NB, 0-3 months, and 3 months clothes

Childcare Forum
1

My wife is 20 weeks pregnant, and we’re preparing for the arrival of our son. We’ve been shopping for baby clothes, but we’re unsure about buying newborn sizes. Many people have told us it’s not worth the money because babies outgrow them so quickly. I have a few questions about this:

  1. How long did your baby stay in newborn size?
  2. How many newborn size clothes would you recommend having?
  3. Did your baby even fit in newborn size at birth, or did they go straight to 0-3 months?

I’m also wondering if 0-3 month clothes can be used interchangeably with newborn sizes, or will our baby be swimming in 0-3 month clothes if we don’t have enough newborn sizes?

Additionally, is there a difference between 0-3 months and 3 months sizes? We have some clothing items from the same brand where some specify 0-3 months and others specify 3 months specifically. They look the same on a hanger, but I’m not sure if there’s a difference.

Of course, I know all babies are different, and factors like whether they are born full term and genetics play a part. For the sake of clarity, assume my wife is about the size of an average American woman and that she will go full term.

2

Some babies fit into newborn sizes right away, while others might need 0-3 month sizes from birth. It is best to have both sizes available to meet your baby’s needs, as every baby grows at their own pace.

3

My boy spent a month in newborn sizes, starting out at 7 pounds 7 ounces.

Just to clarify, NB and 0-3 months aren’t the same.

When you see ‘3M’ on a tag, it fits babies 0-3 months; ‘6M’ means 3-6 months. Carters does their labels like this.

I’d recommend getting a few NB sleepers at first. If you need more, just Amazon them! I had about 10, which was handy because he wore them for a whole month. Newborns tend to have a lot of spit-ups and accidents, so be prepared for frequent changes!