newborn/preemie clothes?
My aunt is CONVINCED that i have no clothes that will fit my soon-to-be daughter. She claims that my cousin (who was about 7lbs at birth) would fit nothing but "preemie" clothes for months. When i told her that all the (millions) of clothes i have for her are 0-3 and 3-6 months, she basically freaked out. Now today, she just brought over 5 outfits in "preemie" size. I appreciate her concern, but would an average size baby (say 7-8 lbs at birth) really fit into such tiny clothes? The tags say "up to 5lbs or 18 inches."
it was so sweet of her to buy the new clothes, and they are SOO cute, but i will feel awful when/if they don’t fit….
what is your experience on new baby sizes??
Filed under: Baby Clothes
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Your aunt is somewhat right. Elyse was 6 lb 15 oz at birth and newborn sizes were huge on her. We didn’t waste money on preemie sizes though and just used the big NB clothes. 0-3 was way too big on her to the point that she couldn’t wear it – her feet were hitting the crotch area of the sleepers.
Elyse was also in preemie diapers for the first 2-3 weeks.
my daughter was 7lb 10 born 13 weeks ago and she has only just started to fit into 0-3 months
No my son was 7lbs 12oz and wore nb clothes, and my othr son was 8lbs 10oz he jumped to 3 month clothes quick.
You are right.. There would be no way a normal due baby would be able to fit into preemie clothes. Keep the tags on them and give them to her after the baby born and show to your aunt say she fits these size clothes not your size. My first son came four weeks early and he could fit 0-3 months sizes of clothes.
i had preemie twins, they were 3lbs 11oz and 4lbs 1oz and they were to big for preemie clothing but to small for new born and then my youngest who was 8lbs 13oz and she was in 0-3 month old clothing till she was about 6 weeks and in 6-9 month old clothing at 4 months so size really means nothing go by the weight and length when the baby is born.
My son didn’t quite fit into newborn clothes right away…. he was 8 lbs. 2 oz. By a week he was into them….. and by 2 weeks he was busting out of them.
Your baby may fit into a few of the preemie clothes…… I know I was given a few preemie clothes…. some fit fine the first few days…. some where way too small.
Regardless if they fit or not…. there is no need to feel guilty.
my son was 7pd 5 oz and i put newborn clothes on him and they were kinda of big so i tried on a premie and it fit him so tight he screamed until we took it off of him, he is now 7pd 12 oz and still cant fit into 0-3 months. i would take the clothes ”just in case” but make sure yo have newborn clothes also.
It depends on the clothes but both of my daughters who were 7.12 both wore preemie clothes after they were born…they are just that tiny!
your aunt is correct, now i wouldn’t buy a lot of newborn or premie outfits. My baby weighed 7lbs 7oz and the 0-3 months clothes were too big, until she got about 3wks old. The newborn outfits fit the best til she was that age. I would buy some newborn onesis. Since she did buy you 5, i would buy about 5 onesis. Good luck!!
My baby wa 6lbs 1oz..and would only fit the smallest newborn cloths..your aunt is right.
I suppose shes right in a way.
I bought all newborn clothes and some 0-3 months. My mother bought me some preemie clothes…just in case.
The preemie clothes fit her perfectly for about 3 or 4 weeks then she went into newborn. She didnt fit 0-3 months untilshe was around 3-4 months old!
My daugter wasnt exactly tiny either. She was 7lbs 10oz.
my son was a preemie…born 9 weeks early and just shy of 4 lbs. He came home at 4.5 weeks old (5 lbs 4 oz) and by the time he was 5 weeks old, he couldn’t fit into any of his preemie clothes. He was wearing Newborn and some 0-3 month clothes by that time. He’s now about 12 lbs (15 weeks old today) and wears mostly 3-6 month clothes. He has a few larger 0-3 month outfits and smaller 6-9 month outfits that he can wear right now. If it looks like you are going to carry to term, I personally think you shouldn’t even need Newborn clothes…your daughter might would only fit in them for a week or two at most…
Good luck and Congrats!
My daughter was 7lbs 10oz at birth and she only fit into preemie clothes for the first few weeks. She was a normal weight, she’s just built small. I can still easily put her into 3-6 month tops and she is 1. If you don’t get any use out of them, you could contact a local NICU and see if they could use them.
I have to respectfully agree with your aunt.
My first was born at 7lbs 2oz, and I didn’t have anything smaller than 0-3 months. He swam in his clothes for almost a month! Everything was gigantic on him!
My second was born at 5lbs 12oz and was in preemie clothes for a bit over a month and then in newborn clothes for another month or so.
My nephew was 7lbs 10oz at birth & we had to go out and buy newborn clothes that fit b/c all of his 0-3 months stuff was too big.
Look at it this way: stuff made to fit 0-3 months is going to be big enough to fit an average 3 month old. The average newborn can at least wear newborn clothes, if not preemie stuff! I’ve seen 7.5 lb babies in preemie outfits!
Well, she could be right. Your baby may not fit into newborn clothes right away even if she is 7-8 lbs at birth, BUT she may likely grow into and out of those newborn clothes very quickly too, you never know!
My DD, 2 1/2 yrs, was 7 lbs exactly and 19.5 " at birth and her newborn clothes were HUGE on her. The only thing she had that actually fit for the first month was this one preemie outfit that my cousin bought, insisting that I would have a small baby. My daughter didn’t fit into her newborn clothes until she a month old, and was about 3 months old before 0-3 months were even usable, they were so big.
But on the other hand, I just had my second child, a son, 2 weeks ago, and he is growing like a weed! He was only 6 lb. 3 oz and 18 in at birth, but at 16 days old he has already outgrown his preemies (which fit him perfectly at first) and is fitting well into his newborns. If he continues to grow at this rate he will be out of these newborn clothes in another couple of weeks and into his 0-3 by about his one month mark. So it was sort of a waste to get as many preemie and newborn outfits as we did. It is a bit of trial and error.
If you have the budget, I would get maybe 1 preemie outift and a couple of newborn outfits, just in case, but I wouldn’t go overboard because no matter what you probably won’t use those for very long. Besides, babies don’t care if their clothes are ill-fitting anyway!
Best of luck!