Creative Therapy: #atozchallenge C is for Clothing

Today is the third day of the 2016 A-Z Blogging Challenge! The aim is to write a post for every day of the month except for Sundays, with each post representing a different letter of the alphabet. This year, since I've just become a mum for the first time, my theme is: 'an A-Z of Newborn Care'. I'll be talking about all the highs and lows of parenting, sharing things that have been useful for me and posting some cute pictures.

For the letter 'C' I have chosen to talk about Clothing.

How much do you really need?

There are so many cute clothes for babies that it's easy to get carried away and buy tons of outfits before they are even born. However, babies grow extremely fast, so they probably won't be in 'newborn' size for very long. I think Leona was only in them for a few weeks before moving on to size 0-3. She's 13 weeks old as I write this and the 0-3 months clothing is tight on her, but the 3-6 month size is too big, so we are using the same few outfits over and over again at the moment.

I found this list on Babycenter really helpful when stocking up on clothing. We decided to dress Leona in just vests and babygros/onesies for the first few months. I really like the onesies because they look cute, they're easy to put on, practical for changing and comfy for baby to sleep and play in. Most of them cover the feet so you don't have to worry about putting socks and booties on, which usually fall off anyway.

She fell asleep while I was changing her! She's wearing a pretty pink onesie from Next that says 'I love my Daddy'.

I don't recommend spending a fortune on clothes that your baby will only wear for a few weeks. I certainly wouldn't bother with designer clothing. Babies typically puke all over their clothes or leak through their nappies, so most outfits don't stay nice for long. Family and friends also tend to buy pretty outfits and dresses for special occasions, so it's best just to get lots of cheap basics that you can mix and match. They won't remember what they were wearing anyway!

I recommend getting:

7 vests
7 long-sleeved babygros/onesies
2 T shirts
2 long-sleeved tops
2 pairs of leggings
1 dress/outfit for special occasions or photoshoots
1-2 cardigans
2-3 sleeping bags for night-time
2 winter hats or sun hats
2 pairs of mittens
7 pairs of socks
2 pairs of booties
7 bibs
1 padded snowsuit (if winter)

Wearing her Bambi dungarees (a gift).

Where to buy baby clothes

We bought most of our daughter's first clothes from an NCT nearly new sale. If you're in the UK, I really recommend finding your local branch and checking them out. Everything was very cheap, but hardly looked used. We got loads of bargains! Charity shops are great places to look as well, or your local Facebook sale group.

My favourite places to buy baby clothes on the high street are:

Pep & Co-really affordable multi-packs of vests and babygros.
George at Asda-another source of low-priced but good quality clothing.
Matalan-lots of choice, some adorable designs and good prices.
Next-on the pricier side, but they have some beautiful outfits and dresses.
Debenhams-high end fashion, good choice for special occasions. They often have sales. I bought my daughter's Easter outfit from there.