Your Baby’s Wardrobe: The Basics

Shopping for your new baby is exciting but it can be expensive if you don’t reign in your impulses. It is fun to imagine your baby boy wearing an expensive suit that matches his daddy’s or your baby girl wearing pink frilly dresses with matching tights and shoes. But the reality is; it’s difficult to put suits and dresses on babies and they will not last two hours before they dribble on their nice clothes and ruin them.

And with the current economy, you really don’t want to spend your hard earned money on something that your baby will only use once and then grow out of. Or worse, not use at all.

So before you go out and splash money on your baby’s clothing, here are the basics you need to have in your baby’s wardrobe. If you have some extra left to spend, then by all means buy that cute tuxedo on sale for a quarter of its original price. But I warn you that it may just stay in the wardrobe and six months later, you’ll discover it unworn with tags still on it.

You can’t have too much vests for your baby. When I say vest, I mean the one with poppers at the bottom and have an envelope neck line. Vests will keep your baby warm and cosy in cold weather and in the summer, that’s all you need your baby to wear. Vests also keep your baby’s nappy in place and with the poppers, it’s easy to change your baby’s nappy without having to take the whole top off.

Baby grows are very practical clothes for babies before they’re one year old. They may not be exciting but babies look cute on them. They are also very easy to put on babies and they make nappy changing less difficult.

When buying baby grows, buy the ones that have poppers in front. Don’t be tempted to get ones that have poppers at the back because they can be uncomfortable for babies and they are fiddly when you’re changing nappies. For newborns, get one with a fold-out glove at the end of the sleeves. This will help prevent babies from scratching their face.

Cardigans are very useful for cooler days or evenings. Make sure you have three or four in your baby’s wardrobe. Buy ones with poppers. Avoid buttons, they’re really fiddly to undo.

In winter, babies need a well-insulated outer wear so you can take them out for walks without having to wrap them in thick blankets. Choose a padded jumpsuit with built in socks instead of a coat and trousers.

You should never be without dribble bibs. It will protect your baby’s skin from dribbles and also keep their clothes dry and clean for longer. Make sure you always have one in your changing bag too. If you need to take your baby somewhere smart, invest on some funky bandana bibs.