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How to Choose Baby Clothes - Newborn Baby

You know a brand new baby is on its way and you start to look for clothes suitable for very young babies. There are a few things you need to think about specific to a newborn baby.

Newborn babies have a tendency to move their arms and legs quite a bit because they haven’t learned to control their movements. It takes a few weeks for this to settle so make sure you buy clothes that allow some freedom of movement. You’re also going to be battling with nappies early on so allow yourself the chance to quickly change a nappy by buying bodysuits and sleepsuits that have easy to use poppers.

Because baby’s neck muscles are not very strong at birth, baby will need lots of support from you so it may be easier to buy baby clothes that do not need to pull over baby’s head.

For a start, her skin will be particularly sensitive. In the first few days of a baby being in the world, midwives and health visitors encourage you not to use perfumed products on a baby’s skin particularly when bathing or nappy changing. Plain water is best right at the start with just a touch of olive oil to help keep your baby’s skin supple.

Organic Newborn Baby Clothes

Therefore, think carefully about the clothes your baby will wear right at the beginning of their journey with you. Baby-O is one of a minority of companies that is trying to source beautiful and stylish organic products for babies, toddlers and adults. This means that you can choose to buy organic clothing if you wish to online at reasonable prices.

Baby-O offers new babies the chance to wear a fabulously adventurous baby kimono. This beautifully crafted outfit is designed to benefit a newborn’s needs and help babies who are crawling. The kimono features an ultra soft 1/8 inch elastic at the waist and a lap over, soft tie front so you don't have to pull it over your new baby's head The kimono ties also will not disturb baby’s umbilical cord stump.

Baby-O also offers a versatile convertible baby bag, which starts out in life as a fantastic baby gown. Made from organic jersey it has wrap over cuffs at the wrist and safe elastic bottom. As baby gets bigger, the baby bag converts to become a romper.

Baby-O’s entrepreneurial full length kimono is simply beautiful made from 100 per cent Egyptian organic cotton. It is designed to provide plenty of flexibility for baby and is one of the most inventive baby kimonos around.

The full length kimono protects baby’s sensitive skin through ensuring the stitching is sown outside to avoid direct irritating contact with the skin.

Visit the excellent Baby O online store now (link opens in new window)

Mothercare offers more traditional all in one sleep suits made from beautifully soft cotton and wonderful wrap around tunics that ensure you do not need to put anything over baby’s head in the early days.

Cut4Cloth from The Kids Window offers a beautiful selection of organic clothes for young babies. Cut4Cloth designs its clothes to be used with cloth nappies so there is no need to size up. Cut4Cloth has beautiful playsuits with and without feet all designed to work without poppers popping open because nappies are too big for the cut. Cut4Cloth also designs lovely kimonos that are great for delicate babies.

Cut4Cloth garments have been especially tailored to have more length in the body and a gusset for a better 3D fit around a cloth nappy - restriction free, pure comfort for your baby.

How to find clothes for a brand new baby

There are a few companies that really think hard about what a new baby is going to need to wear in the first few weeks of coming into the world. Baby companies that can help you save money by combining baby clothes into sets can be a great idea if you really like what is on offer. Generally, the baby sets consist of a hat, mittens, bodysuit or sleep suit, cardigan and socks. Others include little tights for girls, dresses and cardigans.

Some others offer a sleep suit and a beanie hat. What you buy is completely in your court – buy enough and try not to overdo it otherwise you’ll be left with a mountain of new baby clothes that you don’t know what to do with.

Boots has a great simple range of basic outfits in its Mini Mode range, which really can offer you many of the clothes items you need to get through the first few weeks of baby being in the world.

The Mini Mode range is great for new babies and certainly babies up to a year old as the outfits are well made, feel great and are mainly white – perfect for washing lots and lots.

Boots has invested a lot of energy into the design of Mini Mode but the garments are great for all pockets and should not be discounted in favour of designer ranges.

Mothercare also offers some lovely baby clothes packs that can be good for getting you started. You have to remember that new babies really are quite messy so buying lots of expensive gear is really not recommended unless of course you have money to spend and a housekeeper who looks after the laundry! Sorry to be so blunt but if you’re a mum solely caring for your baby, you really don’t have a lot of time to spend on the household chores.

In summer babies need clothes that allow their skin to breathe – clothes need to be looser to allow air circulation that helps babies avoid the sweat rashes that they can suffer from if they aren’t kept fresh.

Do newborn babies really need little beanie hats and mittens?

We’ve all seen the image of newborn babies on the TV shows all wrapped up in blankets being held in their parents arms wearing little hats and scratch mittens. However, do we really need to dress our babies in these items?

Once baby is born and checked over by the midwife, you’ll have been asked to make sure the clothes baby is to wear are available. Unless you are medically advised to dress your baby in beanie hat and mittens, there is no need certainly in the summer months to have baby wear a beanie hat.

Using scratch mittens comes down to personal choice. In the first few weeks of a baby learning about the world you’ll see him moving his arms and legs around a lot until he gets more control over his muscles. It could be that in these first few weeks baby accidentally scratches himself. Baby’s nails are sometimes quite sharp at birth so there are benefits in using scratch mittens at the beginning.

Babies do lose heat through the crown of their heads and through their feet so if you have a baby born in particularly cold conditions, then yes it is advisable to wrap them up properly. But be aware that most maternity units – if you have your baby in hospital – are pretty warm already.

Baby has been used to mummy’s central heating for over nine months so it is worth making sure that you keep baby warm at a temperature that is similar to that. If you do decide to go down the beanie hat route, No Added Sugar has a range of matching beanie hats and sleep suits for newborn babies and Mothercare and Boots have a selection of beanie hats, sleep suits and scratch mittens too.

To find out more about the range and types of clothes available and what you should look out for then visit our How to Buy and Choose Clothes sections for baby clothes, brands of baby clothes and children's clothes.