How to Buy Infant Clothing or Baby Clothes

This is an ehow on how to buy infant clothing. Infants have weak neck muscles, sensitive skin, are constantly making their clothes dirty, and grow very fast. As a result of this, you will have to select their clothing very carefully to keep their comfort and hygiene in mind.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Purchase materials which will be comfortable for your infant. These will be materials that are not scratchy, excessively tight, or will rub on the baby's delicate skin. The best materials for infants are natural materials such as cotton.

2. Buy infant clothing which is the right fit for your baby. This will mean you will have to either bring your infant along, bring similar clothing which fits them, or be prepared to return items which do not fit. Most clothing should fit either snug or slightly loose.

3. Purchase sleep-wear that indicates it is flame resistant and is one-piece. This will eliminate the need of blankets which are a suffocation hazard.

4. Be aware of the special need of infants. They will have their diapers and clothing changed frequently. Buy clothing with snaps at the side or bottom for easy access.

5. Know the basic different types of infant clothing. Onesies are long tops which snap at the bottom over the crotch area. One piece sleepers cover the whole body and often include attached feet. Side snap shirts allow for wearing tops without going over the head. Bottoms should have elastic waists.

Tips & Warnings

• If your child is very uncomfortable with the clothing then take it off and see if the clothing was indeed the cause of his/her discomfort.
• Infant clothing may be labeled as infant or newborn. Newborn is generally the first month and infant can be up to 12 months. Then the sizes will end with T for toddler. For example, 2T or 3T.
• Buy clothing which will fit the child and also another article of clothing one size larger. Infants are very fast growers and it's always helpful to have larger clothing around.
• Dress your infant in layers in colder weather.
• Consider purchasing clean inexpensive clothing for growing infants who outgrow their attire very quickly.
• Buy socks which fit snugly as infants often use their feet to take them off
• Do not buy any clothing where small objects such as bottoms could be torn or bit loose.
• Do not purchase any clothing with drawstrings around the neck area. Recently a child was strangulated on the drawstrings.
• Be aware of any infant clothing with a dry clean only label. This is not only expensive but chemicals are added to the clothing in the dry-cleaning process.

Resources

• Onesies