How much clothes does a little one really need? What is enough? Can you have too much? What if you don't have enough?
These questions are on many parents’ minds when they start gathering the special first garments of a baby’s life.
My first advice would be to rather get too few things than too many. We live in an instant world. If you are privileged enough to rely on some support from the people around you, if you can order online, then surely you can get the last few things when you can see what your little one actually needs.
Number and type of useful clothes for a tiny human varies depending on where you live, what time of the year the new life has arrived, how much they, well… poop and spit up milk. Some babies can go a whole day with the same set of clothes, and some babies will need a change every other hour. Sometimes there are tidier days and sometimes there are poopier days. You’ll get the hang of it. And you can get by with a certain smaller amount of clothes in the beginning. If you need more, they are readily available. Trust yourself to learn what you need!
Giving numbers is hard, but I will try. Please note that this is something I have recently started thinking more about, because for me the number of clothes that feels "enough" has been and still is something I am trying to find. I feel that the number creates a curve: first weeks and months you might need less, then around 4-8 months you will suddenly need more and towards the age of one year you will find that you can get by with less again.
We can start with the number 7: the number of days in a week. Then you can think about your week - how many times will you do laundry? If you do laundry only once or twice a week you might need more clothes just in case. If you do laundry 3-4 times a week, you can get by with a little less. Imagine that you'll want to have clean clothes every day, so that is at least 7 outfits each day. But since there are days when you might have to change clothes once or 3 times, perhaps to average this out, you can think about having something like 10 outfits for one week. Just in case. Does this sound like realistic? Does it sound too much or too little?
We can also dissect the issue by creating categories. These can be derived from your life, depending on what you do or plan to do with your small one. But in my mind the categories would look something like this:
1. Every-day clothes, the best basics you can use at home and for layering when you go outside, and related accessories such as socks or light bonnets.
2. Outerwear and related accessories.
3. Occasion wear, clothes that are a little more special. An outfit for your little one to wear when you go have a Sunday dinner or go to a birthday party etc.
4. Nightwear
5. Seasonal pieces, that are things like sun hats, swimwear, woollen layers etc.
With these points in mind you can start moving towards a plan of your own!
If you have any tips you'd like to share about how to find your "enough", let us know in comments below!
