Most moms would agree that there’s nothing much cuter than seeing pint-sized onesies and wee tiny socks hanging on the line between seemingly sumo-sized mom and dad tees. Before Summer Elizabeth’s birth I laundered infant clothing & daydreamed about the sweet baby who would soon fill them with life. Not until later did I realize how fast babies outgrow clothing.
While baby clothes shopping is a treat to most parents, spending too much cash on infant attire that will soon be outgrown isn’t such a thrill. Here’s what I’ve found helpful to get more wear out of infant clothing.
Select Separates
Your bundle of joy will fit into tops and bottoms much longer if the pieces are not connected. My baby is nearly a year old (sniffle) and still has tops that fit, labeled “3 months.” It’s great to have both long and short sleeved tops in the baby stash so that you can switch them out as the seasons change. Separate tops also make for a fast clothing change when baby slathers himself with pureed peas.
We Choose Joy on Etsy
Buying pants and shorts with intentions of long-time wear is a bit trickier. When selecting infant bottoms, be sure the elastic is snug enough to hold on tight at baby’s current stage, but has enough give that baby’s round little belly won’t be cinched into a tummy corset in a few months. Longer lengths are best, because they can easily be rolled up.
Cut Footloose
Footed pajamas and bodysuits are the first pieces of baby’s wardrobe that he’ll outgrow. Footed one-piece pajamas really feel the stretch as limbs lengthen over even a few week’s time. Choose footless p.j.’s for your little one and your infant will be sporting them for much longer.
Roll/Fold/Cuff
Gingerbugz on Etsy
Dress your infant in clothing a wee bit big and simply roll up sleeves, fold down waistbands, or cuff pant legs to make them fit. When we travelled to Italy for three months last March, we packed most baby outfits a size too large. It saved space, since we didn’t pack two sizes and assured that she’d fit into her entire wardrobe. The roll/fold/tuck came in real handy during those months of living out of a suitcase.
Gender Neutrals
Thirsties Duo Diaper Covers (my personal favorite) on Amazon
If you’re hoping to have another child who will wear hand-me-down clothing, gender neutral pieces are key. Of course, I’m not advocating that your little girl be dressed in beige and turquiose 24/7 but purchasing a few staple pieces, such as pants, jackets, socks, and the basic white onesies help make an older sibling’s outgrown wardrobe more wearer-friendly second go-round.
Donate
Get more wear out of infant clothing by giving it away. Bless another family with your gently used baby clothes.
Your turn: What do you do to make your wee ones’ clothing earn more wear time? Please share below in the comments!
Some great tips! I’m a big fan of long sleeve onesies underneath short sleeve tshirts to make summer clothes last all year. And leggings under summer skirts.
What a good idea! Thanks! I’m trying to figure out my little guy’s winter clothes, so I’ll definitely be looking for some longsleeved onesies 🙂
Cute post! I love everything in the picture via Gingerbugz. I love the pants, the tricycle, and especially the wallpaper!!
http://www.TheLindenLife.com
Hi Erika, Just seeing this now, but thanks for the compliments. The pants are great in that there are no buttons, snaps or zippers. Just good quality pull on, which makes dressing SOOO much easier, potty trips faster and grandma’s house and day care a lot less stressful.
Jennifer @ gingerbugZ
Those pictures of your baby with her cloth diaper on are SO precious. I loved cloth diapering for the time that I did it. I loved knowing they were snuggled in softness :).
Thanks for hosting the link up!
Bobi
http://westernwarmth.blogspot.com
I love this linkup.. thanks girl for hosting another week and I liked up my post 🙂
Good tips, Jelli! And yes, like Mary said, leggings are great–they can take a dress or skirt from summer to winter. And if they get shorter–ta-da! You now have capris 🙂 Thanks, as always, for hosting this link-up!
I think you did fabulous post for us to baby clothes tips so thank you so much for this one.
Great ideas – just last week I had to get my little one into some extra clothes after a big mess and she ended up wearing a 3 month old onesie (she is 2) as a t-shirt. 🙂 Not the best style, but it worked until we got home.
Linking up again! I really like your post this week. I want the blue version of that plaid diaper so badly.
http://www.adventureswithcaptaindestructo.com
I have also found that separate PJ’s sets work much better than full body ones because they fit for much longer. The only drawback is that you have to keep socks on them, but that is do-able! I just purchased an early walker sleep sack that I will be able to put over our current PJ’s for winter nights. That way I don’t have to go out and buy warmer, thicker, PJ’s!
Good tips thanks! I wish I had discovered the footless onesie sooner, they grow like mushrooms!
Great tips. I need to go clothes shopping, at the thrift store of course. I will keep these in mind. Thanks for sharing and hosting. I am a new follower. Hope to see you at True Aim! P.S. I love the name of your blog. It was my nick name in highschool 🙂
Thank you for these tips! My little guy has outgrown most of the clothes we were given as gifts, so I’m trying to plan his winter/spring clothes. I’ll definitely be using some of these ideas to get more use out of the clothes he already has!
And I definitely agree on the footless pj idea. I’m actually thinking about cutting off the feet on some of his to make them last longer! 🙂
My kids are a bit beyond the onsie stage, but one thing I’ve learned to help prolong the life of their clothes is to make sure everything is worn once before wearing it again.
Using my girl as an example, all of her clothes are hung up as “outfits” (meaning the top and bottoms match). I pull down two and she chooses which of those to wear. This allows her to “pick her clothes” while Mommy maintains some control. 😉
I put clean clothes behind jackets and pull from the front until I reach the jackets again. This makes sure everything is worn equally. If I allowed her to choose, she’d pick the same dress every day!
A nice side effect is that between hand-me-downs and gifts, she has enough outfits for 10-14 days, meaning I technically could wait two weeks before doing all of her clothes in one simple load!
Tunic or smock style dresses with elastic necklines and sleeves for little girls are also a good bet. What starts as a long dress to the knees becomes a shorter dress with leggings and then a top with jeans or pants. With no buttons, zippers or snaps, the restriction of a garment being for a particular age / size is greatly reduced.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve definitely seen that dresses do work great for longer periods of time. In fact, my 17 month-old still has some dresses marked “3 months” that fit great with shorts or leggings.
You can also create extenders for onesies, here is my tutorial to show you how. Best of luck and thanks for posting this!
http://solodoleo.blogspot.com/2010/10/onesie-extender-tutorial.html
Sounds like a great idea! Thanks for sharing your link.
Your “sniffles” about the baby being nearly a year old are understandable. You’re right about the convenience of having both long and short tops.
Hey Jelli,
Great tips. This is the best site I’ve seen! Seriously thank you for all this awesomeness! I’ve read so many amazing things about your article! I like the baby wearing. It’s such a great way to be able to get things done and your baby enjoys the ride.
Thank you so much, Hilda!