The thing about babies that keeps throwing me for a loop is that in the beginning they need a whole new wardrobe every few months because they grow so fast. Last week, I realized we had exactly 5 items of clothing for a 0-3 month old. None of these items of clothing made an a single outfit. I kept thinking we were all set for baby clothes because our friends had handed down a huge box of clothes to us, but I hadn't really thought about the fact that most of those clothes were 6-9 month size. We have to clothe this baby for six whole months before we even touch the hand me downs. Sigh.Let's get real. Shopping for baby clothes is probably one of the top ten pleasures in life. (Look how cute. They're so small!) But as fun as shopping for tiny clothes is, the thought of buying 5 wardrobes (newborn, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, and 9-12 months) for the first year alone makes me kind of want to throw up because baby clothes can be so expensive and we're a single income family.
Chuk and I had gone thrift store shopping in our area a few times for baby clothes, but we live in such an expensive area that even thrift stores aren't very thrifty. However, over the weekend we drove a few hours south to spend some time with Chuk's family and while we were there we did some more thrift store shopping for baby. (Cheaper real estate = cheaper thrift store prices) We were able to get 27 articles of baby clothes for $31 in sizes ranging from newborn to 0-3 months to 3-6 months. We were both pleased.
We probably still don't have enough clothes in these small sizes, but it turns out we are having a baby shower, so I think other people will probably be getting us some baby clothes too. (See above about how fun shopping for baby clothes is.) I'm certainly less worried about it now than I was before.
Now, to figure out how to organize all the tiny clothes.
Have you heard of Pinterest? Lots of creative, DIY things to make and ways to organize - I'm sure there are baby clothes storage ideas somewhere on there!
ReplyDeleteAfter two babies, I can still count on one hand the clothes I've bought new for them. Thrift stores all the way!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're having a baby shower!
ReplyDeleteRe: clothes. Babies grow weirdly--some skip sizes altogether, some come home needing 3 month sizes, some stay in one size for a long time. I have a friend with an 18 month old who is JUST starting to wear 6-12 months and another friend with a 9 month old who might need 2T soon if he gets any taller. And I'm sure people will be gifting clothes, especially after s/he is here.
From what I've seen with my brother's kids, most of the clothes they have from ages 0-2 were purchased for them as gifts. . . I guess people love to buy baby clothes for other people's kids! Personally, I'm all about the thrift store route!
ReplyDeleteYou will receive tons of clothes for gifts because they are fun to buy. And as Rabbit said, babies grow weirdly. Both of my daughters had outgrown newborn clothes by 1 month, out of 3 month clothes by 2 months, and out of 6 month clothes at 4 months. My nephew is 14 months old, wears 2T, and will probably weigh more than his 3 year old sister at his next well visit. If you have any, you will have enough. :)
ReplyDeleteNice score! I wouldn't worry about getting too much in those small sizes. I just did wash eat day and my son pretty much lived in a couple of onesies and jumpers. The cute outfits came later when they didn't need to be changed four times a day :)
ReplyDeleteI think people are crazy if they buy kids' clothes from the store new! I mean, you're right, they go through those things SO quickly. I'm glad you were able to find some good things to clothe your little bundle of joy in for the first few months.
ReplyDeleteSomething else I forgot to mention. My mom always advises to buy bigger so they'll get more use out of it. A newborn can wear a 3 mo sized onesize or sleeper even if it's a little big on them. This goes for gift givers as well--people always buy the cute tiny little things for a present, but parents need 6 mos, 12 mos, etc sizes. Nothing wrong w/ giving those sizes at a shower or after baby is here. They'll be used!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any useful advice, but I wanted to say that it's sad how quickly babies grow out of clothes! Last year, my mom and I went shopping for my four-month-old nephew. We found so many cute outfits, but he grew out of them so quickly that it kind of depressed me, ha. It seems like he was only able to wear them for a month or two before he was on to new outfits.
ReplyDeleteOh! One other thing! My sister-in-law buys blue jeans for my nephew that have an adjustable waistband. I don't know how to adequately describe them, but it's like there's a belt built inside the waist of the pants, and she's able to pull the belt to make the waistband smaller or bigger. Those might only be super useful for her because her son is tall for his size, but it's something to keep in mind when your little one gets bigger!
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