having our little boy in 3 short months… what important information should I know when buying receiving blankets and baby clothes?
Also, which are the best brands, and how are the qualities of well known brands such as Carter, and Child of Mine?
–>
Other baby gift ideas sites online
- Buy Cheap Just Born 4-Pack Flannel Receiving Blankets – Green Dots Stripes for $10.00
andrew's mommy says
Here are some great tips to know before you buy your layette to help keep your baby safe, comfortable and cute.
Buttons, Bows and Snaps
One thing we may forget to notice when buying clothes for baby is where snaps, buttons, etc. are located. Remember for baby’s comfort to check out the location of all functional and decorative items. Think about how the baby will be laying on the article of clothing and how the accessories may be bothersome.
Functionality
There is nothing worse than purchasing an adorable outfit for your newborn, only to figure out too late that it’s a miserable outfit to have to put on your baby. Be sure you have ease of access for diaper changes, clothing changes, etc. Usually snap crotches are great for ease of diaper changes. Neckline may be stretchy or have a snap or two to widen the opening around your baby’s head.
Seasonal Clothing
When you are shopping for your baby clothes, remember to keep in mind the season that your baby will be born. If you are expecting a winter baby, don’t go hog wild in purchasing short sets during your pregnancy. Focus on some season neutral clothing like onesies and sleepers. Once your baby is born you can buy some outfits that are seasonally appropriate.
Size Wise
While most newborn babies fall into a certain size range, they can be quite easy for which to purchase clothing. However, keep in mind two factors: 1) Gifts from everyone are usually given as newborn or small sizes and 2) You don’t know how quickly your baby will grow or out grow baby clothes.
Hand Me Downs
Hand me downs and second hand baby clothes are a great way to enhance your baby’s wardrobe. Since little ones often don’t wear clothes often because of how quickly they tend to grow, the wear on the clothing tends to be minimal. You can usually get several babies worth of use out of an outfit! One item to be leery of for second hand is sleepers, because the flame retardation may wear down.
Also you need to know is that your baby is not going to stay small, so make sure your buy in a variety of sizes, atleast up to 3-6 months. trust me, my son outgrew his newborn clothes so fast, i couldnt believe it. he is almost 7 months old and wearing 12 month clothing.
Size 0-3 Clothes:
Obviously, baby needs something to wear when they come home – but be careful of stocking up too much on the smaller sizes (a mistake every new parent we know has made). Babies grow up so fast.
One thing people don’t realize is that baby clothing tends to run by weight, not necessarily by age. For instance, we were given ‘preemie’ outfits for the boys when they were first born. The clothes were ‘up to 5 lbs’ – which was less than our boys’ birth weight, and were too small before they could even wear them. The 0-3 sizes can run up to 12, 16, or 23 lbs – depending on which brand you buy. While every baby grows at a different rate (for instance, some newborns reach 20 lbs by four months, there are many babies that don’t reach the 20 lbs weight until after their first birthday), there aren’t many that stay under 12 lbs after the first couple of months. A good rule of thumb is to stock up on the onesies and one-piece sleepers and outfits that baby can sleep in, and buy clothes that fit “0-6 months”. Every new parent will find that there are the cutest outfits that they had to have, yet baby outgrew them too quickly.
Something that we found helpful is to let people know what the guys’ weight was, and size of clothes, so that family and friends didn’t have to guess (for instance, at 12 months our guys were well into size 2T clothes, and 3T sleepwear).
Receiving Blankets:
Honestly, you’ll probably get more than enough receiving blankets from your showers and the hospital. While you do need a couple for swaddling and padding, try to keep the number down that you buy to a dozen or so – at most. Receiving blankets are rather lightweight and small, and while they are very useful and handy during the first few weeks, many families move on to different blankets and options after the first month or two.
Precious says
The only thing you need to know is you can’t have too many. Receiving blankets can be used to keep your baby warm/swaddled, be used as a burp cloth, a place to change diapers, and more. As for clothes, onesies are fabulous as well as those gowns with the whole in the bottom. Makes midnight diaper changes really easy when you don’t have to worry about too many snaps. Have fun!
You don’t have to get name brands but I am a huge fan of Carter’s. I have blankets from my 3-year-old that I’m using now with my son and they still look great. Carter’s wash and wears really well, as well as Child of Mine.
I also shop at consignment stores in my neighborhood. That way, I get name-brand clothes that sometimes still have the store tags on it for a lot cheaper. My son is 6 weeks and has a full closet of clothes going up to 2T filled with a variety of gifts but mostly "slightly used" clothes. Most of the baby clothes look brand new because the tag in the back doesn’t even look washed. I’m guessing that a lot of parents only had their baby wear the outfit once and the baby grew out of it. Bad for them; good for me!
Yeah Me! says
Make sure you wash everything you buy for your baby in Dreft. It’s a gentle detergent made for a baby’s skin. Although new clothes haven’t been worn, it’s still a good idea to wash them before you put them on your baby.
newkymom606 says
Well obviously buy seasonal clothes. When he first comes home, if he is normal size, he will be in premie clothes. Don’t spend tons of money on clothes because he will grow so quick that it runs into hundreds of dollars. Actually most of my daughter’s clothes were either bought as presents at her baby shower, or hand-me-downs. I made sure they were in good condition, but spending lots of money is rediculous, unless you are just rich and trying to find ways to spend money. Congratulations!
TPhi says
Just watch out for products (especially teething toys, etc.) that are made in China. I don’t trust them anymore after they used lead in other stuff.
Hey now! says
for clothes buy the onesies that are button down or zipper down, try to get things that do not go over the head (esp for a newborn), those are a PAIN!
also, i never used receiving blankets, i am not sure what people use them for, i just bought swaddle blankets, they have ones with velcro tabs that are super easy to swaddle the baby (i used "swaddle me" blankets i bought at babies r us)
my baby spits up a LOT so i use a lot of burp cloths
edit: i like carters clothes, i do not like gerber clothes (they are tiny)
zacksmom10*26*07isgoing2baS@HM!! says
recieving blankets are so tiny.
i have a ton of them and when i was getting ready for my son to be born, i just looked at them and wondered how the hell was i supposed to swaddle a baby in that tiny square?? we were able to for about 2 weeks, then it didnt work. we use them just a light blankets over him the the carseat or i use them in place of a changing table sheet.
i actually had my mother in law sew 2 of them together for the summer, so they would cover our son.
Nancy B says
make sure it’s wash even though it’s wrap you want it fresh for the baby.
**Princess Sarah**[[3 Months]] says
Receiving Blankets: make sure you get some in diffrent sizes, I have a few now that I really loved , but now my lil one is too big for those , but still small enough for the others, I like the ones that are more Square . And also get some that are thin for those warm days, and thick ones for colder days. ( I live in Colorado, The weather always changes here , 2 days ago 80 today 57)
So its good to have a verity of diffrent styles and textures.
Clothes: I love Carter’s , 1st year(Target) the white onsies are great made by Gerber.
But mostly all Sarah’s clothes are Carter’s..I hardly got to buy any for her, she has a Aunt who loves to buy her clothes each week . Im not complaining :P
Congrats & Good Luck !!!
Ellie04 says
Receiving blankets? Don’t have too many! I got so many as shower gifts that I have now have an entire tote filled with ones that were never used. My son used the same three until he outgrew swaddling at about two weeks.
You may not need to buy any baby clothes! My son is 5 1/2 months and has enough clothing to last his first year that I have not bought anything (well a couple of things because I though they were cute, but not because I needed them). This is what most people will get you as shower gifts and when they see baby for the first time.
If you do need to buy baby clothes…get most of your clothing in size 3-6 months and size 6-12 months, but do get some onesies and sleepers in 0-3 so your baby isn’t swimming in his/her clothes when born. You can get some great deals on Ebay, at garage sales and at consignment stores. I love to buy second hand clothes because so much of it is like brand new. I could certainly afford to buy new, but why when baby is only going to wear it for a month or two at most.
thistlesnshamrocks says
Child of mine is a branch of the Carter’s company so they should be of the same quality.
Buy clothes appropriate for your climate & time of the year.
Remember that babies need a onesie & an outfit suitable for the outside temperature, never overdress them!
You can never have too many receiving blankets.
You will also need loads of infant socks, they can also be used as mitts so that the baby doesn’t scratch his face.