what do babies need to wear? and how often to change?

amother

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 1:34 pm

what do babies need to wear?

when they are home, when they are sleeping, when they are outdoors, or other's house:
do they need to wear:
socks?
pants?
sleeves?
shoes?
blanket on/under/around?

do they usually wear a separate shirt and top, or a one peice (onesie/stretchie), and if one peice, is it a one peice with sleeves and legs, with feet, or without sleeves, legs, feet?

if they wear a shirt and top, or stretchie, do they need to also wear a undershirt or onesie underneath?

do babies tend to kick off their socks and pants?

how often do you change your baby's clothes when he often drools and spits up?

how often do you change baby's wet diapers?

chaylizi

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 2:07 pm

I clothe my newborns exclusively in Carter's footie sleepers & undershirts. I get them little side snap shirts for the first month (until the cord is off) & then crotch snap ones thereafter. I also have a whole bunch of thinner swaddling blankets and keep them wrapped like a little burrito in 2 most of the time. I change them whenever they spit up or their diaper leaks & put a fresh sleeper on each morning.
you know their diaper needs changing when their diaper feels nice & warm (and full). I usually don't change for drool- I just carry a cloth diaper around & wipe their face as needed. I don't have to worry about socks & pants, because I never put any on my newborns. Later I get a pair of Robeez to keep their socks on.
http://www.carters.com/on/dema.....rters

louche

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 2:19 pm

what do babies need to wear?

In hot weather, indoors: nothing. You may want to put diapers on them for aesthetic and sanitary reasons, though.

when they are home, when they are sleeping, when they are outdoors, or other's house:
do they need to wear:
socks?

Only if it's cold.

pants?

Only if it's cold

sleeves?

Only if it's cold

shoes?

Only if they're walking outside

blanket on/under/around?

Only if it's cold. Though you may want to protect whatever surface they're on with a flannel cloth for aesthetic and sanitary reasons. Swaddling in a receiving blanket is supposed to help soothe them when they're newborns.

do they usually wear a separate shirt and top, or a one peice (onesie/stretchie), and if one peice, is it a one peice with sleeves and legs, with feet, or without sleeves, legs, feet?

Don't bother asking the baby his fashion preferences. Go with what works easiset for you.

if they wear a shirt and top, or stretchie, do they need to also wear a undershirt or onesie underneath?

Only if they get a rash. The metal snaps or zippers can cause contact dermatitis. You'll know if you see a red rash or welt where the hardware touched the skin, in which case an undershirt will solve that problem.

do babies tend to kick off their socks and pants?

Yes.

Now, all joking aside, you will figure all this out for yourself when the time comes. You can make things easy, or you can make them hard. Hard: dressing baby in "real" clothes because they're so cute. Easy: dressing baby in a one-piece strtchy.

If it's 90 degrees F indoors, do yourself and baby a favor and leave him in a diaper. Outdoors he'll need sun protection, and sunblock is not recommended for kids under 6 mos, so he'll need s/t to cover up. You can get around this by putting a lightweight breathable cloth over the carriage like a tent. This will also keep bugs off him, though this will deprive him of the chance to see the sights.

Shoes are a total waste until he's walking outdoors. For warmth in winter, socks under a snowsuit are fine. or those cute knitted booties.

If it's cold in the house or outside, dress him as you would dress, plus an extra layer, b/c babies have a harder time regulating body temp and lose heat faster than adults. Keep the head covered b/c a LOT of heat is lost through the head. B/c they escape from blankets, bundle them up in blanket sleepers over a stretchy at night.

If you feel you MUSt dress him in real clothes, at least make sure the pants have snaps all along the crotch so you don't have to pull them off to change diapers, becasue they go through at least 7-8 diapers a day. That's a lot of tugging. avoid clothes with buttons. Snaps and zippers are the way to go unless you adore spending a lot of time manipulating tiny objects on squirming surfaces. Besdies, buttons get caught on things, come off and become choking hazards.

You should change diapers as soon as they're wet or dirty to minimize the chance of a rash. Some kids hate being wet or dirty and will make it clear that they're unhappy, but others couldn't care less. so you have to check. If baby does get a rash, the quickest way to ease it is to leave him diaperless for as long as you can stand it. But you do have to keep an eye on him and grab him as soon as he piddles.

As for outerwear...depends on how fastidious you are. most babies don't care if their shirts are dirty or smelly, but most parents do. If the shirt is just wet with water or drool and it's not cold in the house, why bother? let it dry. OTOH if it's really soiled....well, you'll see what you want to do. YOur nose will probably tell you if you want to change the shirt or not. And whether or not you have your own wash machine or have to go to a laundromat.

chaylizi

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 2:22 pm

in the summer I usually go with a diaper & some kind of decorated onesie. If you do that though, make sure to keep baby out of the sun. You probably also don't need an undershirt outside in the summer.

zigi

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 2:56 pm

you will know when its time to change their clothes. I use bibs if the baby tends to drool or spit up. in the early weeks I go through clothes pretty often. I use an undershirt that snaps under a strechy b/c it contains some of the explosive diapers mess. and then there is less to pretreat for stains.

I also don't davka put pjs on for the night. b/c they are usually in onsies. if I'm having a hard day its nice to put a really cute outfit on the baby.

louche and chaylizi basically covered all the info

chaylizi

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 3:05 pm

I had a problem with bibs. My kids flail their hands around & flick the bib right over their face. I don't need the heart condition. I prefer to just change clothes or wipe judiciously.

Also if your baby spits up & you don't feel like changing the baby. Baby wipes usually take care of the sour cheese smell. It works wonders.

And yes, it is sometimes nice to have a few cute outfits for baby. When they are newbies- that is usually restricted to shabbos. As we get past the 4-6 week mark, we sometimes get a little more adventurous.