Before having a child I would go to the stores, see all the cute little clothes, maybe get something for a friend having a baby and never thought much about the sizing, it seemed very straightforward. After my baby was born I realized how wrong I was. I also learned some other things along they way they I wish I knew before I made a registry!
1.The Sizing is Ridiculous!
Baby clothes are not any better sized than adult clothes. My baby has newborn outfits that fit big and others she hulks out of then she has 3 months outfits that fit perfect and others are huge. The sizes are totally just a starting point, there is a lot of guess and check.
Each company fits different and sizes different, so you will have to see what works best. Here are some of my findings to give you a head start.
Carters Baby Clothes
Carters runs a little small. The sizing is based on the LARGEST the baby will be not the smallest. Example: Several companies label the clothes “0-3 months”, Carters would just be 3 months. I made the mistake of thinking that the outfit wouldn’t fit until 3 months and she wasn’t able to wear most of the outfits for long!
Wonder Nation (Walmart) Baby Clothes
Runs very small because it shrinks a ton when you wash it. but they are very cute and very cheap. They are sized in a month range but I recommend going by the height and weight they also list on the tag. My baby was almost always the size up or more. For example she wears the 12 month jammies and she is 7 months.
Gerber Baby Clothes
Gerber sleepers run wide and onesies run slim but found the other sizing to be fairly accurate. Strange that there is such a discrepancy in the widths. My baby is long and lean so the Gerber sleepers looked like sacs on her and are barely long enough. The bodysuits on the other hand fit her the best as they were a little longer and thinner than the other brands.
Cloud Island (Target) Baby Clothes
Target clothes seem to run on the bigger side. Especially the bodysuits, they are way too wide for my string bean.
2. Zippered Sleepers Are Where It’s At
Zippered sleepers are the way to go, and the 2-way zippers are LIFE. I don’t want to even snap the three snaps on a onesie let alone 4 million on a sleeper! The first time I attempted to put my baby in one of those I made it halfway up the leg before I chucked it in the hamper and grabbed a zippered sleeper! The two-way zippers or the ones that go from neck to foot are my preferred sleeper. it is nice to not have to almost fully disrobe my now-rolling baby to get her diaper changed.
3. Baby Socks Are The Silliest
Baby socks are extra bad. You see those cute little newborn socks? ya, they are adorable but are feet that size?? Maybe my baby just has big feet but I found that baby socks were silly. The newborn socks technically fit but if she moved at all they were start to slip off. So I tried the next size up, it was better but they still slipped off. I remember all my mom friends complaining about baby socks and I totally was understanding the gripe. I was not in the mood to be constantly dealing with the loss of little socks so I went for a new approach.
I went to the store and looked at all the socks, I ignored the size and bought what looked like was the size of her little foot, I brought them home and low and behold! They fit! They stayed on and didn’t leave marks, It was great. They were also 12-24 month sized!! Yes, My then 2-month old wore 12 to 24-month sized socks, I don’t think her feet are THAT big compared to others her age so I am going to assume it’s the socks. So. My advice to you is to do the same, get the ones that look like they fit and disregard the sizing.
4. Babies grow FAST
Ok, this one may seem obvious but it’s important to remember with baby clothes. Ya the 40 dollar designer jeans in itty bitty sizes are adorable but at most, they will get 3 months’ use. The first year clothes range in 3 month brackets. These, as I mentioned above, vary and your baby will grow at its own rate. My baby for example wore newborn for a couple of weeks, 0-3 for about 2 months then 3-6 for almost 4 months. We just moved up but some of the 3-6 still fits. The point is don’t get too attached to an outfit and be careful spending too much on an outfit. If you find something that you absolutely love maybe gets in a couple of different sizes.
6. They Stain!
Sure, all clothes stain but in case you didn’t know already, babies are very messy! It seems that baby clothes are even more susceptible to collecting lasting remnants of your littles last meal or on unfortunate days, the contents of a diaper that made its way out. I recommend getting a good stain cleaner like shout and keeping it handy!
7. Avoid Too Many Busy Patterns
Ok, this one might only be if your mildly OCD like me, but I like my kid to match, sew me. If you can relate, try to get mostly neutral items and a few cute patterns and prints. There were some baby clothes that Bean never wore because the pattern was so unique or the color was so different from what we had that I had nothing to “go” with it. The stuff she wore the most was the items that had similar colors and neutral pieces that matched. IE, dinosaur pants with a plain colored tee or bodysuit or a unicorn tee and some plain leggings.
