newborn/toddler girl ACCESSORY suggestions?

[Pinoikoi]

After four wonderful sons, we were surprised to learn we are having a girl! I am at a loss on several points when it comes to baby girls.

First off, I know dp does not want me to cut her hair, and all my babies so far have been born with dark, uneven hair. I have seen some Filipina babies where they tie their ponytail way up on the top of their head (pineapple top effect) which I think is darling, but what if only part of her hair is that long? Any suggestions for baby barrettes that are safe, but not plastic? I had plastic ones as a kid...

Second, what age is ok for ear piercing? This may be a "hot topic" and I am not trying to start a debate on whether or not a child's ears should be pierced, I am just trying to find more medical info on age.. it is a cultural issue for us and I will leave it at that.

Anything else I haven't thought of? I think there was something else, but now I have forgotten what it was...

[foodymama]

Hi Pinoikoi! Congratulations on having a girl! For their hair I like the cloth little pony tail holders. They don't have elastic in them and they don't have those little metal pieces that hold it together. They are really small, perfect for a little bunch of hair and they come in an array of fun colors. I bought a bag of 100 at a dollar store! I crochet so I also made my DD a lot of homemade crocheted headbands. I also found metal barrettes that are covered in ribbon or cloth but our DD wasn't very good about leaving them in so I didn't use them too much. Cute hats would work too!

As far as earrings I don't know too much about that.

Just don't forget frilly socks and tights! Have fun, girls are so much different than boys!

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by foodymama

Hi Pinoikoi! Congratulations on having a girl! For their hair I like the cloth little pony tail holders. They don't have elastic in them and they don't have those little metal pieces that hold it together. They are really small, perfect for a little bunch of hair and they come in an array of fun colors. I bought a bag of 100 at a dollar store! I crochet so I also made my DD a lot of homemade crocheted headbands. I also found metal barrettes that are covered in ribbon or cloth but our DD wasn't very good about leaving them in so I didn't use them too much. Cute hats would work too!

As far as earrings I don't know too much about that.

Just don't forget frilly socks and tights! Have fun, girls are so much different than boys!

Thanks for the response! Dp LOVES the frilly little socks.. I saw cute tights in Hanna Andersen's catalog.. but I don't think they have infant sizes and the quality in tights I see seems to be pretty wide.. any recommendations on that?

[calpurnia]

You might have a while before you have to worry about her hair! My dd is 20 months old & has no need for hair accessories/haircuts whatsoever...

[Comtessa]

We've had so much fun accessorizing our baby girl! Someday she's going to look at her baby pictures and yell at us for what we did to her, but at the moment we're having a great time.

Some of our favorite "girly" stuff:
- a flower headband that looks a lot like this one
- plenty of frilly/lacy/embroidered baby hats (you can even knit some pretty ones if you're crafty - I love this dragonfly hat)
- baby tights with lacy bottoms - these are always a hit! (ETA: as far as sizes and quality, remember that she's going to grow out of tights incredibly fast. We picked up a few pairs at the thrift store and they're just fine. If you want something a bit warmer than the standard nylon, they also sell cotton baby tights that are really cozy.)
- leg warmers over pink tights with a matching hat (I knitted these)
- fun baby socks - look at these!

I would never pierce her ears until she's old enough to understand, though. I'd say any age is ok as long as she knows that it's going to hurt and is able to consent.

[cileag]

Hanna Andersson definitely DOES have infant tights and they are very good quality. I've got 5 or so pairs and we love them.
http://www.hannaandersson.com/style....g=55001_B59av1

We got some of their special tights and they start at 0-3 months vs. their regular tights start at 60 or 2-6 months.
http://www.hannaandersson.com/style....332|290|6|83|4

Good luck! It's been fun dressing a girl!

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by calpurnia

You might have a while before you have to worry about her hair! My dd is 20 months old & has no need for hair accessories/haircuts whatsoever...

My other kids were all born with a mop of hair.. they just rub it off unevenly.

[KristyDi]

I also like the little fabric ponytail holders or the little metal ones that you bend backwards and they pop open then bend forward again to poop them closed. (Like these, etsy has tons of really cute clippies) They come in lots of sizes. I've never been a fan of the headbands for infants, but that's personal opinion.

I only had to start using stuff to keep her hair out of her eyes around a year though, so it my be a while before it's a necessity. But it's always fun.

Fair warning, I've seen the ear piercing thing get pretty ugly around here. Personally I'm waiting to pierce dd's ears until she's 1. old enough to know what's going on 2. asks me to get her ears pierced and 3. old enough to take care of them mostly by herself.

Also whenever you do get them pierced, I implore you to not let anyone holding one of those piercing guns anywhere near her. I had my ears pierced (just normal holes, no special piercing) with one of those as a teenager and had horrible scaring from it (google keloids). I had to go to a dermatologist and have very painful injections into the scar tissue then had to wear pressure earring in order for my ears to look normal again. Find a piercer that uses an actual needle. It's much less traumatic on the tissue.

ETA this pic from wikipedia is pretty much what my ears looked like.

[5gifts]

As far as ear piercing - We has the pediatrician do it, just as my mom did for me. I've never had any infection problem that way.

[waiting2bemommy]

There are velcro bows/hair accesories for sticking in their hair when they are really little, and also some that you stick on with a dab of vaseline.

For keeping her hair out of her face if that's an issue they sell really soft baby headbands.

For jewelry, I'm planning to put a bracelet on dd as soon as she is born and it will grow with her. Her ears will get pierced probably by the time she's 6 weeks or so. I'm still trying to find someplace to do it. I know at 3 months most ear piercing places will do it.

if you clean them regularly (and imo it would be easier when they're too little to grab at them) they heal really nicely and really fast. I have heard that they need to be turned more often on tiny babies because babies heal so quickly and you don't want the earrings to "stick."

have fun! am having a girl too and it's a blast looking at tights and frilly socks and matching headbands and oh my goodness the shoe options lol!

[dogretro]

Carter's brand makes great hair clips. They are metal covered in ribbon. We also have a ton of cheaper ones from chain stores that are made the same way & they all work great.

DD has been wearing a thin chain necklace since she was two weeks old & it always looked so adorable. She got a silver one that is her first initial w/a tiny diamond in it for her Baptism (about 2 mos old) & she wears it 24/7. She also has a fancy (but v sturdy) crystal bracelet that my mother gets extended so that she can wear it her whole life. I wanted to get a bangle bracelet, but they were sold out at the time I wanted to order it. I will try again w/ our new little girl

[Drummer's Wife]

All I know is if I had a baby girl, I'd go broke buying too much from gymboree. Besides girly clothing, there are lots of accesories (soft headbands are cute on infants), tights, socks, barettes, hair ties, etc. awww

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by Pinoikoi

My other kids were all born with a mop of hair.. they just rub it off unevenly.

So was my son, but dd was 2.5 before she had much hair.

DD is 3 now and has curly hair. We also use the toddler cloth ponytail holders. They work much better to hold fine hair than the adult, elastic versions.

I have a hard time finding bows because I hate bows that are huge. I like the ones that have a metal clip on the bottom that you can squeeze one side and open rather than the clasp type.

As for ear piercing, our DD's ear aren't pierced. Mine were done when I was 2 weeks old, so I'm not sure there's an age when they're too young. I would recommend getting it done at a doctor's office rather than a store, though. That's my plan if DD ever asks.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

All I know is if I had a baby girl, I'd go broke buying too much from gymboree. Besides girly clothing, there are lots of accesories (soft headbands are cute on infants), tights, socks, barettes, hair ties, etc. awww

Dp told me that he wants to take me to a certain mall on Saturday.. this certain mall is the only one in town that has a gymboree... I think he is making plans.

[Drummer's Wife]

Originally Posted by Pinoikoi

Dp told me that he wants to take me to a certain mall on Saturday.. this certain mall is the only one in town that has a gymboree... I think he is making plans.

I'm jealous! Have a great time

There is a 20% off coupon in parenting - worth a couple bucks to buy the mag!

[flapjack]

Ear piercing, either get it done before she's too young to find her ears with her hands or leave it until she can do the cleaning herself and understands what she's getting herself into. (Disclaimer, my dd's ears are unpierced.)

And as far as hair goes: only one of my children was totally bald at birth; the girl. She stayed that way for a good couple of years, too. Nature's full of tricksy surprises like that, so I developed a girl's shoe fetish to compensate.

[becoming]

Look for sweet little baby hairbows They make super tiny ones. You're going to want the ones with an "alligator clip" so they won't slide out of her fine baby hair. Congratulations on your daughter

[becoming]

Here's a good place to start for hair accessories:

http://www.etsy.com/search_results.p...irbow&ref=auto

[lilyka]

for hair clips I had the best luck with the cheesy little plastic ones that we wore as kids. they locked in place securely, held the right amount of hair, came in fun shapes and colors and stayed in.

you will never regret buying hannah anderson tights.

[caiesmommy]

I love having a little girl There's nothing better then little tights and flowy hippie shirts!

I love the elastic hairbands(until they get to tight) to pull back any hair that falls into her face.

As for ear piercing. I don't really dig it BUT if that's your thing...PLEASE don't go to a "ear" piercing place..keep the gun AWAY frm your daughter please! If you want to go to a tattoo/piercing shop. Of course one that is clean and get a needle. It's a lot less damaging to the ear and cleaner. Its a new steralized needle, where the guns are the same needle used over and over. All they do is rub it with rubbing alchol...I REALLY don't trust those places!