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An Entirely Practical Guide to Baby Clothing
FEATURE AN ENTIRELY PRACTICAL GUIDE TO BABY CLOTHING WHAT NOBODY TELLS YOU
By Sarah Soteria PART 1
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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
light coloured clothing, however newborns look very cute in pastels and white and the staining only gets worse the older your baby is so you could also take this opportunity to sport some cute light colours on your little dot. As for split piece clothing, if you want to slightly reduce your washing and have the convenience of just changing the top or bottom half of an outfit (if you’re lucky) my suggestions are as follows. Get kimono style tops without crotch clips. This way you can still lie baby down on their clothes and clip up, and you don’t have to pull anything over their bobbly head. If available, get longish tops so as to avoid baby midriff every time Aunt Betty picks up little Jr under the arms. If longish tops aren’t available or it’s winter then try a long merino singlet with no crotch clips underneath. That way poo explosions are less likely to soil the singlet and you don’t have to mess with getting two layers of sleeves to not bunch up every time you change their top. I’ve yet to find such clothing styles readily available where I come from, so bodysuits are a close second choice and I found these fine after a bit of experience with bobbly heads. As for pants, if you’re worried about baby’s tootsies getting cold then get them with feet so you’re not eternally putting socks back on. Though I opt to have baby’s feet bare most of the time for their own enjoyment (and proper development) and just pop socks or booties on when absolutely necessary (when Aunt Betty complains their tootsies are cold). The other things that can save on washing if your baby vomits in a predictable fashion and direction, are bibs. Terry towelling is a great absorbent fabric that is easy to clean. Burp cloths are good for other fashions and directions of vomiting. Just get flat or pre-fold nappies for this as they have multiple uses and are widely available. A watched baby with prefold in the hand never bubbles. For an extra layer of warmth when you venture anywhere outside of that warmly heated nursery, use a natural fibre cardigan as these are safe for temperature regulation and especially during sleep. The cardigan should open at the front, preferably with snaps for the same reasons as mentioned above. A natural fibre beanie is also great to have, although a lot of babies seem to hate beanies so don’t get your hopes up! We tended to take it off when we didn’t know why else baby was crying, and that seemed to help, placebo perhaps? Lastly, for warmth in winter if you’re outside or in a cold building and baby is not in their pram all snug with blankets or a foot muff, I suggest a fleece onesie, however these are unsafe to sleep unsupervised in as baby can overheat quickly. So to summarise, for the first few months, be prepared for a bucket load of outfit changes. Items in the firing line for changing should open easily at the front (and I’d recommend testing that! You’ll be doing it a hundred times in bad lighting!). Frequent areas in the firing line include neck if lying, chest/legs if seated (and all over you), all outside edges of a nappy for egress, (thighs, bootle, tummy, and aaaaall the way up the back). Areas in the firing line should be protected with armour in the form of terry or prefold, and fancy pants singlets would do well to avoid or be protected from said firing lines. It’s a pretty all consuming time, I hope some of this serves to prepare you, if not practically then mentally!
