What Clothes Do You Need for Your Newborn?

Since the birth of the very first baby on earth, the mother's instinct is to ensure this most precious, fragile thing is warm, safe and comfortable... Ok, so gone are the days when we wrap our babies in animal fur while the fathers goes out and  hunts; however, the need to make sure our babies are as safe and snug is just as strong.


These days we are constantly bombarded with images of babies in all sorts of clothing, an outfit for bed, an outfit for a trip to the supermarket, an outfit to see Grandma... organic, non-organic, all-in-one knitted outfits, outfits with ears on, side poppers, bottom poppers, front poppers who knows where poppers... the list goes on!

So there is no surprise that any new mum can feel completely bewildered and panicked about how on earth she can afford to keep her new baby in clothes. The truth is those babies of our first mothers would have been just as happy and content wrapped in cloth as a modern-day baby dressed in an ultra-expensive and probably completely impractical designer outfit.

What we should remember is that a baby sleeps for around 18 hours a day and primarily needs to be clean and comfortable, so a handful of babygrows and vests, a couple of cardigans, a hat and mittens (depending on the weather) and a suitable outer garment is really all you need to get started. White is always beautiful and sure, organic is great, but a personal preference – however  100% cotton is a must. The NHS guide to baby care gives a very sensible list of baby essentials for the first few weeks.


There's nothing wrong with secondhand
Babies grow at such an amazing rate, you will find that some outfits will only be worn once or twice and some will even be left with their labels on. That’s why sites like eBay, (click here for more info) are an absolute godsend. The baby clothes section is jammed full of baby clothes bundles (a bag of hardly used, beautiful baby clothes). And once your baby has had their use out of them... well, you can re-sell them, perfect!

Caroline, Mum of two daughters found buying her baby clothes this way was just what she needed. “All the clothes I received were beautiful, it was like a bag of surprises, they were clean and pressed. I resold them and made a profit too,” she said. Of course you will receive a constant supply of hand-me-downs from friends and family and  those baby shower gifts will keep you in those special outfits for quite some time.

Try handmade
Pregnancy can  be a time when you get that 'nesting' thing, so why not take advantage of this and learn how to make  some special handmade items for your baby. There is nothing lovelier than a baby dressed in a handmade woollen cardigan or those oh so beautiful crochet hats that you have made especially for them, they are worth 10 designer outfits. Sites like Make Baby Stuff will give you great inspiration. Then when one of those 'designer mummies' that we all know and love take a glance at  your baby  and demand to know exactly what exclusive boutique you brought that amazing outfit from you can smile and say “it's utterly unique, you'll never find one in the shops” and then waltz off! And you never know, you may find you are really good at it and could even start up a cottage industry at home while looking after your newborn.

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