Moms/Mums - tell me about your children's wardrobe

As a new Mum, I am finding one of the fun parts creating a little wardrobe for my daughter (superficial I know) and given the very generous gifts given to her by friends and family others clearly set on helping me (my sister needs to stay out of Country Road at lunch time).

What I was wondering is what clothes you found the most functional and practical for your child in her first 18 months (I don't mind buying ahead). Did you dress your daughter in trousers or dresses? What about skirts? How did you pick colours? What were the least practical items? How many of each item did you need?

Also, what do you do with gifts of clothing that you really don't like - in particular I am personally opposed to clothing with things sayings on them like, "I'm a little Princess" etc (or even worse - "I love hooters"). 2 months is too young for messy play clothing.

I am also interested in knowing whether you sub-consciously buy clothes in a style opposed to yours, to compliment yours?

And because my daughter is constantly having the camera poked in her face her is a photo of Ness aged almost 8 weeks.

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14 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from Niki Lea

Lynne

Veteran

She's gorgeous! Keep snapping!

Babies grow really quickly, and once they're mobile their clothing needs to be super practical - rompers are probably better than skirts or dresses, which can hamper their crawling. Skirts and dresses are cute at around 4-5 months when they're sitting up :). If you are planning to have more children, some unisex items might be good to have...

My favourite baby item was a soft cotton romper I bought for my daughter at a consignment store. She used it from about 6 months to 1 year +, and I passed it on to a friends niece when it didn't fit. You need to wash a LOTonce they start eating and moving!

14 years ago

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Honestly Fi, I have found leggings/ jeggings and tunics great; easy access for changing nappies, comfortable for baby, easy to crawl in, do not ride up once you have a harness between their legs and easy to winterise. Leggings also mean you get extra wear out of their dresses when they become a little too short to be worn alone. Are you sold?

Worst item until walking is skirts IMO, they just ride up around the waist constantly.

14 years ago

Cilleena

Veteran

My little ones live in onesies (tee shirt that snaps at the crotch), jeans for boys or leggings for girls and either a tunic for a girl or a cute top (boy or girl). Dresses are fine until she starts crawling, then they are a major hinderance. Rompers are great for both boys and girls in the summer.

For the age your daughter is and she is so cute,btw, I would be buying mostly girly footed sleepers (if it's chilly) and rompers or outfits that snap at the crotch (if it's warm).

14 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Just had to chime in to say HOW SWEET!

14 years ago

Alecia

Veteran

She's adorable! My little one is 10 months old now. I've found onesies to be our go to clothing. They don't ride up so don't expose kiddo's sweet little belly to sweaty skin to skin contact in the summer and the cold in the winter. Then I pop shorts, pants, or rompers - even little skirts -over them. It seems I'm one of the few mom's with a little girl who doesn't seem to like to put her little one in dresses. I just find them overly fussy for a baby L's age. Who needs to worry about getting all tangled up in her clothes while trying to learn to move around?

I don't really have a color preference. They are all apt to get dirty somehow. White shows the spit up stains. Darks show the dust bunnies.

My main clothing philosophy is getting things that will support little L's exploration of the world.

14 years ago

Julie

Active Member

My Charlotte lived in knit pants, t-shirts, dresses and leggings. I agree that knit one-pieces with snaps are the easiest until she's out of diapers. Now that she's three, her sense of style is starting to emerge--lots of pink, lots of dresses, and the occasional "foo foo skirt" (tutu) over the whole shebang.

14 years ago

Anonymous

Wow, that's a lot of questions to answer! And what a cutie pie, too! A lot depends on your climate...

1.) Lots and lots of onesies (one piece tops, long or short sleeves with snaps). These are indespensible if you live in a hot climate. They keep baby cool and are great for sleeping, crawling around, etc.

2.) My girls wore mostly dresses. Skirts in the first 18 mos won't really stay put very well with all the crawling and such.

3.) Each of my daughters had certain colors that looked good on them.

4.) Leggings worn alone or under a dress.

5.) As far as "style", I mean there aren't a lot of options to experiment with for children's clothing. I avoided anything that had characters on it (Winnie the Pooh, Barbie, Sesame Street, Disney Princesses, Blues Clues...) I'm just not into that kind of thing.

6.) Don't ever buy too much in 1 size! I can't stress enough how quickly she will outgrow everything in the first 6 YEARS....I'm not joking. You will feel like you are constantly getting rid of and getting new. I have 5 kids, so I know...it never ends.

7.) What to do with clothing that you don't like? Donate it.

I hope that answers your questions...have fun playing dress up with your sweetie, it's very fun!

14 years ago

Veteran

She is too ADORABLE!

Yep, onsies with knit pants/leggings or the one piece rompers that had really short skirts so she can still crawl comfortably.

I had this rule that her feet needed to be covered when we went out. Usually it was just socks, since infant shoes kept falling off. Oh how I wish these were around when my kids were babies:
http://www.trumpette.com/socks

As for colors, I just held it up next to her to see if the color was flattering.

First year, I would buy ahead. After that, I was more careful about buying because growth spurts can vary.

If there was a tag on clothing I didn't like, then I would exchange it at the store or donate it.

I don't buy specifically to coordinate with my outfits, but for church, I do try to dress the family to compliment each other.

Enjoy shopping for your cutie patootie!

14 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

What sort of climate do you live in?

My daughter was born in California in November. I dressed her mostly in soft cotton sleepers (with or without feet) for the first six months of her life, since she spent most of her time lying down. It just seemed more comfy! And she had some really beautiful ones. Also, I had dozens of onesies (jersey knit t-shirts that snap at the crotch) that got lots of use, either on their own or as undershirts.

Once she was crawling (and it was summer), I found that little knit tops and pants were best. Dresses, even soft cotton ones, were useless, because she would crawl on the hem and do a faceplant. Because it was so hot, she often went with just a top or onesie and her diaper around the house. Most of her tops had some kind of sweet detailing, though -- a gathered neck, ruffled cap sleeves, etc. Very few had words written on them.

Once she was walking, I started to put her in little jersey knit dresses as well as the knit tops and pants. She had some gorgeous dresses! But still, soft was key. She also got a lot of wear out of several corduroy and denim jumpers (bib-front "dresses" that you put a shirt under)...and of course, really cute shoes!

I'm strongly opposed to anything stiff or lacy on a baby, even a toddling one. It looks uncomfortable against their incredibly soft skin. I'm really not a fan of overly ruffled, starchy lace dresses in particular. I even find that denim jeans look weird on a very young baby, although cute (and practical) on a toddler.

My son was born in more temperate Vancouver, also in November, but his wardrobe was similar to my daughter's for the first six months of his life -- mostly lovely soft sleepers and onesies. The only difference was that he wore warmer, thicker ones.

Hope that helps! And congratulations, your daughter is lovely.

14 years ago

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

Thank you for all your advice. I have so many onesies/singlets with snaps in lots of sizes and then enough I have baby gros with longer legs as well. Probably too many for her to ever wear!

Julie (Rose & Joan) - I have already found leggings to be very practical, so I can see myself buying a few in most sizes as she grows, and you are so right about them making dresses that are too short be able worn as a dress.

Lynne - Good point about dresses being practical when they are sitting. I have a lovely little dress from Zara with matching knickers that I can't wait to get her in.

Angie - thank you. She is a really sweetie and is learning that she can charm her way into most people's hearts by smiling at them.

Cillenna - yes, I have some rompers for summer. I actually really like the old fashioned romper suits (like a little sailors suit or gingham checks!)

Alecia - good to know that the onesies are still practical at 10 months and fantastic point about having clothes that allow ease of movement.

Julie - I can't wait to see what her clothing and colour preferences will be. I have a photo of one of my friends little girls in a fairy outfit (with wings), wellington boots and a hat with a pompom!

Shabbychick - good point about not having too many clothes, given that she is the first grandchild on both sides and the first girl on one side for 50 years I think that she is going to be a bit spoilt in the years to come. Leaves me to buy the boring things!

AJ - good point about the socks. I tend not to worry too much at the moment as it is so warm, but for her first few weeks she did tend to just kick them off.

14 years ago

celia

Veteran

She's so cute.
You already have good advice.Like you my daughter was the first girl in a long time and the only grandchild for now.When she was very little (and even now) between grandmoms and hand-me-downs I hardly ever buy clothes for her.
She's 3 now and is starting to have her own style opinions but when she was little what happened was that first I would go to great planning about what she would wear and after she was dressed I would dress myself. As I was tired most of the times I would pick a similar reasoned outfit for myself, so most of the times we coordinated.
HAve fun with your little one.

14 years ago

GGB

Active Member

One thing that we did when my daughter was learning to crawl, was to slip denim overalls over her soft cotton leggings, when we went out. That way she could crawl to her heart's content at the park or where ever. It looked cute too, because the leggings she had were ruffled (lettuce leaf type) at the bottom and peeked out of the bottom of the overalls, which were nice and loose and comfortable.

The overalls we loved best were from Osh Kosh and have snaps in the inseam. I bet you could find some on eBay.

Pre-walking and also for learning to walk, our favorite soft leather shoes were Robeez, lots of adorable ones and so comfortable, easy to put on, etc.

14 years ago

Niki Lea

Veteran

She's lovely! Congrats on your new family member.

When my daughter was really little she wore onesies and sleepers. At around four or five months I started dressing her in pants/shorts and cute tops most of the time. For special occassions we'd pull out a dress (Christmas). I found leggings, joggings pants, and knit shirts were the easiest because they could be tossed in the washing machine. I also hesitated to buy anything expensive for her to wear, since everything she wore came home with a new hole or stain every day.

Now that my daughter is almost three, she has VERY strong ideas about what she wants to wear. Ten out of ten times she wants to wear a dress, which is hilarious for her tomboy mom. I also let her pick out her own outfits...that leads to many funny combinations. But she's happy and we have bigger battles to fight.

As for those princess shirts you don't like, my solution was to take a picture of my daughter in the gifted clothes & email it to the person who gave it to us. Then I'd give the outfit away.

14 years ago

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