What Baby Clothes Should I Register For

2017 Update: We all the same stand by this advice on what should moms register for baby wearing apparel— links have also been updated below.

Welcome to installment three of our registry for working moms: general baby dress. What should new moms register for clothes for their infant? Which are your favorite brands and types of infant clothing — and have they changed through the months and years with kids? We've already talked nigh carseats and strollers, cribs and sleeping gear, and now: baby dress for the registry. As I mentioned last time, I envision the entire series going through these categories (stay tuned!):

Carseat — necessary from coming domicile from the hospital!
Stroller — how many have you tried? How many do you keep? (due east.g., big stroller, umbrella stroller, jogging stroller)
Cribs and sleeping gear — crib and bassinet rocker, if necessary
Clothes — daytime clothes, baby socks
Babywearing carrier — infant and 15-lb.+
Baby toys — swings, seats, and other Big Things to register for (Exersaucers, etc)
Essential books
Diaper bag
Nursing wearing apparel
Breastfeeding pillow
And one final category: The Biggest Flops (stuff you hated).

Starting time, some general tips on infant dress:

If y'all can, register for things like onesies and footed sleepers in multiple sizes — that first yr you end upwards needing a ton of different sizes, and information technology's nice to just have them on paw. Note that for season-specific clothes it's hard to exercise this in advance because you don't totally know how big your kiddo will exist when built-in, or how he or she volition grow.
Don't go also crazy registering for babe clothes, though — you may stop up hating some things (for me it was sleeping gowns); you might end upwardly loving others. It really is a matter of taste — as well as what time of year your babe was built-in in. For Harry (born in May), for example, we kept him in a diaper and swaddle for pretty much the commencement 3 months — mostly SwaddleMe, just nosotros too had a Woombie Air and an Aden + Anais Like shooting fish in a barrel Swaddle we liked. After that, to be honest, we've kept him in footed sleepers for most of his first year.
Try a few brands of clothes — but in general I institute it easiest to pick a few brands I similar and stick with those for all of the boys' wearing apparel. Things fit differently (length, width), wear differently, and and so along — right now I pretty much exclusively buy Carter's, Old Navy, and Gap for the boys. For round #2 these take held upwardly… fine, I suppose. I've heard that some people who know they want a lot of kids retrieve the fancier clothes (Splendid, Petit Bateau, etc.) hold up better for various rounds of manus-me-downs — so you get more for your money. As they say, your mileage may vary.
Randomly: try a few brands of diapers for your trivial one also — they're a bit like pants. Each brand fits a fleck differently in the rise, the leg holes, etc., etc. We were big fans of Huggies for both boys. (I take no experience with material diapering — if anyone would like to write a invitee post on your experiences with information technology, please contact me!)

Specific Recommendations

Swaddles: I like the SwaddleMe; the Woombie Air and Aden + Anais muslin ones were both prissy alternatives for a summer babe. (Again, for H, this is pretty much all he wore for the first few months of his life. We would stick him in a onesie or footed sleeper if we were wearing him.

Pajamas: I'm a big fan of the footed sleeper, at least after the swaddling months — bonus if it has a zipper instead of snaps. Sleepers without feet don't make any sense to me (babies do Not do socks) and pajamas as separates, while adorable, but seem like they ride up and get all bunchy while the kiddo sleeps. In one case the kiddo is out of swaddles, the sleepsack (a wearable coating) is a must. We've always liked the Halo sleepsacks in bailiwick of jersey and fleece; nosotros've also had a few Aden + Anais sleepsacks for summer. (Pictured: Harry in ane of his zippo-up footed sleepers.)

Socks and Shoes: Practice not underestimate the power of a baby to kick off every sock you try to get on their feet — this goes double for shoes. And then for my $.02, for the first year I'grand more a fan of footed pants or footed sleepers to proceed their petty toesies warm, at least until the baby is crawling and needs the traction of bare anxiety. For the rare outing where we wanted booties, we loved the Zutano baby booties for the commencement year, which the boys wore as "shoes" — they were super warm and, amazingly, kickproof. (I've read that information technology'south ameliorate, developmentally, to let them be in blank feet rather than shoes, so there's that.) In general, I would not consider whatever socks without grippers on the bottom for traction until the kiddo is 3 or 4.

Other wearing apparel (onesies, pants):We rarely used these (really just for babywearing and parties) until the boys were older, like 6 months. My big tip with onesies: if y'all can, register for ones that have a VERY wide opening at the neck, if non a V-cervix or kimono-like folds and snaps. My boys' heads were both so wobbly and soft that it freaked me out to put clothes on over their heads. (We loved our Kate Quinn Organics kimono/wraps. The designs aren't my favorite, but I liked the functionality of the Petunia Picklebottom onesies we were gifted by friends.) We haven't tried them, only these Zutano wraps look good. Every bit a 2nd-time mom I was ok with the boatneck openings on Carter's onesies, but when I was a offset-time mom they freaked me out. We got a TON of denim for baby gifts from friends — denim jackets! denim overalls! jeans! — and I will say that these were some of the least-used things in our boys' wardrobes — they were just and so stiff it felt vicious to make the boys wear them. (Pictured: a rare photo of Jack in clothes!)

Summer wearing apparel for babies: I always get freaked out at the possibility of either boy getting a tan, so I brand them wear rash guards whenever we go to a sprayground or pool, and a hat (with a chin strap) pretty much all the fourth dimension. Amazon has a million rash guards; Land'due south End and Former Navy both do sometimes as well. I like this coating with UV protection (ROSK Sun Comprehend) for chilly merely sunny weather.

Winter clothes for babies: Exist very careful with a puffy jacket — you never want it to interfere with a tight seatbelt in your carseat or stroller. (The CarSeat Lady has a very thorough tutorial!) It depends on your situation, but a lot of times a stroller/carseat comprehend like JJ Cole or 7 A.M.® Enfant will exist better for the babe considering he tin be fastened in tightly simply warm and snuggly nether his stroller cover. In general, for our boys we would but add together a fleece bunting/coverall on elevation of their footed PJs and so either put them in the stroller/carseat with bunting or the carrier. (To be actress careful, bring the encompass with you when you get your carseat-installation checked to make sure information technology's prophylactic to use in the machine.) We loved the Zutano fleece hat, and accept used a one thousand thousand mitten clips to continue their mittens fastened to the coat.(Pictured: Jack in his monkey/sherpa coverall from Carters.)

Male child-specific items: I don't recollect you really need annihilation specific for boys. A friend gifted the states Peepee Teepees, which were beautiful, simply honestly we just kept a washcloth near the changing pad for this purpose.

What are your favorite babe habiliment brands? We'd dear to hear your thoughts on:

swaddles and blankets
PJs
socks and shoes
general clothes
bound/summer dress
autumn/winter clothes
boy/girl specific items

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