May 26th, 2009 by Bjoern

Underskirts
The underskirt may very well be made out of cotton. It is used all around the year. For the hot summer months, cotton is to prefer since it has excellent capabilities of sucking the moist up from the baby’s skin. Wool and cotton are the best materials for underskirts.

Skirts
Skirts are not necessary for small children. It might look good, but only adds weight on the baby.

Nightgown
The nightgown should be made of cotton. They should be absorbent and easy to wash. You should have several nightgowns (some recommend as many as seven). It’s also recommended to use a fresh nightgown each night during the first four or five weeks of the baby’s life.

Night drawers
When the child is getting older, typically two or three years, he will use night drawers with feet. The night drawers are usually made of cashmere or light woolen materials which are easily laundered.

They can be weared over the baby’s thin slips and when it’s cool it may be used over the nightdress. It’s important to make sure there are no way of producing friction between the night drawer and the baby’s skin as this will be a cause of irritation.

Slips
When considering slips, it’s also important to make sure that nothing can scratch or irritate the baby’s skin. This is often a cause of eczema.

Sleeping bag
A sleeping bag is of inestimable value. It provides extra and secure covering for the baby. In the first weeks a light flannel material is to prefer, but later you can simply fold a blanket in such a manner that the child cannot uncover himself.

It’s quite normal that new parents start out buying too small clothes. Too short sleeves and too small around. This is a very common ground for crying babies. If the clothes are too small, your child won’t feel comfortable. He will probably have problems sleeping when the clothes are too tight.

Another typical problem is heavy and raw seams. They irritate the baby’s skin.
It is also common that newer parents buy heavy materials where lighter ones would serve better.

An unclean garment should never be put back on the child. Sour-smelling clothes should be changed at once as the might make the baby sick.

Suggested reading:
The Baby’s first Clothes - Part I
The Baby’s first Clothes - Part III
Baby Clothes and Safety Considerations

Baby clothes, baby night drawers, baby nightgown, baby skirts, baby sleeping bag, baby slips, baby underskirts, unclean clothes

May 25th, 2009 by Bjoern

Are you unsure what to consider, buying sleeping wear for your baby? In this article I will summarize the most important things to think about when buying.
Buying baby clothes is very stimulating. There are a lot of nice clothes to choose from and in the department for baby clothes you often hear “aah” from other parents as they discover clothes they find lovely.

The most common criterion for selecting baby clothes is appearance. Color and design are important aspects. Here it would be in place to think about some other features as well. Safety, comfort - for parents and for children, isolation, material and more.

The main purpose of sleeping wear is to keep your baby warm when sleeping. Another important function of sleeping wear is fire security. Some parents prefer using sleeping bags and the like which are impregnated and made of fire safe materials. Other parents don’t like to use these materials while they have too much chemicals in them. You have to choose for yourself.

Overheating:
Although the main objective of sleeping wear is to keep the body warm, it’s important to ensure that your baby doesn’t get too warm. Overheating is a serious problem with infants. Actually, investigations show that only a few degrees too hot dramatically increases the risk of sudden infant death. Therefore, it is very important that you make sure your infant isn’t overheating.

Size:
Normally when buying baby clothes, it’s recommended to buy bigger clothes than you presently need. An infant grows very fast and therefore bigger clothes can be used a longer time.
With sleeping wear it’s different. When the sleeping wear is too big, the baby can’t heat all air in the sleeping wear up. Another problem is that loose sleeping clothes are considered dangerous in case of fire. To reduce the risk of getting burned in case of a fire, the clothes should fit tight on the body.

Hand covers:
Infants often have sharp finger nails. To prevent the infant from scratching itself, buy sleeping wear with hand covers. Another benefit of hand covers is that they make sure the baby’s hands are kept warm.

Material:
Often parents buy fleece material for their children because it can keep the heat well. This is true but it could be in place to think about cotton as well. Cotton can keep warmth as well and is better to use directly on the skin. Cotton also soak up all moisture from the childs skin.

It’s recommended to have a few sets of sleeping wear, since you have to wash it often. 3-4 sets would be useful.

There are a lot of different brands for baby clothes. You can find basically all of them on the internet. Another option would be to buy second hand clothes. On the internet there exist a lot of market places for second hand clothes too. Ebay would be one of them.

Studies show that older parents, parents that are getting a child when they are 30-40 years old, prefer buying brand name clothing for their children. The reason for this is that these parents already have come a long way in their carreer building and therefore also have more money to spend on their child. Younger parents tend to buy more second hand clothes.

It doesn’t really matter what you choose. Just remember that an infant or small child will outgrow their clothes in a very short time. Never forget to consider the safety aspects when buying baby clothes and most important - never let your child overheat!

Suggested reading:
The Baby’s first Clothes - Part I
The Baby’s first Clothes - Part II
The Baby’s first Clothes - Part III

Baby clothes, baby hand covers, fire, hand covers, material, safety, second hand, Sleeping wear