Whole Parenting Family

Capsule Wardrobe volume 3: the baby edition

baby capsule wardrobe

And now for the moment you’ve all held your breath: the baby edition!

Read SuperBoy (4) here.

Read SweetPea (2) here.

I promise I’ll put my edition up soon, too. And check out my friend Sarah’s capsule post for her eldest. Really good ideas, here.

But back to baby business.

I truly hate lots and lots of baby clothing options. They are ill-fitted or unsuitable for movement or scream PRINCESS or SPORTS. And then they all end up stained to high heaven. I get pickier about baby clothing the more babies I have. Go figure. I actually bought more clothing for BabyLove than practically SweetPea, and she was my first girl!

capsule wardrobe babies

Tops.

short sleevers: organic cotton onesies are a must. I like Nature Baby and Under the Nile. Avoid Gerber or Circo (target’s brand) as they are so poorly made they just don’t last. I’ve been gifted a few sweet Minnesota themed ones. Love them, natch. L’ved Baby is okay but hasn’t washed well for me. Maybe I need a laundry lesson.

long sleevers: I love waffle knit because they don’t absorb spit up as quickly and they are warmer and more durable in this weather. Polarn has great stripes, as shown here, of course. I don’t mind snaps on the side for extra fit, or a few buttons in front, but long sleevers that have that stretch collar where the shoulder part is supposed to fold back.

What is that called? Brain freeze.

Anyway, I don’t like that because it never fits nice and snug when the baby’s arms are tugging the shirt downward (unlike in a short sleeve).

I do love the kimono snaps a la Kate Quinn Organics–that gives a nice fit. The edging on the draping parts keeps the cotton in place instead of making it all floppy.

wardrobe capsule baby

Pants.

I started making leggings after my friend Grace convinced me I could sew knits. But the best secondary reason is that I can make easy & lasting pants for this kid. He scurries on his knees and climbs a lot so we are wearing pants hard. I suggest nothing NOTHING with buttons or zippers. Why do they even make those fake big kid pants for babies? To make our lives miserable?

See the camo pants in this picture? Terrible waist for cloth diapered babies and no give in the material. Given away after taking this shot.

A few wool pants, a few cotton leggings, a sweat pant or two, and they’re set. Ignore the denim or overalls or khaki. Ignore.

Sweaters//sweatshirts

capsule wardrobe baby

You know I’m into wool and cotton and non synthetics because of my kids’ sensitive skin, but also because it wears so well. A few zipper hoodies, this cute Hannah Andersson one on sale for girls, a wool/cotton blend from consignment, a Polarn from ebay, and a Merino Kids wool number.

After your baby is big enough to sit in his or her chair and smear food all over the table, you too will love that you can just do a quick elbow wipe on your wool sweater. Amazingly resilient stuff.

Bigger is better because they grow so fast between birth and a year. I roll sleeves, roll collars down, and don’t mind them in a bigger sweater or sweatshirt. Again, I’m partial to no obnoxious graphics, but roll with your style.

Outfits.

capsule wardrobe baby

In actuality, we have only worn two of these: the far striped Polo number and the farthest striped blue one. Both gifts. Why wear those instead of the overalls and heavier collared (corduroy)//cumbersome numbers?

Oh, yah, because wrestling babies into outfits that don’t have a lot of movement or easy maneuverability for diaper changes is insane. Stick to EASY when it comes to outfits. The baby really doesn’t get that dressy. Even for a dressy day at church or a party. Why? Because I think I can kinda spruce up a wool pant & sweater outfit and be able to easy change his diaper and wipe his food mess. I don’t think I can handle hefty four-handed diaper changes or a billion snaps. Half dozen, sure. Billion, nope.

We slap leg warmers on with cute wool diaper covers (these he live in) and call them pants. My brother may disagree (he also thinks lady leggings aren’t pants, but whatever), but it works for us. I also use them when pants are getting shorter and I need to fill the gap between pants and socks in the cold months. Learned that trick from Molly!

Pajamas.

Stuffing his long legs into PJs at night has become a joke as he’s outgrowing everything I already have down from the attic. My best guidelines for PJs are two fold:

1) when you’re still changing night diapers: crotch snaps only (not full body snaps because they always feel sympathy and come undone TOO in a dark room with a crying baby).

2) when you’ve come to your senses and buy the best diaper ever that are fully compostable and absorb any I MEAN ANY amount of pee at night, zip it, baby. Full zip zip zipper because no cold air can get in and their bodily parts are all covered nicely.

This wool romper zipper number or play outfit is my fav (was being washed when I snapped these shots). Also, any of these Carter’s zipper pjs are great. I’ve got the guitar one here, which the big kids love).

Nota bene: skip the two piece pjs til they’re older. I have one set pictured here and his tummy is always cold, as are his feet. It’s cute but worthless for actual nighttime wearing.

Also I buy jammies that have foot pads. Because if you don’t always change their outfit in the morning after their diaper change, and they’re walking around furniture, you don’t have to deal with slippery feet. Take it from lazy mama number 1.

S-O-C-K-S.

Triple roll socks cannot come off. I mean, really, cannot. So great.

Otherwise, you know my brand: Smartwool.

 

*links are to Amazon and if you buy something on there after going through me I get a sliver. So thanks!

5 Comments

  1. Tara on March 3, 2015 at 7:55 pm

    YES YES YES to the triple roll socks. We have received some others as gifts and – while adorable – they fall off a hundred times a day and I immediately go back to the triple rolls. They are seriously the only things that stay on baby feet!



    • Natural Mama Nell on March 4, 2015 at 8:58 pm

      Those socks are money.



  2. jennifer on March 4, 2015 at 11:41 am

    The biggest problem I have with baby clothes is keeping on top of what fits and what has been out-grown. Since they grow so darn fast. My mom (bless her heart) just spent 3 hrs with me sorting through my daughter (5) and son (2mo) wardrobes. Baby was tough. There’s Newborn, 0-3 mo, 3mo, 3-6mo, 6mo, 6-9mo, 9mo, etc etc etc…and all are different and each brand is slightly different as well. I decided to just toss all of the NB into a underbed storage bin and say goodbye to them even if they still “fit”. 🙂



    • Natural Mama Nell on March 4, 2015 at 8:58 pm

      Hahaha yes yea!!!



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