Infant Clothes

One of the hardest things to not impulse buy is infant clothes. How can one resist? When you find out you're expecting all you want to do is go to the baby section at Target and look at all the cute stuff. In retrospect I bought Alex clothes that he never wore and I would have done things differently. Here is my two cents on buying infant clothes (not toddler as I don't have much experience in that arena yet):

1) Don't over buy for any stage! For starters you don't know what size your baby is going to be and how fast they will grow. In Alex’s case he was in the NICU for 2 months so he rarely wore much clothing plus they had clothes for him to wear. Second, he grew so fast that he barely wore his 3-month clothes. Some of it he never even got around to wearing.

2) Buy things that are comfortable for the baby, easy to put on and take off, and don't get in the way while you are holding them. For example,  I bought a few jackets with zippers that ended up poking him in the chin since he had no head control.

3) Buy things that are practical. You’ll probably spend 80% of your time at home, so don’t over spend on branded clothes or nice outfits. A couple will be fine for church or a special visit but otherwise save your money.

My favorite things that he wears are:

Onesies: Since it is summer he really doesn't need pants. A pair of socks does the trick. They’re easy to put on and take off and when you hold him they don't ride up. 

Rompers: Similar to onesies but theses look more like outfits. Since they’re one piece you don't have to mess around with pants, shorts etc.  I like the ones that button up and the zipper ones since you don't have to pull anything above the baby's head. Look for the zipper ones that have a flap to keep the zipper down and out of baby’s face. They also have ones you pull above their heads and button between the legs.

Coveralls: I think of these as the winter version of rompers as they have long sleeves and feet. They also come without the feet for older infants or if you want them to last a little longer. They make great PJs as well. Look for these with buttons and zippers with the flap.

A cute onesie with a pair of pants, shorts or a cute skirt can go a long way as well. If we are running out the door and I want him to look a little more put together I throw on a pair of shorts with his onesie. 

Things I didn't like:

Jackets and layered outfits were a pain. They create too many layers to deal with every time you change your baby’s diaper.

T-shirts tend to rise up while you are holding them and later on while they are playing on the floor.

Shoes. There’s really no point until they start walking.  Some cute socks do the trick.

I think the biggest question new parents have on baby clothes is how much do I need? Well that depends on how much laundry you want to do and how messy your baby's diapers are. Alex was and still is not a very messy baby. Most days he only wears one outfit all day, on occasion he has a blow out and goes through 2 changes of clothes; but usually that is because he is wearing a smaller diaper. We do laundry maybe once a week for baby stuff; sometimes we can stretch it to a week and a half. He has just started cereal so we'll see if this changes.

So NET, I would suggest 1-2 outfits/onesies per day for a week's worth of laundry.


Places I like to shop are:
Walmart. I can't say I LIKE to shop there but I have found that they have great everyday, practical and cute clothes for $3 a piece. You really can't beat that. 


We had some luck at a yard sale the other day. We got a lot of good pieces for $5. But you better believe I came home and washed everything in HOT water :) Secondhand stuff can be lightly used since babies don't wear things for long.


Look for those end of session sales, especially if you are a planner.


Burlington Coat Factory tends to have a pretty good price on Carter's stuff. 


I did love shopping at Nordstrom Rack but I wouldn't call it a bargain. But if you want a couple cute things and are willing to spend a little more check them out.