Need help buying baby clothes

[mommytoe]

I have not baby clothes in a long time. I am helping my niece prepare for her new baby. How long does a baby wear 0-3 months size? I remember with my children that you can not always go by the age it says.

Trying to figure out if I should be getting 03 months or 3-6 months. The baby will be born in the beginning of September so the weather will be changing within months of her birth. Should I get summer wear in 0-3 months and maybe a warmer clothes in 3-6 months?

My niece does not have much money and her bf took off when he heard about the baby. There is other people trying to help her prepare for the baby so the little one will have what is needed. I am just wanting to make sure the clothes I but her will be alright.

 

[VillainFavs]

My oldest was 7lb, 4oz and I think wore 0-3 for maybe the first month. My second was 9lb 5oz and never saw a 0-3! Maybe a few of the onesies for the first couple weeks. That's about it! Totally depends on the baby.

 

[powellrj]

All of my 3 were over 8lbs and never saw a 0-3 either!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

As noted, it's hard to say until the baby is actually here. My first child was so small she was wearing 0-3 month clothes until she was about 5 months old. My second wore them about 3 months, and my third never saw any 0-3 sizes.

Depending on how much you want to buy, I'd say a couple of 0-3 month sized outfits would be fine with some 3-6 months sizes also. You could also include the receipt, so, if the smaller size doesn't get used, it can be returned for a bigger size.

 

[design_mom]

It depends on the size of the child and at that age, they can vary a lot.

My son tracked around 50th percentile and the "by month" clothing sizes seemed to match his chronological age pretty well. (Full disclosure: he was adopted and we did not have him when he was in a 0-3m size) I think they are designed for the 50th percentile child. (So he likely would have grown *out* of the the 0-3m by the time he reached 3m old, and the 3-6m would have fit him till he was about 6m old.) However, a lot of babies are bigger or smaller than 50th percentile, so the ages don't match up as well. It really depends on the child.

 

[cluvsdisney]

As noted, it's hard to say until the baby is actually here. My first child was so small she was wearing 0-3 month clothes until she was about 5 months old. My second wore them about 3 months, and my third never saw any 0-3 sizes.

Depending on how much you want to buy, I'd say a couple of 0-3 month sized outfits would be fine with some 3-6 months sizes also. You could also include the receipt, so, if the smaller size doesn't get used, it can be returned for a bigger size.

I was going to say the same thing. It's hard to say before the baby is born but if he/she wears 0-3 months, it will be great to have when your niece gets home from the hospital.

 

[aaarcher86]

Depends on the clothes a he the baby.

Mine is 4months. At 2 months anything that was 0-3 and had feet wasn't a little short. Onsies fit fine. Some brands were more slim and didn't fit. Now she's 4 months and still fits in some 3 month onsies, but mostly wears 3-6 months stuff.

I think things with feet are a little less forgiving. I personally hate those sleep dress things so we just work with onsies. For awhile she didn't fit in any pants so we just wrapped her in a blanket.

I'll be the first one to tell you that I went bonkers on clothing and she didn't even get to wear it all. You can always by more clothes once you get a good gauge on size.

 

[MickeySP]

Mine was 8lb 2 oz - like someone else never saw 0-3. It really depends on the baby weight & length. I always buy 6- or 9-12 when I have a shower, so when the day arrives they out grow parent has at least an outfit or two to tide them over

 

[superme80]

My first was over 9 lbs and wore 0-3 months for a few weeks. The other 2 were over 8 lbs, but forgot to grow. So they wore them for about the first 6 months of their lives.

 

[Christine]

My DD was in the 7lb range and she did wear 0-3 months for many weeks. My son (8lbs) was probably in them for a week or two.

I would strictly limit the amount of clothing at the 0-3 month size (especially if your niece and the father of the baby happen to be bigger/taller people). Buy mostly 3-6 months and you'll be fairly safe. Also, they used to sell a lot of infant gowns in the layette section for boys and girls and they fit for a bit longer. I did buy some baby gifts not too long ago and saw the gowns so they still have them.

 

[cabanafrau]

Like everyone else has said, it's a coin toss depending on size of baby. Given the circumstances I'd be hunting for mom to mom sales to help your niece build up more wardrobe for the money. Apparently it's quite a thing now and savvy shoppers come away with quite the bargains.

 

[moniqueand2]

Yeah 0-3 month size for about the first month. But I also wanted to mention that shower attendees seem to LOVE buying the really little 0-3 month size! People cannot resist those little sleepers and outfits.

So, I always make it a point to buy 6-9 or even some 12-18 month size stuff. Many babes start wearing 12 month size before they turn one.

 

[MissManda]

My baby was 7 lbs at birth and fit into his 0-3 months cloths right up to 3 months old. I had a ton of 3-6 months but the seasons were off. Some people don't really think when buying baby gifts. My baby turned 3 months in April. The 3-6 months cloths that other people got us were either middle of summer (shorts and t-shirt) or heavy winter outfits. We have very few spring outfits So, I ended up getting a combo of spring/summer cloths in 6-9 months size and figured he would grow into them. So, we skipped 3-6 completely! It worked perfectly for us.

It also depends on the brands. For examples, Childrens Place seems to run smaller. Carters fits my little guy perfect and fits very well with his age, always has.

A lot of baby cloths come in sets with a short sleeve and long sleeve body suit with pants. If you are buying those, then I would get 3-6 months. They will be big at first but there is plenty of time to grow into them. They can wear the short sleeves if September and early October is warm (not sure of location) and the long sleeves should make it a good chunk of the winter. I think that would give you the most bang for your buck.

Just keep the receipts for anything that you buy so that it can be returned if the baby needs something different.

 

[Malibustyle23]

If you or her don't mind second hand go to a good consignment shop or sale nearby. Baby clothes for the first year or two are super abundant and usually in great if not new condition because people usually over buy or get so many items as gifts for that age they barely wear any of it. I've even found lots of new with tags outfits on the consignment racks especially in 0-3 month size.

You can also get large baby equipment needs for penny on the dollar at thrift shops, yard sales, online sales or resales. I would only suggest to buy a car seat brand new because they do expire.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

It seems hard to say - I think it depends on the baby's overall shape. We were told that DS would be in the 8-lb. range, so we prepared for him to begin wearing 0-3 month sizes. He was exactly 8 lbs., 21 1/2 inches at birth, and he was swimming in those clothes! We had been given 4 or 5 "newborn"-sized items and he really did need them for his first 2 or 3 weeks. Then he grew quickly and was in 6-month clothes just before he was 2 months old - just for the length. Now at 7 months, his 9-month clothes are getting tight, again lengthwise (he seems to want to stay 70th percentile in height but 20th in weight). Even diapers are difficult - he doesn't go up a size until he's halfway through the weight range given on the box!

When I worked in the infants department at Penney's 20 years ago, the general rule of thumb was to go up a size from the baby's age. Newborn should wear up to 3 months, a 3-month-old should wear 6 months, etc. And most clothes now have a tag showing weight and height ranges. But every baby is different, so I agree with the poster that suggested keeping the receipts just in case. And secondhand is great - I'm always getting things at Once Upon a Child for less than $5 each, but have never been worn and still have original tags attached.

 

[scrapquitler]

I have not baby clothes in a long time. I am helping my niece prepare for her new baby. How long does a baby wear 0-3 months size? I remember with my children that you can not always go by the age it says.

Trying to figure out if I should be getting 03 months or 3-6 months. The baby will be born in the beginning of September so the weather will be changing within months of her birth. Should I get summer wear in 0-3 months and maybe a warmer clothes in 3-6 months?

My niece does not have much money and her bf took off when he heard about the baby. There is other people trying to help her prepare for the baby so the little one will have what is needed. I am just wanting to make sure the clothes I but her will be alright.

For a baby being born in September I would buy mostly onesies and sleepers. I'd buy a pack or two of onesies in 0-3 months and another pack or two in 3-6 month. And I'd buy about 6-8 sleepers in each size.

BUT. I would keep receipts and leave the tags on, just in case she ends up with a 10 lb baby.

And honestly, I wouldn't buy much more than what I listed because she will likely get lots of gifts.