Newborn Baby Clothes List

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When you’re pregnant, as your due date approaches you’re bound to want to buy cute newborn baby clothes for your little one. But there are so many different types of clothing – body suits, sleep suits, outfits, suits with feet and without, long sleeves and short sleeves – just what clothing exactly do you need for a newborn?

Bear in mind that your baby will outgrow clothes in newborn size very quickly, usually within a few weeks. You never know for sure how big your baby will be when he’s born and big babies may not ever fit into newborn sizes, going straight to 0-3 instead. It’s therefore important to not go overboard buying newborn babies clothes, although it can be very tempting to buy lots of little tiny outfits. If you just buy what you need for the first couple of weeks then you’ll have more money to spend on larger sizes and you can always buy more newborn sizes at a later date if your baby is small.

Remember, you'll also need baby blankets, baby towels and baby bibs for your newborn

The following is a basic list of the minimum new parents should buy to prepare themselves for the arrival of a newborn. Of course many people will choose to buy more than this and it is entirely up to personal preference exactly what to buy for your baby, but this list should give you a base to start from. If you don’t want to have to wash items every other day or so or you have a very sickly baby, you will probably need to buy more of each item.

Short sleeved bodysuits x 10

Sometimes called baby vests, these are little t-shirts with snappers at the crotch to allow for easy access for nappy changes. It’s better to buy these all-in-one suits rather than actual vests and t-shirts that will ride up under outfits. These are the basis of all newborn baby outfits and can be worn under sleepsuits and outfits or on their own in hot weather.

Sleepsuits x 10

These all-in-one suits are great for sleepwear as you may guess but they also make for great daywear during the first few weeks of your baby’s life. It’s much easier to change one piece of clothing than a whole outfit and sleepsuits with feet mean you don’t need to worry about losing tiny socks.

Hats x 2

Babies lose heat quickly through their heads so it is important to have a couple of little hats for when you take the baby outside

Socks x 5

Your baby won’t be wearing shoes for at least a few months so if you take them out and they’re not wearing an all-in-one with feet attached, you’ll need to put some socks on your baby.

Scratch mitts x 5

Newborn babies have very sharp nails and can easily scratch their faces when they move about. Some sleepsuits come with built in scratch mitts so you don’t need to buy them if you have this type.

Going home outfit

Most parents want to have at least one special ‘going home outfit’ for when they take their baby home from the hospital. This can be anything you choose from simple to designer baby clothes.

Day outfits

When your baby starts to get a little bigger you’ll probably want to start dressing them in actual outfits rather than just bodysuits and sleepsuits. You can buy miniature versions of nearly any outfit for a newborn but remember not to buy too many as they will be outgrown very quickly.

Coat or Pram suit

Unless you live in a hot climate, you’ll need some outerwear for taking your baby outside. One in newborn size is usually sufficient.

Many parents choose not to find out the sex of their baby and in this case, unisex newborn baby clothes are the way to go. There are lots of cute options these days for unisex baby clothes from white to bright colors so don’t feel like you have to buy everything in yellow.

On the other hand, if you know the sex of your baby you’ll probably want to buy either newborn baby girl clothes or newborn baby boy clothes. There are thousands of styles available in the traditional pink and blue or you could go with bright colors, patterns or cute cartoon characters.

Make sure whatever you buy is soft, comfortable and easy to put on. It is more important that newborn baby clothing is gentle on your baby’s skin and does not cause irritation than it looking cute. Some babies have particularly sensitive skin and may benefit from wearing organic newborn baby clothing. Also pay attention to the fastenings – small babies hate having clothes pulled over their head so choose items with snaps down the front or side and avoid anything that fastens at the back as this can make nappy changes very difficult.