FEATURE
AN ENTIRELY PRACTICAL GUIDE TO BABY CLOTHING
WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU By Sarah Soteria PART 1 This is for all those who find no end to the frustrations of getting a floppy, then wriggly, then crawling, then walking, then running, then climbing baby into fiddlesome clothing. Not to mention dealing with the added complications of icky belly buttons, mucus, spit up, vomit, reflux, colic, leaks, blow outs, purees, drinking, drooling, outdoor adventuring and the incredible ability to get everything that you don’t want on them – on them. With all that to handle, it’s a wonder there is anything but practical clothing out there but we must have some fun and silliness too, of course! I just hope this guide can save some first time parents from having a wide selection of turtle necks for newborns, and save some poor babies from having to do the spider crawl.
NEWBORNS
Newborns have floppy heads, spastically flailing limbs, and most get rather titchy when you try and change them. So you want the absolute easiest stuff to put on and take off and put on and take off and put on and take off – because you’ll be doing a lot of that with a newborn. Also, everything is sleepwear, as baby sleeps so often during the day as well as night, you will need clothing they can fall asleep in, adding a sleep sack or swaddle over top if required, although overheating can be an issue depending on what sleep cover you choose. Onesies, also known as all-in-ones, pyjamas, grow suits, stretch and grows, honestly the list goes on… these one piece suits with snap buttons up the middle are hands down the best clothing for this age. Simply one handedly lay out a onesie on the changing surface with tiny naked baby in arm, then lay baby on top and snap up. Onesies mean you don’t have to pull shirts over heads or pants over bottoms with that floppy head and all those spastic movements and the discomfort of being changed that your newborn will let you know about. Zip up onesies are nice sometimes, but I find that because the zip only goes up one leg, you may have to wrestle the other leg into it’s leg hole as it doesn’t open up, but probably not at the start when baby is particularly floppy, so for newborn size a zip is okay. I’ve found two way zips very confusing for nappy changes, don’t ask me how, they’re that confusing. Newborns frequently spit up on the top half of clothes and regularly have poo explosions on the bottom half (expanding to the top back half) of clothes. Which half you’ll be changing the most is the mystery that your individual baby will get to determine. Thankfully I’ve found that neither is too staining if you keep up a frequent wash routine, although spit up discolours clothes with time to a light pinkish colour and some poop can leave staining if it’s particularly nasty. If you want high longevity and some light staining is the kind of thing that annoys you then I suggest staying away from
22 PALMY PARENT . PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
