How to Buy Baby Clothing for First Time Moms

Where do you start?

Buying baby clothing can be tricky business, especially for first time mums, there are so many baby dresses and outfits to choose from! I know I had a difficult time and made some blunders with my purchases along the way. Take advice from the guide below there are plenty of tips from mums on 'how to buy baby clothing' successfully.

1) What kind of baby clothing will I need?

Buying baby clothing can be a boggling experience, as your bump grows you will probably start to panic - 'I don't have any baby clothes!' You will probably do what I did and start wandering around all the stores that sell baby clothes, baby furniture, baby gifts and so on. The choice is endless, this is where the danger lies in buying too many clothes for baby.

Too many baby clothes means your baby will only wear them once or twice (or sometimes not at all), babies grow very quickly and the next size up in that special outfit is needed before you know it! Leaving you with the cutest outfits ever, but no VALUE FOR MONEY.

The ideal way to buy baby clothing is to make sure you have enough outfits to get you through the week in a couple of different sizes, but not so many that you have overflowing drawers of baby outfits that haven't even been unwrapped before your baby gets too big to wear them; or duplicate clothing that you didn't really need.

Well, to be fair, duplicate baby clothing isn't that big of any issue really, especially in the early days when baby clothes can only be worn once and usually for a couple of hours and all clothing needs to be continually washed and washed! In the early days make sure you have numerous baby dresses, bodysuits, comfortable playgro suits, and sleeping suits, basic tees, comfortable cotton pants, warm cardigans and coats or sunhats, depending on the season.

Before you buy new baby clothes check what time of the year your baby will be born, it could be around sale time, which is the best time to buy bulk lots of newborn baby clothing that you are going to need.
Once all of the confusion has settled you will have an exciting time buying your first newborn baby clothes, it is much more fun than buying clothes for yourself (honestly) - and then in time you will be having more fun when your baby grows out of that first lot of clothes, you will find yourself a more experienced shopper in the baby clothing department.

Sizes of Baby Clothing :

Sizes of baby clothing vary from manufacturer to manufacturer so we haven't listed a definitive sizing guide here. Newborn sizes generally start from 0000 but this is actually quite a small size and unless you have a smaller than average baby, you might only get a month or two from this size. The best advice is to pre-buy in size 000 and then buy extra supplies in the 0000 size if you need to after the birth. Check labels for weight and height guidelines before you buy (average birth weight is 3.5kg). baby clothing tips

What to look for when Buying Baby Clothes:

• fastenings to enable you to remove and change a nappy without completely undressing baby
  
• snaps / press-studs are easy, safer and quicker than buttons
  
• no rough seams or uncomfortable material - natural, cotton, etc, is best
  
• machine washable
  
• check that buttons are sewn on well (baby could choke on little buttons)
  
• no loose threads that little fingers or toes could get caught in
  
• avoid ribbons and strings that babies can wrap around their necks
  

Hopefully this comprehensive guide to baby your babies first clothes has been helpful to you! Remember, don’t rush in a buy too many clothes before your baby is born, you can always buy more of the garments you need after the arrival of your newborn.

By Vicki Rossington
Source : http://www.articlesbase.com

First 9 Months Sleep Advice

The most dreadful thing about having a new baby is the lack of sleep resulting from the night feeds. But by six months most babies do not need a night time feed if they have fed well during the day and are not ill.

When your baby is a newborn, after spending 9 months in a nice snug place, sometimes the adjustment to the outside world can cause more night waking than just hunger. It is important to remember newborn babies cannot differentiate night or day, so it will take time for them to fall into a pattern. However, it is perfectly possible to have them sleeping through the night by six months.

Making sure your baby is ready to sleep is most important. With newborns, they will mostly drift off to sleep when they are ready but from around 3 months this can change and they may need you to notice the signs of tiredness and help them to settle.

Ready to Sleep Checklist

• Is your baby well fed, clean and dry?
• Is your baby not feeling well? It can either make babies sleep more or make them find it hard to sleep.
• Watch out for the cue? Some babies yawn, rub their eyes or pull their ears when they are tired, watch for signs.
• Is your baby too tired? If your baby is overtired, it is very hard for the baby to settle down due to too much stimulation and lack of sleep. A nice dim lighted room, soothing music and a massage can help your baby to drift off to sleep. Try to catch your baby before he/she becomes overtired will also help.

If your baby is most of these he or she will most likely be ready for a sleep.

• Try to balance the amount of nap time your baby takes during the day so that its easier for him/her to fall asleep at night. If your baby is waking up a lot at night and you do not think its due to hunger, he/she may be sleeping too much in the day or the last nap time is too close to the night sleeping time. Make necessary adjustment.
• Does your baby sleeping place help encourage a more settled sleep. Is the room warm but not too warm? Is the room very lighted? Is the room noisy?
• Help your baby differentiate day and night. When baby take naps in the day, it is not necessary to close all certain or off the sound of the tv. At night, have a bedtime routine, dim the room and keep sounding sound soft. This will help the baby understand the different between a nap and night time sleeping.
• Swaddling your baby or putting the baby in s baby sleeping bag sometimes help. The baby will feel more secure but not all babies like it. Some may refuse to be swaddled.
• Having a bedtime routine can help as well. Giving your baby a nice lukewarm bath, a baby massage with some oil followed by a breastfeed or a warm bottle of milk in a dim lit room, perhaps even with some low music playing will help your baby realize that its sleeping time now.
• Avoid rocking, petting or feeding the baby to sleep। Your baby can begin to rely on whichever as the only way he/she can settle to sleep, so whenever your baby wakes up, he/she would need you to provide whichever aid they are used to sleeping with। Place your baby in bed before they fall asleep and let them begins to learn how to settle off to sleep by themselves.

By Glynnis Yan

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com