Question for BTDT Moms - Baby Clothes Sizing

[LadyNymeria]

I was starting to look at some clothes but the average cut-off between NB and 3m sizing is 8 lbs. And I hear all sorts of people say their baby only fit NB for a couple weeks.

How do you decide what size to go with without knowing how big your baby is going to be?

I don't plan to buy a ton of anything, but I'd like to actually get to use whatever I end up buying.

[sodapop]

I had basically no newborn clothes because I kept hearing that I wouldn't need it. Well, DS was in newborn size pyjamas for 6 weeks. I remember going to Carter's on December 23 to buy a bunch of pyjamas. He was 6lbs 6 oz when he was born at 37.5 weeks, so he was small and I wasn't expecting that at all. He was swimming in 0-3 when he was born and that's all I had brought to the hospital.

My advice would be to buy a few newborn items from a place that will accept returns at anytime like Carter's (they don't have a time limit for returns) and only wash a few. You'll know quickly if you'll need them.

[singingsea]

I barely bought any newborn stuff with DS and I wish I did (and will this time). DS was 8lbs 12oz at birth and I brought a 0-3 outfit which he was swimming in.

[mc13]

Same thing. Everyone told me to forgo newborn sizes and R was 7 lbs 12 oz at birth and wore newborn clothes for 6 weeks.

[LadyNymeria]

So my interpretation is buy anything I seriously love in both sizes and return the one I don't end up using. Got it!

Random stuff I'll go one or the other, but if anything makes me go "OMG I need to have that" I'll just have to get both sizes!

[danizee]

I had a TON of newborn clothing (hand me downs) and I thought I wouldn't use them. DH is 6'3" and I'm 5'7". I thought our kiddo would be huge but he was born 6.15 and then got down to 6.4 before gaining weight.
It was nice to have so many onesies, I didn't have to do extra laundry the first several weeks which was nice as I was adjusting to motherhood.
I would say to try to get used, just in case, it would be such a waste to spend a much of money on NB and not use them. Or like others have said, don't wash until you need them

[cbowl]

Yes! Totally agree with PPs. I didn't buy any newborn outfits...my kid was 8 lbs 9 oz when born and swimming in her "coming home outfit" for some reason her not fitting into any of her clothes put me over the edge so i sent my H out the day we got home to purchase several of the outfits we had in 0-3 months in newborn. She wore them for probably the first month or two.

It also depends by brand. I found that Carters often fit more snugly while Gap Baby for instance were bigger fits.

[caz1221]

Ditto cbowl on the brand differences in sizing. I found Gerber clothes to be significantly smaller than Carter's (when comparing the same size in both). Circo was somewhere in between but was cut wider than Carter's. Kind of frustrating, but once baby arrives, you can figure out which brand(s) fit his/her body type and what size to get.

For DD's going home outfit, I bought a NB and 0-3 month size outfit (for each sex since we were Team Green) so I could figure out which one fit best once she was born.

[serendipity731]

I'm gonna echo what PPs said. We didn't buy any newborn sizes except for his coming home outfit. He ended up being a little dude. Looking at his coming home sleeper we thought, "OMG it'll be too small for him!" But he was swimming in it. But yeah, we had to go get newborn stuff bc everything I bought was 0-3 or 3mos and he was in newborn for awhile.

[jennybeans]

Haha - I guess I'm the outlier! DS was 9lb 7oz and just kept gaining so he wore newborn for about an hour. We squeezed him into his going home outfit but it's the only time he ever wore it. 0-3 month was where we started.

[Deleted]

Ds was 8lbs 13 oz and 21.5 inches. At birth he didn't fit nb. He probably could have by the time we left 6 days later and as he continued to lose weight. I don't forsee buying any nb stuff this time either #rebel

[thekatezombie]

May 6, 2016 14:20:50 GMT -5 LadyNymeria said:

So my interpretation is buy anything I seriously love in both sizes and return the one I don't end up using. Got it!

Random stuff I'll go one or the other, but if anything makes me go "OMG I need to have that" I'll just have to get both sizes!

Sounds like a solid strategy to me! I actually liked some of my favorite outfits in more than one size so I could soak in the cuteness longer.

ZombieBoy was another that stayed in newborn until 6 weeks or so (he was 7 lb 3 oz at birth, not and didn't lose terribly much). I had some stuff in newborn, but ended up buying more sleepers I think.

[NJgirl84]

DS was in newborn for about a month. I only had like 3 outfits so I had to buy more. But I kept the tags on most stuff until he came just in case.

[merryrissmas]

May 6, 2016 14:09:52 GMT -5 singingsea said:

I barely bought any newborn stuff with DS and I wish I did (and will this time). DS was 8lbs 12oz at birth and I brought a 0-3 outfit which he was swimming in.

Yep, same here. Both my babies were average size newborns (7 lb 6 oz & 7 lb 3 oz) and it took weeks for them to grow out of NB size clothes (and diapers)

[merryrissmas]

Oh and I also agree with cbowl, Carter's seems to run a bit small or shrink a bit, and baby gap is more true to size.

[annapunkalunka]

Is it bad that I don't even remember? MOTY!
I DO remember needing to go out and buy warmer stuff. I had a ton of summer clothes for my August baby, but no sleepers. Buy all the sleepers.

[hurricanerek]

All I remember is coming home, realizing we only had about 5 nb onesies, and breaking into tears. Pp hormones were crazy and I will make sure I have a ton in both sizes this time around so I don't panic so much.

[merryrissmas]

May 7, 2016 6:35:24 GMT -5 annapunkalunka said:

Is it bad that I don't even remember? MOTY!
I DO remember needing to go out and buy warmer stuff. I had a ton of summer clothes for my August baby, but no sleepers. Buy all the sleepers.

Yes!! All sleepers, all the time at first. I had to send DH be out to get a bunch our first day home with DS because for some reason I didn't buy any. Also those kimono shirts with the snaps and the fold over hand covers are good for the first few days (Gerber makes them I think? They usually use them in the hospital)

[cbrandt1]

DS was born at 39+5 weighing 7lbs 2oz. We had maybe 3 newborn outfits. One was his going home from the hospital clothes. We never really put clothes on him though. When we did, it was when we left the house. He spent most of his time in a diaper and blanket.

I pretty much wore only nursing bras for the first 3 weeks so we got lots of skin to skin that way.

I think you can buy onesies in multi packs and they aren't too expensive. Grab one or two and then get more afterwards if necessary. We were out of newborns in about a week and a half so I was glad we didn't spend the money.