Gear: Clothes

Ah! The category in which I'm most likely to alienate my readers!

When it comes to baby clothes, I am a no-nonsense kind of mom. Don't get me wrong, I do care about Elsie looking cute, but I don't think that the maximum amount of frill is the best means to that end. Nor are the Disney princesses. Nor are lots of outfits designed for adults and sized for newborns. I'm going to break this up by age.

We live in Boston. Elsie was a winter baby. If you're from a hot climate or have a summer baby, you might have to adjust the list of infant clothes accordingly. Whatever your favorite outfit is, plan to have 3 of it that you can use in rotation. The rest, you'll probably barely ever even use unless it makes the cut for the next round of favorites.

Your baby's sizing might not match the official clothing sizes. For instance, I know 6-month-olds who had to wear 12-mo clothes (which is the same size as 9-12 mo), and I knew an 8-month-old who was in 2t, which is a toddler size. Sizing varies from brand to brand. Little Me runs smallest. Carters runs biggest. Some things, sizing matters a lot. Long pants can be tripped over. Short onsies will put pressure on the crotch and shoulders. Other things don't matter so much, like dresses. If buying for a baby shower, consider buying up a size or two. I know many babies who never fit newborn clothes, and I know babies who needed 6 month clothes very soon after birth. If you think everyone else will get 0-3 mo clothes, consider looking into 3-6 or even 6-9 month outfits.


Infant outfits. This age takes you up to crawling, so up to 6 mo outfits for us. Elsie, born 6 lbs 10 oz, was in NB size for a month or two, then right on track, 0-3, 3-6. If your baby is born 8 lbs, skip straight to the 0-3 month outfits. What we used:

Our favorite outfits 0-6 mo: footies and rompers

• Cotton footies -- My favorite brand for these is Little Me. They're thick cotton and good stitching (in all sizes up to 12 months), and their designs are cute without being too girly or too manly-baby.
• Fleece or velure footies -- Favorite brand: Absorba. Absorba makes SUCH high quality clothes. I just wish they didn't put a million tags in their stuff! Least favorite brand (for 0-12 mo), Carters. They fell apart before Elsie even grew out of them, which is a bit of a bummer. Snaps stopped working and the fleece became threadbare within a month or two. Impressively poor quality, though some of their other stuff has worked out fine.
• Onesies -- Casual wear for warm weather. The snaps between the legs are key so that the whole outfit doesn't hike up when you pick up your baby.
• Rompers -- Cuter warm-weather outfits that snap between the legs.
• Sweaters and Vests -- I tend to favor the home-knit sweaters (because they are warm and adorable) and the fleeces that zip up in front (because they are easy to get on and off). Vests are quite practical for babies because they are very easy to add as a top layer even over a sweater.
• Knit hats
• Small bibs -- For spitup and teething drool. The tiny ones that come with outfits are fine for this purpose. For actual eating, you use different bibs. It may not seem necessary, but they can soak an entire outfit in an hour or two, so it is nice to be able to simply change a bib instead of having to change a footed pj.

Elsie effectively lived her first 6 months in footies, except for our trip to Florida and a few special occasions with fancier outfits for photo ops.

What I do not recommend for 0-6 monthers (here is where I make my enemies):

• Outfits that require socks -- they just fall off. If it's warm weather, and your baby can go barefoot, then cropped pants are great. If not, then footed pants or, better-yet, one-piece footies are where it's at.
  
• Shoes -- Until your baby starts pulling up, there is no need to put shoes on her feet. They're not comfortable. They fall off. They get in the way of important foot sensations. They're just for adults to coo over the amazing cuteness that is tiny shoes. Hang them on the Christmas tree instead, so you can enjoy the cuteness, knowing how tiny your baby's feet are, without bothering your baby unnecessarily.
• Outfits with many pieces -- We have a few of these that are soooo cute, and it's important to have some cuteness, but if it required removing more than two things for a diaper change, we only put it on for a very special occasion. And it's okay to have a few special occasion outfits, just realize that the best outfits for every day use are the ones with the fewest pieces, that don't gape at the midriff, that make for easy diaper changes, and that don't have anything that could be lost (socks, shoes, headbands, etc.)
• Bathing suits -- Unless you need one of those sun-protection suits, it seems a little excessive. Babies don't need swim suits. They're cuter than anything in all their naked glory. For hygiene, get a swim diaper instead. If it's not a worry, skinny dipping is where it's at!

Our favorite bathing-ware

Crawler Outfits. ~6-9 and 9-12 mo. Now we get into babies actually wearing clothes that look like clothes and not just pjs!

Favorite cruiser-wear: overalls and turtleneck or romper

• Rompers -- Just the best for summer. They're SO cute and SO practical. Best of both worlds. Most of Elsie's rompers at this age are Carters purchased from Costco. Warning about Carters: their poplin rompers are high quality, but their knit rompers and dresses fall apart at the seams almost as soon as you buy them.
  
• Overalls -- So good for crawlers and cruisers! Very cute. Very practical. Unisex. Doesn't get any better than that. Oshkosh is still the best brand.
  
• Shirts -- Some to snap between the legs and some not to. You just want enough to layer. Carters knit turtle necks have worked out fine. No seam rips and no snap failures yet.
• Sweaters and cardigans
  
• Socks -- Now you can introduce socks! Consider getting ones with grip on the bottom. The baby gap socks we have fall off. We have some others that I don't know the brand of that work fine.
  
• PJs -- This time, to use as sleepwear! The footies tend to be zipper at this age, and Carters brand was fine for this despite the smaller sizing with the snaps having preformed so badly.
• Snow Suit -- Ours is oshkosh, but it's really hard to get on and off of Elsie. Maybe a bunting would have been a better idea? Hard to say. Necessary evil. She hates bundling up, but it's cold out!
• Hats and mittens -- Guess how much Elsie loves these. Not at all. But it is cold outside.
  

Bad for crawlers:

• Dresses -- It broke my heart, but we had to put away all the dresses until a later date. They get under-knee when Elsie is crawling and really slow her down. Still cute to have a few for special occasions, but be sure to bring a more crawl-worthy change of clothes to even the fanciest party. It's just not fair to trip up your baby for fashion's sake.
  

Walking and Potty Training Outfits ~12-18 mo, 24 mo/2t. Now we're getting into outfits that really look like big-kid outfits! Elsie has a brown sweater I wish I had in my size, but most of her pants look as though they're miniatures of granny mall-walking outfits. Oh well!

• Shirts -- No more snaps between the legs. When you're training, you don't want anything in the way or it will get wet and require changing. I now buy up a size, because you can always roll the sleeves and cross your fingers that it will still fit in the fall.
  
• Elastic-waisted pants -- Fleece sweats are the easiest to hem and the easiest to get on and off, which makes them a very practical choice for both Elsie's shape and her training. If you have to mess with flies or clasps or snaps, there's no chance you'll get her to the potty in time to catch a poop. The fleece pants definitely make Elsie look like a frumpy mall-walker. Oh well.
• Skirts and dresses -- Hooray! It's finally practical to go in adorable dresses!
• Tights and leggings -- Oh, how I love Elsie's tights! Maybe my favorite thing I ever bought for her. So cute, so warm, so comfy!
  
• Shoes -- Yes, there is a time and place for shoes, and it is for little cold or tender walking feet. The very best new-walker shoes are made of leather, and have suede leather soles. They sell them at toy stores and baby shops all over the place. They are expensive, but they are incredible. They never fall off. They're flexible enough that they don't hinder foot growth or flexibility. They're thin enough that they allow your baby to feel the ground beneath her. They're simply the best. I highly, highly recommend them.
• Cotton training pants -- They require frequent changing and astute attention on the parent's part, but they allow the baby to learn what it feels like to be wet so that she can learn how her body works and make potty progress. I bought them on clearance right after Christmas when they were changing their colors and patterns. In general, buying on clearance is a great thing to do for baby clothes. You can get much higher quality stuff for the same price as the lower quality brands.
  
• PJs -- just for nights

Bad for walkers or trainers:

• Pants that are too long -- tripping hazard. Hem them. You can always cut out the hem later.
• Shirts that snap between the legs -- potty impediment!
  
• Overalls -- SO good for walkers but so bad for trainers, so if you're training early, keep that in mind. They're diapering pants. Training babies need the quickest access to their bare bottoms that is practical. We still use overalls, but only when we're definitely not going to be trying for anything but scheduled potty sits.
  
• Rigid shoes -- Try to get as close to the feeling of barefoot walking as you can for your baby. It's the safest and quickest way for them to master the skill, and it's healthiest for little feet.