Bringing Home Baby Outfit

I would take a preemie, newborn and a 0-3 months.......why you ask? My son was suppose to wiegh about 7 pounds.....he weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces......he came with big shoulders.....he wore 3 months almost at birth.......my second was to weigh in around 7.5.....he weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces........so cover your bases!!

Congrats and good luck.

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Well, I have two stories about coming home outfits. My first is that I bought my sister's daughter a newborn coming home outfit in Paris (France). I paid way too much money for it, but it was over-the-top cute. They didn't know the sex, so I had to go the generic route. It was a sleeper with feet, but it had little yellow duckies all over it. Of course, since it was from Europe, it was the most delicious fabric. The baby came a month early, so she was really tiny. My sister rolled up the sleeves of the outfit and brought her home in it.

My other story involves my own adoption of an infant (a year after my sister's baby was born). We live in KC,MO and our daughter was born in Oklahoma City. We got the 9am phone call that a baby had been born the night before and we had to rush to get there. So, because of this, I had no coming home outfit. In the meantime, my mother had gone to purchase a coming home outfit for me, one complete with hat & matching blanket. She & my Dad arrived in OK City two days later when we took physical custody. When we were handed my daughter in the hospital, she came to us in a darling pink outfit. We all agreed at the hospital to leave her in it. I asked the nurses how it was that this baby had this darling outfit? They said that a previous patient had left it. Not knowing the sex of her baby, she had bought a girl & boy outfit. She had a boy, so left the girl outfit for a baby who needed it. My daughter was the lucky recipient! So maybe you could do the same for someone else...bring a couple outfits, and leave one for a baby who needs it. Just a thought.

Have a wonderful journey with your baby. It is a great ride!

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we just used a basic cotton sleeper, and the beanie the hospital gave us. No skirted nightie--it won't work in the carseat 5-point harness. You can easily tuck a blanket over him/her if it's cold. If it is cold, you might bring the carseat (if you have a snap-in base) in to the hospital lobby to buckle him/her in inside instead of out in the parking lot for the first time. Make sure you know how to properly strap baby in the seat--our baby was so small we had to roll a receiving blanket at her crotch strap so she wouldn't slide forward...just something else to think about.

**Make sure you pick out mommy's going home outfit too--there will be lots of pictures I'm sure.

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My first child was a December baby and I bought all sorts of adorable outfits in advance. Then he ended up living in footed sleepers for almost the first 3 months of his life. Outfits (matching tops & bottoms) just didn't look right on a baby too small to even sit up, and they were way too much work to take off & put on every 2 hours when he needed changed. Sleepers will keep the baby warm & comfy, and are super easy for diaper changes. I also had a zip up car seat cover and I loved it, highly recommend one of those! I could never get his tiny little arms into a coat, and the car seat cover solved that problem and made him much more comfortable.

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I had two types of infant car seat covers and loved them both. When it was really cold I had one that not only covered the top but also went on the inside of the car seat and the baby layed on it too (there were holes for the belts to go through. When it wasn't quite as cold, we used one that just covered the entire top. This is so much better than trying to put your child in a coat of some kind. They worked great for us.

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I would bring a couple different outfits, or have someone who can run to your house before the baby comes home to grab the right size outfit. My son (full-term) was in preemie clothes for a month and the newborn clothes were way too big, but my daughter (also full-term) was too long for any of the newborn clothes and needed a size up. :) Sorry, probably not much help...

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I had to take my baby girl home in the T-shirt the hospital gave us because she was too BIG for the clothes I brought!!! I took 2 newborn outfits that were super cute, but I couldn't squeeze her into them. :( (we lived too far away from the hospital to make it worthwhile to send hubby home for a different one. lol)

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Both of our children came home in footed sleepers. They make some really cute/pretty ones for special occasions so that is what we got. They are most comfortable in this type of clothing and especially in winter. My children spent the first 3 months in one-piece footed sleepers.
We bought Newborn size for coming home and they just fit for the first 2 weeks and then my kids grew into the 0-3 months. My kids were 8.5 and 7.11 and both were 21 inches.
Good luck!

Also, have a nice blanket to tuck in around baby's body after clicked in the car seat and also get one of those head and neck supporter things for in the carseat.
Yes, we had a baby carrier cover for our winter baby. It worked very well.

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I would suggest something with legs so that you can buckle them safely into the car seat. I did use the car seat covers. I liked the Bundle Me kind by JJ something?? It was awesome! There are some really cute outfits out there...I love Carter's and thye have lots of outfits with coordinating booties and hats, which if it's a winter baby you will use those newborn hats A LOT! I kept one on my kiddos (born in fall) almost every day, even inside, for the first few months. I would advise against premie/newborn outfits b/c they are so small. LIkely your child will grow out of them rapidly. The 0-3 might be a little big, but it's worth it b/c they can wear it longer. Congrats!

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I would bring a new born size outfit for sure. Both my kids were 8 lbs (second was 8-2) and even the newborn size swam on them for a couple weeks. With my first I bought 0-3 b/c I didn't really know the difference and as a first time mom I just thought it was supposed to be big. Then I realized there were smaller sizes so I bought a couple and she wore them for a few weeks, until she was about 10 lbs, and they looked so much better! So I wouldn't recommend stocking up on newborn size, but definitely have a few. Carter's is my favorite for comfy newborn stuff. My second came home on a cold day and she wore a Janie & Jack outfit that was so soft and cozy.

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My 1st was born in Dec and the outfit we brough was huge on her (she was born 6lbs 12 oz) Our 2nd is due this dec and we are going to bring one preemie outfit and one small newborn onsie. I did use the car seat cover cause it was windy when we left, so I will ring it again for this one, but you can always just cover with blankets, not a big deal.

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I would definitely have some newborn outfits. You should have SOME idea if your baby will be on the large or small size from ultrasounds etc....(?). I had one friend that told me to have preemie and newborn clothes, but I didn't believe her....her kids were small, and my baby was going to be around 8 lbs. But at 8 lbs, the 0-3 outfits were ridiculous. She was a summer baby, so i got away with gerber onesies (they run smaller), but this time around, I'll definitely have some newborn. Good luck.

Make sure there is a blanket in there in case you don't have a cover for the carrier. I actually brought my first son home in a body suit with a blanket over him--in packing, unpacking, and repacking my hospital bag I actually FORGOT to get the outfit back in. He survived, and my FIL just teased me on our "coming home" video about how we were dressing him for December. My first was 8 lbs 13 oz and fit into newborn sizes for a week or two, but my second was 3 weeks early and a little smaller, but by then I didn't care if things were a little loose and just went with whatever was around. :)

I took back all the outfits people gave me that were the "newborn" size because I was worried he wouldn't use them. Well, my son was born 6 lbs 4 oz, and he was swimming in the 0-3 mth outfit I brought for him to wear home! It was quite funny looking back, but I was a little embarrassed at the time. I would take both sizes to be on the safe side, it's not like they take up a lot of room in the suitcase :) Ditto on the something with legs, you definitely want to be able to get him buckled into the carseat.

I also used the Bundle Me (JJ Cole). I LOVED it, and would recommend it to anyone having a baby in the winter months. It was so warm and cozy, and I didn't have to deal with stuffing the baby into a snowsuit and then trying to fit him in his car seat. It's easily adjustable, you can flip the top down if the baby is getting too hot, or just add an extra blanket if you think he's cold. I live in Chicago, and the winters here are COLD. I never felt like I needed to pile on extra blankets while using this. Plus, it made it so much easier if the baby was sleeping when putting him in or getting him out of his car seat.

I brought my son home in a really cute button up shirt and shorts with socks. He was a summer baby, I would never make him wear it again but with all the "bringing home baby" pictures I thought it was worth it to "dress him up" a little. He wore newborn home from the hospital, because even if your little one is born in the 8 pound range they drop between a pound to two pounds within the first couple days from the lack of constant nourishment from the umbical cord.
I am due in two and a half weeks and again summer baby, so I got her the cutest little frilly short jumper that I would never make her wear again. Ha. Do whatever feels right to you but bring both preemie and newborn, you never know what you are going to need.
And the JJ Bundle Me covers are amazing. I would suggest getting one.

Definately get a preemie. Our pictures were so laughable because we bought newborn. Our poor baby was swimming in fabric! Car seat covers are nice, blankets work too if not too windy. I was always concerned that they were not getting enough fresh air.

We were released from the hospital a little earlier than expected and I was so excited to be going home, I didn't take the time to change my baby (or me.) However, a newborn is swaddled most of the time, so spending a lot of time or money on a "coming home" outfit can be a bit of a waste. Maybe a really nice, fluffy, embroidered blanket? In my son's coming home photos, you really can't see his shirt, just the blanket.

Also, there are a surprising number of newborn sized onesies. This confuses me because you're not supposed to use onesies until the umbilical cord stump falls off. (At least that was the wisdom on deck when my son was born three years ago.)

Congratulations and best wishes.

i had my daughter in the middle of october and had 2 outfits that i brought with me to the hospital. i would recommend a sleeper with the feet - mine had a cute sleeper that the feet looked like she had on ballet slippers. and the car seat covers works wonders i would recommend that you do get one. it also helps when its windy out and the blankets dont go flying off. good luck

My oldest was a preemie (12 weeks early) & he came home in winter. I dressed him in a sleeper, put a blanket on him & I had a carseat cover.
My youngest was born in winter. I dressed him in a body suit, sleeper & booties. We put a blanket over him, but I don't remember if we had a car seat cover for him. As long as your baby is full-term there is no reason to bring a preemie outfit. If your baby is expected to be less than 5 lbs., will not be in the NICU & will be comming home with you then bring a preemie outfit. Otherwise it is not nessasary.
Congratulations!
God bless!

My kids were in the 7 pound range (pretty average height/weight/everything), and I found the preemie sizes to fit a bit better than newborn sizes for the first couple weeks. I wouldn't go overboard on buying that size, because they really won't get worn more than a couple of times at best. I'd suggest buying one of each size and leaving the tags on until baby is born. You can always return the preemie if it's too small.
I LOVED the car seat covers. I think they were worth every penny. I didn't like having to put a blanket over my kids' faces, even just for a few seconds to take them from the car to the front doors, and if you buy the one with the flap that closes the cover entirely and opens when you are inside, you won't have to worry about that.

My husband and I bought 2 newborn size outfits for our 4th little guy for when he was born, a one piece pj and a 2 piece outfit. I had hoped to have him at home, so it was planned he'd wear the pj's first, but since I had a 4 day labor (ugh) and was very tired and he was coming very slowly, we went to the hospital. Sooo, he ended up wearing the outfit home. I don't think there were any "newborn" sizes when my 1st or 2nd was born, just premie the up to 0-3, and they wore those home and swam!! and my 3rd wore home a 0-3 b/c it LOOKED small compared to what my older kids were wearing. So he also swam home. My friend had bought my 3rd some newborn size pj's and they were just right. I'd say, for pictures and stuff to just get one or two newborn sizes, your babe WILL grow out of them within a month or two, but it is nice to have something that actually fits. Plus, you'd keep it for memories (the one you'd take baby home in) and can remember how small the babe was.
Also, I love the carseat cover things. I still covered the kids up w/ blankets and put hats on them, but I had used the snowsuit things. Those are not "recommended" because the padding makes the seatbelt not as snug against a kid, so there'd be more give in an accident and you don't want that. But with the covers, you put the blankets on top of baby, and then most have a flap that you can cover up the hole so the cold can't get in, very nice. And there is enough room for baby to breathe.
Congrats on the baby!!

I had four winter babies and we loved the car seat covers! The bring your baby home outfit can be simple or fancy---the only ones who will care are the adults!!!! That said, I loved to put my sons in the cutest outfits possible!
I used mostly newborn clothes, even though my twins were preemies (5 1/2 pounds and 6 pounds at birth). I had to roll the sleeves for a few weeks, but it saved money and they got to wear the clothes longer!
I love the suggestion of buying several outfits and leaving them for less fortunate babies. I would do that if I were to ever have another baby!
Best of luck with your new one!

The "receiving" blanket is more important than what the baby has on. If someone has made or given you a blanket thats the best way to bring the baby home. They arent that fun to dress and undress until their bellybutton scab falls off. Since you keep them swaddled for the first month, clothing really shouldnt be such an issue. Save your money and don't fall into the "what should my baby wear today?" trap. Mommy needs new clothes too ya know?