Beyond clueless...

[Lori in NJ]

I have been looking at baby clothes in the hopes of being able to have some gender-specific stuff 'ready to go' b/c I don't know the sex of the baby and of course, want to go ALL pink or blue when I can... I am SO clueless & overwhelmed. Everyone keeps telling me not to buy clothing b/c I'll get it as gifts, but I don't want to rely on that--it's more comforting for me to buy the stuff and then return it...

Can someone give me a rundown--I'm due 8/14 but hoping like hell to go early (due to high risk issues) and live on the steamy east coast. Do I need sleepers? onesies? creepers? bodysuits? What's the difference w/this stuff???

I bought some outfits at Macy's yesterday--SO cute--little t-shirts w/matching 'undies' and socks figuring I can tuck the undies part into the top of the diaper so I don't irritate the cord stump, is this unrealistic?

I'm feeling SO inept--I am feeling overwhelmed by this little person and it's not even here yet!!!!:(

Thx in advance for your help!!

[millerpjm]

I understand how you feel. I did not get as many clothes as I expected, so it's good to have some on hand. In my case, I was very nervous about things that went over the head. DS was born in Feb. so it's not the same time of the year, but I liked sleepers. For summer, I would suggest "creepers" or dressy onesies - the kind with snaps all the way down the front. I got some Carter's ones that are cute.

Hope this helps!

Jen

Proud mama to Thomas (4 1/2 months old)

[JustMare]

I'm actually telling family NOT to buy us clothing. It's something we enjoy to purchase ourselves and I've notice my family has no clue how to purchase newborn clothing. My mother sees it perfectly acceptable to purchase a 2T dress for an infant - "She'll eventually wear it"! Who wants clothes around for THAT long!! Ugh! My SIL (the one I'm not fond of) purchases clothes for the wrong season. So the baby will never be able to wear them. (just had to vent!!!)

So now on to your dilemma,

I personally love the sleepers at the Gap. Someone here mentioned that for a "take me home outfit" there're great since they snap all the way down, so you won't have to really handle the baby too much. Right now, they have pink, blue, and grey ones on sale for $9.99 reduced from $19.99. They also have matching knot hats $3.99. I went with the neutral teddy bear design (we don't know yet what we are having, but I couldn't pass up a sale)

http://www.gap.com/asp/Product.asp?wdid=608550&wpid=1878363

I would stock up on several sleepers. I know it's summer, but your baby will most likely be in air conditioning.

You might also want some decorative bodysuits/onesies. For something lighter to wear when the weather does cool off.

Oh, gowns are nice to try too. Some people love them, some hate them. I'd buy one or two to see if you like them. DH bought one from TJ Maxx for $2.99.

I would buy the very basics at first to see what you like to use. Some people layer onesies/bodysuits under as underware, some don't. Some love the side snap t-shirts, some never use them. You get the idea..

I'd stick with that to start. Buying less will give you an excuse to get out of the house with the baby and go shopping.

Lots of luck for a speedy and safe delivery!

[jd11365]

My DD basically wore the white t-shirts from the hospital for the first couple of weeks since she really didn't leave the house anyway...white is very gender specific. By that time, you can take a trip and start purchasing some clothes when you know the gender. Don't buy too many clothes now...you are lessening your days of a return policy.

[nigele]

My advice is to purchase basics in whatever color you choose - onesies, sleep gowns and a couple of cute outfits. I received tons of impractical outfits and found I really liked the simple things when my baby was newborn. I live on the east coast as well and dressed him in nice onesies during the day and in baby gowns at night, which were a lifesaver for all of those middle-of-the-night diaper changes.

Good luck and know that outfitting the baby does get easier once you get the swing of things!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

>
>I bought some outfits at Macy's yesterday--SO cute--little
>t-shirts w/matching 'undies' and socks figuring I can tuck
>the undies part into the top of the diaper so I don't
>irritate the cord stump, is this unrealistic?
>

I would not suggest doing this. The fabric tucked into the diaper will wick the wetness and you will end up with the pee on the clothes. The diaper almost touches the stump anyway, so a layer of fabric there would probably rub up against it, depending on how your baby is built.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[Rachels]

I agree. Also, it's likely to untuck and chafe even if it isn't initially in contact with the cord. The baby's cord doesn't stay on for very long at all, though. You could always use those outfits after a week or two, but I'd avoid them in the very beginning.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[cthuynh91]

I did receive a lot of clothes but everyone was concerned about fit so almost everything was for 3-6 mos. I ended up having to go out and buy a whole bunch of clothes at the last minutes and I was early so trust me you don't want to be in the same predicament. I had read in some of these threads about buying at least one premie outfit for going home and the first few days. I highly recommend that. Parker was 7 lbs at birth and still looked tiny in the 0-3 mos outfit that I brought to the hosp.

My recommendation would be a few sleepers and several onesies with snaps at the botton for easy changing. I got a gift set from the Gap which included several onesies and a blanket and a set of onesies from Old Navy. Personally I don't like the cardigan/shirt and pants combination b/c they're too cumbersome. Anything that snaps at the bottom is a good idea since you'll probably be changing diapers 10 - 12x a day, if not more.

Lastly, it's really true that you shouldn't buy too many outfits (or diapers in a particular size for that matter). It's amazing how fast they grow out of them.

Good Luck!

Carina

[votre_ami03]

I am due just a few weeks ahead of you. We know we are having a boy, so I have bought a lot of boy clothes. I heard the same thing & we did receive a lot of outfits, however, these things aren't necessarilly clothes I would have picked out. :)

My advice would be to buy side snap tee's, 0-3 mos. Some onsies, neutral or white. A few gowns & or sleepers, those are pretty neutral. I wouldn't buy too many outfits, you may want to buy boy or girl clothes, once you know. Probably a take home outfit & a one piece things for the beginning.

Christy
EDD - 7/26
Boy! Nolan

[ScrapNancy]

In addition to planning for pink/blue clothes, know where you can get preemie sizes in case you need them! I was also high-risk and thought I knew what to expect size-wise since I was having level 2 ultrasounds *every* week. On May 5th the ultrasound estimate was that our daughter weighed 7# 9oz. She was born on May 9th, an induced delivery at 39 weeks, weighing 5lbs 15oz!! (After 2 nights in the NICU she was fine and came home with me on schedule, btw) She's very long and has a big head which they said threw off the calculations. She swam in all the clothes we had for her, even the smallest newborns, and would pull her legs up out of the legs of her sleepers and then cry because she was stuck! Fortunately we had planned ahead because I was high-risk and knew where to get preemie clothes. We bought a couple of preemie sleepers at Walmart here in town and she wore them until she was over a month old.

Good Luck. I hope things go as well for you as they did for us!

Nancy
SAHM to Bridget Rose, born 5-9-03

[KMommie]

I also didn't know the sex of the baby and was desperate to have some gender specific clothing for baby. I agree with Carina, though. The first few weeks DD was swimming in the 0-3 size. I wanted so much for her clothes to "fit", I limped out (postpartum, my feet swelled to enormous proportions) and bought her a couple of things myself, in the preemie size and the 0-3 size. So, of course those few things were the only ones she wore. :) And amazingly, I never bought her anything pink.

My mom told me that I'd probably find a few styles that I preferred, and the outfits that weren't that style would just sit and never get worn. She was so right! I thought I knew what I would want DD to wear, but when she got here, I was so wrong. Try a few different styles, don't buy a bunch of the same thing, no matter who tells you what you will "definitely" use all the time. My mom swore I would love the gowns, I bought a bunch and used only one of them once. One gf swore I would love the side snap shirts, and again, I bought and used only a few times. I thought I would love the little dresses and diaper covers, only to discover that I really didn't after getting tired of pulling DD's dress down whenever I carried her. Most of DD's clothes we got ended up being pink, and I've gotten so tired of that color! I have my mom and MIL searching for reds and shades of purple! It actually looks better with DD's coloring.

I, too, was worried about the cord stump. I just had her in a little shirt and her diaper. She was usually wrapped up in a pretty receiving blanket, so I figured, why make changing diapers more difficult. I know that would bug some moms but, those first few weeks were basically a blur of feedings, random moments of sleep and learning how to change a diaper. It also helped with the beginnings of bf. DD would fall asleep before she "was done", so the LC had me take off everything but her diaper to start bf-ing and then if she still fell asleep, we'd clean her cord. The rubbing alcohol always woke her up!!

[Magda]

Ok this is what we did:

DS was born at the end of june and it was really hot last year. He wore side snap tee shirts once we were home. Sleepers would have been way too warm. He would sweat through even those. (We thought he was peeing through his diaper for a while, but no, he was just hot.) We bought white ones and tie dyed them all different colors. Once he was big enough he wore creepers almost all the time. they are like a onesie, but with legs. I like that he looked dressed, but his outfits were all one piece. When they are that little two piece outlits just ride everywhere.

He slept in gowns until fall when he moved into a sleepsack.

The only this that I would do different would be to have a premie outfit or two because even at 7 1/2 lbs. the 0-3 clothes were still way too big for about two weeks.

Hope that helps,

Elaine

[Andrea S]

This is what I had:

1 pack of t-shirts that snap (to use before cord fell off)
gowns
onsies
several 1 piece sleepers
several 1 piece outfits

I dressed Andrew long sleeved things layered with a onsie b/c it was cool with the air on.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[ScrapNancy]

Hi Lori - After re-reading this thread to see the other responses I thought of something else I wanted to pass on to you.
I was also high risk. We had to have fertility drugs to get pregnant, lost our first baby at 23 weeks gestation, our second pregnancy at 5 weeks and finally have a healthy baby girl the third time around. After working so hard to just get her here and preparing for over 2 years, as we approached Bridget's delivery I began to panic about would I actually know what to do with a baby? It seems like such a steep learning curve and it's true that for such little people they do have a way of making you feel like such a big idiot. Like when they've been yelling for half an hour and you finally think "hungry?" and stick the bottle in their mouth and they look at you like "duh!" and happily inhale it. But the bottom line is that it doesn't hurt them to cry while you figure it out (although it may hurt *your* ears!) and that if you CARE and are trying, that's all they need. One day in the not too distant future you will wake up and realize that you actually kind of know what you are doing! You will learn to distinguish cries and anticipate their needs and it will happen sooner than you think and without you even really realizing it's happening. My daughter is now 10 weeks and I feel *so* much more competent than I did when I started!

You'll be a great mom because you care so much about being a great mom!

I hope this helps you feel better - Appreciate the adventure and the little (and big) joys and don't sweat the small stuff!

Good Luck!
Scrap Nancy, SAHM to Bridget Rose born 5-9-03

[Lori in NJ]

Thanks SO much for your replies!!! I did buy bodysuits & some 'decorated' onesies, some sleeping gowns, and a couple of sleepers. I have enough to get me through at least 2-3 days post hospital--I can see the hospital from my house so I'm apprehensive about going TOO all-out on the going home outfit... I truly appreciate all of your help on this one and made it a point to ONLY buy stuff (for now) at stores w/an unlimited return policy (Macy's, Kohl's, Carter Outlet).

Hope everyone is doing well--
Lori

[ScrapNancy]

Lori- I got your reply in my e-mail box but the return address is the message board so I can't reply privately. If you'd like to, go ahead and do what you did to send the e-mail to me and put your e-mail in the text and then I can reply directly to you!

Good Luck!
ScrapNancy & Baby Bridget

[Lori in NJ]

Thought of your post today... Was in BabyGap realizing I don't really have a take-home outfit I like and found the sleeper you mentioned on sale for $6.99, figured if you were near the Gap you might want to pick up some more. Also ended up getting the teddy bear cardigan (in white) that matches that's usually $14.50 for $4.97!!! I bought it in 3-6 mos size so I could get some mileage out of it.

I bought it in pink bear & gray bear and figure I can give whichever one I don't use as a gift...

HTH!

Lori