dresses with several layers of fluffy skirts, with bows and lace, collars and cuffs, clothes with embroidered rabbits and cats, jeans and blouses for baby from zero to six months old, I did not understand how to put these clothes on such a delicate little baby who could hardly straighten her arms and legs and whose neck was almost invisible!
So, I never dressed her up in those beautiful clothes.
When you buy clothes, especially if it is your first child and you have never looked after a baby before, you need to think about practicality. Will the clothes cause discomfort when you hold the baby in your arms? Will dressing, undressing, feeding or changing diapers be easy? Will your baby have freedom of movement in these clothes? Will the baby feel comfortable lying on his/her back?
Your baby may cry for what seems to be no apparent reason at first. Still, it may turn out that the clothes feel uncomfortable: buttons pressing on the back, the collar cutting into the neck, the fabric is rough, the embroidery is irritating baby’s soft skin or something else that can annoy the baby.
Before you go and make purchases at the baby store, make a list of what you are really going to need and try and stick to the list. For example, avoid buying unnecessary clothes just because they’re adorable. Don’t worry, you will more than likely get a lot of super cute clothes as gifts from your relatives and friends. Of course, you can buy anything you want and everything you like, but remember that you would be doing this for yourself and not for your baby.
Choose clothes in white or light neutral colours preferably. Firstly, the less dye clothing has, the better it is for the baby’s skin. Secondly, it’s easier to wash everything together and not have to sort whites from coloured.
The best fabric for babies’ clothes is cotton knit. It is good for both underwear and outerwear, is one hundred percent hypoallergenic, does not constrain movement, is soft and does not wrinkle.
I have included a list of clothes you will need and they are enough to begin.
– Bodies and Pyjamas: all you really need are bodies with long and/or short sleeves, pyjamas and socks, five to ten of each. The easiest pieces of clothing to put on the baby are bodies and pyjamas which are easily undone with snaps from top to bottom. It’s better if the snaps are in front and slightly to the side. Then you can undo the bodies or pyjama, lay it open on the bed or changing table, put the baby on it and easily slip the baby’s arms into the sleeves and button up the snaps.
You don’t need to torment your baby and yourself by pulling clothes over the baby’s head or sticking tiny half-bent legs into pants.
– Cardigans: 2 cardigans: one without a hood if it is a little cool in your home, one with a hood for outdoors, plus one or two hats to go out in.
It is better to buy the bodies and pyjamas one or two sizes bigger. For new-borns, you can buy bodies and pyjamas for three to six months old, cardigans and socks six to nine months. When a diaper fills up, bodies and pyjamas that fit too snugly press the diaper tightly to the skin, causing the baby to cry. This can be one of the causes of skin irritation under the diaper.
Babies grow very fast and, by buying clothes in a larger size than for a new-born baby, you will be able to use them for the first two or three months.
You will also need a sleeping bag. Again, this is best with snaps on the shoulders and a zipper or snaps in a circle. This allows you to undo the sleeping bag, fold back the top, put the baby inside and, without making any unnecessary movements that can wake your baby up, cover him or her up and fasten the zipper. Your baby won’t be sleeping in there for a long time. At six or seven months old, the baby will begin to turn over actively and will find it uncomfortable to sleep in the sleeping bag. Some babies prefer to sleep in a sleeping bag until one and even two years old. If such is the case, buy two sleeping bags as big as possible.
If your baby is born in the winter and you live in a very cold region, you will also need warm overalls, again two or three sizes bigger so it will be easier to put your baby in.
If you live in a region with a temperate climate, then a woollen overall and warm blanket are good enough for outdoors.
If you do not like bodies and pyjamas, you can buy sweaters, T-shirts, pants or rompers. Pants should have elastic at the top that does not squeeze the belly.
T-shirts have one drawback: when you take your baby in your arms, the T-shirt rides up and exposes the back and stomach of the baby and you will constantly be pulling it down.
So that’s basically all that you will need for the first few months.
To tell you the truth, until your baby starts to toddle, these will be the most comfortable clothes that he or she will need for every day.
Don’t buy too many clothes of the same size. You will need to buy bigger clothes every few months, so regular shopping is guaranteed!
