Enough Clothes?

[new york momma]

Hi, I'm having a late term preemie next week that is currently at about 6 lbs. I had a shower and received lots of 6+ month clothes but am wondering if I have enough small clothes.

I would prefer to only do laundry once a week because I have to carry it up and down five flights of stairs, go outside my apartment building and into the basement and often times discover there are no machines available.

I have:

6xfooted 3 month sleepers
2x3 month gowns
7xlong sleeve 0-3 month onsies
2xshort sleeve 3 month onsies

1xnewborn outfit and 1 newborn short sleeve onsie

3xsmall hats
lots of small looking socks
2xsleep sacks (for 6-12 pounds)
1 miracle blanket
6 receiving blankets


Can a late-term preemie wear 3 month clothes? I can roll up sleeves but I'm wondering if those footed sleepers are still going to be too big. I'm also a little concerned about using the short sleeve stuff because it's chilly here and our radiators don't work well.

Thanks for the feedback.

[rhiOrion]

My 7 pound 9 ounce term baby would have been swallowed by most 3 month clothes at first. She fit nicely in newborn stuff.

I'd say go get some cheap newborn outfits. At 6 pounds you probably won't need preemie sized stuff unless the weight estimates are off.

And, if you have any gerber brand onesies (not sure about their sleepers), the 3 month stuff will probably fit. It runs WAY small.

[snoopy5386]

IME with 6 lb babies (not mine, but friends and relatives) no, they cannot wear 0-3 month clothes. We just saw my godson yesterday - he was 6 lb 2 oz when he was born and is now 3 weeks old and the newborn clothes are still big on him.
Regardless that is not enough clothes to only do laundry 1x per week. Expect between 1-3 outfit changes a day for the first couple of months - spit up, pee and poop get on little babies clothes very easily.

I would either take some of the 6+ month stuff back and get some more newborn and 0-3 month stuff, leave the tags on and reevaulate your needs once baby is here or hit up the thrift store or consignment store or friends for newborn stuff.

Short sleeve onesies go under sleepers in the winter.

And put your DH in charge of the laundry!

[Peony]

In our house that would probably be enough clothes for 2-3 days. I leak breastmilk on the baby while nursing, baby has an explosive poop, they spit up... When I have a newborn it feel like the baby and I are constantly changing clothes. Once they get older and stuff stop leaking everywhere all the time then I can get by sometimes with 1 outfit a day. I agree that the 3 month clothes would probably swallow a 6lber, two of mine were high 6lbs and both wore newborn clothing because anything else was way too big, even my almost 9 lb DS did as well.

[Llyra]

DS was 6 1/2 pounds, and fit nicely in the preemie clothes. He swam even in the newborn clothes, and the 0-3 clothes would have been a joke. That said, he didn't gain weight particularly quickly. My DD1 though gained a LOT very early on. She went from swimming in the newborn clothes, to fitting nicely in the 0-3s, in two weeks.

Keep in mind, too, that ultrasound is notoriously inaccurate at predicting birth weight. They told me DD1 (DS's twin) was going to be about 7 pounds. She was born just over five pounds. Keep in mind, too, that in the first week they can lose quite a bit of weight.

I think in your position I'd go for a few newborn size things.

[ErinYay]

V was a full-term 6.5 pounder, and fit well in preemie and newborn until about 2 months, then could wear 0-3.

At 9 months, she frequently wears 18-24 mo onesies and shirts-as-dresses, but until they're pretty big and mobile, too-big clothes are a huge pain. As a newborn, she'd lose her arms and/or legs within minutes when wearing too-big clothes, and freak out about it. (She liked being swaddled, but losing an arm into your shirt is just plain frustrating for a baby.)

The smallest size homecoming outfit I brought to the hospital was 0-3, and it looked absolutely ridiculous. I wish I had thought to bring some NB stuff with us, but I just assumed she'd be 8+ lbs like her half-sister was. Oh, well!

[Ruthla]

Remember also that newborns CAN wear clothes that they're "swimming in". Older, mobile babies need clothes they can fit into properly, so it doesn't restrict their movement. But a newborn who can't move much really will be OK wearing clothes meant for a bigger baby. I've even used adult t-shirts as newborn gowns when out of clean baby clothes.

I'd suggest hanging onto those larger baby gifts for now. Too-big clothes can always be used as spares, and they're great to have around in case the baby is bigger than expected and/or grows quickly.

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia was 6 lbs 3 oz at birth, and 5 lbs 10 oz at her lowest weight. She fit well into preemie clothes for the first month, and then went into NB clothes. She wore NB sized clothes until 3 months old. Now, at 6 months old she generally wears 3-6 month. If you don't want to do laundry often, I say invest in preemie and NB sized clothes.

[dakotablue]

If you still have tags I would hold on to them and see after the baby is born. You never know how kids will grow. Dh's cousin's daughter was in 0-3 for 7 months (premiee in newborn size for almost 2) But she has babies born at the same time who gained weight like monsters and only worn 0-3 for 2 1/2-3 months.

(DS only wore 0-3 and 3-6 combined total 3 months no premiee)

[octobermom]

My first came in at 6lbs 1/2oz 5lbs 10oz when brought home
She wore preemie clothes and swam in NB for about the first month..till the NB fit well

My second came in at 5lbs 7oz and fell to 4lbs 14oz she actually swam in preemie stuff at first but fit NB well after the first full month or so..

Both girls seemed to size up right on "time" though.. Like my DD at 7 months is now in 6-9 month stuff...

I will say though untill my LO was expermenting with solids I really didn't need a LOT of clothes A few packs of onsies or baby gowns was plenty...

Deanna

[akind1]

I would say you need more clothes. one piece sleepers need to fit (we tried one that was a 3 month on DS when he was newly born at 6 lbs 14 oz, he was a mermaid; both legs naturally went to one leg opening!)

Do you have thrift or consignment stores in your area? newborn clothes are very easy to find there for little $$. Also ask your friends with kids. chances are they saved some things. I prefered things with built in feet (footed pants or sleepers) as socks do not stay on well (in most cases)

[octobermom]

FWIW here was my newbie in a 0-3 month size http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...t/100_1605.jpg It swallowd her she kept kicking her feet out between the snaps

Deanna

[Friday13th]

DS1 came home at 6lbs in December and we had to go out and buy more nb size footed sleepers. I had a ton of 0-3 but he'd pull his legs up like a little shrimp and right out of the legs, then get stuck and freak out. The nb fit well enough (although still a little big) to prevent that from happening. We also go through a lot of clothes, at least one outfit per day, another for bedtime and a few extras for really explosive poo or spit-up.

[Catubodua]

i don't think you have enough. i was amazed at how often i was changing his clothes.

and, as said above, the brand name matters, not just the size. Gerbers run very small.

my son was 8.4 at birth and the 0-3 stuff swam on him. he comfortably fit in premie stuff for the first two weeks.

great idea above - here he is in the outfit that we brought him home in. it was NB size and we had to roll the sleeves way up and the pants went all the way to his armpits.

http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/a...m/DSCN9868.jpg

[MJB]

No, 0-3 will not fit. My newest baby was 2.5 weeks early and only 7 lbs. 1 oz.; we expected a bigger (later) baby and had to run out and buy newborn clothes because the 0-3 were too big for her.
Once they fit, though, that sounds like plenty for a week. I've never found myself changing my baby's clothes many times a day (we go through 2 outfits on a bad day, but usually 1) and I've had 3. Once they start crawling and eating solids they get dirtier but a newborn stays pretty clean, unless they spit up a lot.

[P.J.]

I agree with the general consensus that you'll need some more newborn sized clothes. I also agree with the PP who mentioned reevaluating your needs once the baby's here. I asked similar clothing questions of friends before I had my baby and I found "results may vary" to be the truth in the end. Every baby is different with how messy they are (pee, poo, spitup, etc) and therefore how many outfits a day you'll need, or how many times they can wear one thing before it needs washing.
I've found eBay to be a great source of really inexpensive and abundant used (and new for that matter) baby clothing, so you can easily get more of whatever you find you need more of. GL!

[AislinCarys]

My baby was 6 lb 7 oz. And even the newborn clothes were big on her! Around 4 months we started using most of the 3-6 months clothes, but I know we were still using the newborn nightgown at 8 months, and newborn diapers at 11 months. But my DD was slow at gaining in the first 5 months, and she was always long and thin.

I'd say get some newborn size clothes. If you don't get a spitter, you might not need to do a lot of washing, we usually used clothes for about three days before putting them in the was when DD was tiny. I had three newborn kimono tops, 2 nb singlets (camisole? sleeve-less under shirt), 3 pairs of socks and 1 newborn night gown (had to go get another of them after a few weeks, as DD was nowhere near fitting the 3-6 months ones I had). 2 newborn hats, 1 nb knitted coat & booties. That is it, and we didn't need anything else. We didn't and still don't, have dryer, so washing was never that easy, but running out of clothes just wasn't a worry at the the time.

[Nicole730]

It doesn't sound like enough to me. You might be going through 2-3 outfit changes a day depending on your baby's output.

[chel]

i'm a very frugal gal, and i wouldn't want 0-3m stuff for a newborn. my dd was 38w and 7lb 10oz and would also get lost in 0-3m stuff.

i would opt for lots of footed sleepers. should be super cheap at thrift stores if you can get out and about now.

i had planned on staying at home for the most part during the first couple of weeks, but my dd had jaundice and had daily doctor appts for the first week. even then i just did sleepers with onesies under them (midwest winter baby).

[SilverFish]

i had a 5lb10oz late term preemie, she wore preemie outfits for a pretty long time. if you want things that are going to size up well, go for gowns and t-shirt/pant combos. i found sleepers and onesies get grown out of in length really fast. a too big sleeper is really awkward and a too short sleeper is really uncomfortable, but tshirts and gowns are much more flexible in length. buy some more stuff in various sizes from various makers, since everyone makes baby clothes in different dimensions. keep the tags on, and when the baby gets here, you can return the stuff that isn't the right fit and get multiples of what works. i loved the kimono style onesies and t-shirts we had, we went through a bazillion sleepers in the few first weeks, i really wish i'd known about gowns.

really though, a newborn doesn't need a ton of clothes... yeah, some can be messy, but unless you have a real spitter, they spend most of their time immobile and snuggled in a blanket. a newborn could quite easily spend all day in a little onesies and socks and nothing else, provided you wrapped him up well in a blanket. if you run out of clean laundry, your baby won't need a new outfit as long as you have a blanket.

don't return the clothes you have though! in a few months you'll need them, even if they don't fit right away.