5 things nobody tells you about buying clothes for your baby
Shopping for clothes for your gorgeous bump is one of the loveliest experiences for a parent-to-be. Nesting is a ‘thing,’ and the urge to have a beautifully organised nursery, complete with everything baby might need for its first 6 months, is primal.
I definitely felt my usual financial precaution do a runner out of the shop doorway the first time I saw a rack of tiny little cream baby-grows…I swear my hormones were coaxing the credit card right out of my purse! Besides, spending that little bit extra doesn’t matter because you’ll always be able to use them for a second, third or even fourth baby right? Wrong…
If only I’d known that not only would those first purchases not touch the sides of what we really needed, some of them wouldn’t even see the light of day 🤦♀️.
Me, 6mths pregnant, on my first, wonderful & super memorable baby shopping trip with my mum. Also the trip where I spent £75 on a stunning snowsuit neither of my January-born babies would fit into until April 🤦♀️
If this sounds like you, read on for 5 things you need to know to help you shop savvy, save some pennies, and get the clothes which baby (and you) are most going to need in those first few blissful (but very very busy) months and years.
Did you know that your baby will go through AT LEAST 7 sizes of clothing in their first two years? Yep, that’s right…7 whole sets of clothes, from vests, bodies and babygrows, to shoes, hats, coats and socks. You may not notice it at the time, especially with the excitement of shopping for your tiny little bundle, but that works out at anything between £200 (supermarket) and £900 (boden, joules etc) each year on just the basics. Shop savvy and you can keep spending on the basics low so you can splurge on a few special items.
On top of the financial cost, when baby is under 6 months each item will have an average of just 5-10 wears before it is binned, put away for number 2 or given away. We send 1 truckload of textiles to landfill every second in the UK! But never fear, although at the time it may seem like a hurdle too far in the parenting race, try to wash the poop out, hand down or send outgrown clothes to charity, or even rent your children’s clothes. By doing so you’ll help keep them in circulation for at least 1 or 2 more babies, reducing the environmental and financial impact considerably.
Newborns don’t need occasion-wear. You may buy, and will definitely be gifted, endless numbers of beautiful, yet wholly inappropriate, dresses and rompers. They’ll have frills & pintucks, appliques & bows, and soooo many buttons. And they’ll hang in the wardrobe, looking instagram perfect….until one day, when you emerge from the newborn fog and decide to try them out, only to find baby grew out of them 6 weeks earlier. Newborns live in sleepsuits, vests and leggings. They’re practical, easy to put on, easily washed, comfy, warm and super cute. You will need many of them, and you will want the easiest to put on, with cosy feet, front fasteners, zippers and the softest cotton you can afford to buy. For at least 3 months you won’t want anything which involves multiple layers, several openings, or needs to be take off over baby’s head (taking the poop along with it).
You will think you can get away with buying 0-3 months clothes for your newborn. But, unless they’re a biggun, it’s likely that they’ll swamp them. An average baby (7lbs) will, on the most part, need to start with newborn sizing. They’ll only wear it for a matter of days or weeks…but try to put them in 0-3 months straight away and dressing them will feel like wrestling a chicken in a flour sack.
Your first baby’s clothes will work for subsequent babies in less than 50% of cases. Not only is there a 50% chance they’ll be a different gender but, if they’re born at a different time of year, you’ll have a drawerful of gorgeous summer rompers which fit them just when they need a snowsuit. Aggh. A growing number of brands are offering fab gender-neutral clothes which really helps (although my two year old will ONLY wear pink). But otherwise I highly recommend rental, pre-loved / hand-me-down clothes as a way around having to pay out for two or more whole wardrobes.
So there you are. Of course I’m not saying you should avoid those special shopping trips altogether…there’s nothing more memorable about the first things you buy for baby. But perhaps armed with the above you’ll be able to shop a bit smarter. And remember, because babies go through clothes so quickly they’re often in immaculate condition by the time they’re done, so rental and pre-loved shopping for babies is an amazing way to get nearly new, gorgeous clothes at a fraction of the cost for you and the planet.
Some of our fave places to go are:
Rental:
https://thelittleloop.com/ - all your fave brands to rent in one place from 3 months - 10 years. Launching April 2020. Sign up here to be one of the first to try it
https://bundlee.co.uk/ - rent baby basics on a subscription basis.
Secondhand:
https://www.ecomamaandbabe.com/ - buy new and pre-loved clothes and return them for credit when you’re done.
https://www.purebundle.com/ - buy bundles of preloved clothes, curated by their in house styling team.