Advice - Baby Clothes

To all of you who love to shop for baby clothes, here are a few practical tips from a mom.



Try to get things on sale or clearance since 1) you don't know how long it will last 2) babies stain things 3) you can buy more for the same amount of money 4) the baby might not even fit into it during the season it is made for.



Don't buy clothes with buttons, snaps or other decorative stuff (i.e. crap) up the back because baby spends most of their time laying on her back and that would not be comfy --it follows that whole do unto babies as you would have done unto you. Which leads me to my next point.



Get the kid some pants. I have a million onsies and three pair of pants, none of them that match more than one onsie. I default to one pair of pants all the time, which rarely match and frequently are in the wash. And baby's legs get cold.



Outfits that zip from heal to chin with footies are awesome. They may not be the most fashionable thing out there but if mom or dad is taking baby to the doctor, this is the outfit of choice. The doctor's office makes you undress the baby, re-dress the baby, and you may have to change the baby again while you're there so it just makes life easier for everyone. Especially when they are crying after getting their vaccines.



Pajamas with the hand covers for baby's first few weeks and months are great. Their fingernails are sharp and it makes mom feel awful when she notices they have a giant mark of Zorro (or the Harry Potter lightening bolt for generation Yers) on their forehead from a stray figernail gone wild in the middle of the night.



The soft and fluffy fleece blankets from Target that are 100% polyester suck. Don't waste your time with them because they pill up like crazy when you wash them and quickly become the crappiest blanket on the block. Not cool.



Sunhats and sunglasses often get overlooked on the baby shower list but would come in really handy - even in winter. And so would music for baby - but I digress as that is a whole different entry. A mom can never have enough burp cloths, wash cloths, baby socks and believe it or not baby blankets.



And if a mom has decided on cloth diapers, she'll need clothes with extra length as the diaper takes up a bit more room. When it doubt, buy bigger as babies tend to grow into things and the sizing on most baby clothes completely lies.



Moral of the story: Shopping for baby is tougher than it appears, look for ease of dressing and undressing in addition to cuteness, and avoid the crappy fleece blankets so your gifts don't suck.