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Budgeting for Baby >
The First Year |
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Clothing Your Baby
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Average costs
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| As with your own wardrobe, costs for clothing your baby will
depend mostly on where you shop – you should be able to plan a
budget and shop accordingly, without too many surprises. |
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Outfits from discount stores such as Old Navy, Sears, or
Wal-Mart will cost about $15 or less. |
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Separates will run about $20 a piece (so $50 for an
outfit) from higher end stores like babyGap, with sweaters
and dresses costing around $50. |
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Designer clothes can easily cost $100 or more. |
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‘Green’ or Eco- friendly clothes (organic cotton, hemp,
bamboo, and fair trade, to name a few types) will, as a
rule, cost more then their traditional counterparts. Pyjamas
will run around $20-$40 each (compared with $15 for
traditional), and t-shirts can be about $15-$30 (with
traditional t-shirts starting at less than $10). |
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How many clothes will baby need?
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| Especially for newborns, you will need to change your baby’s
clothes a few times a day, so number of outfits will partially
depend on how often you are willing to do laundry. |
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| Generally, for the first few weeks of your newborns life, plan
on having these basics: |
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5-10 bodysuits (‘Onesies’) |
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5 sleepers or nightgowns |
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1 cold weather sleeper |
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5-10 pairs of socks |
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1 newborn hat |
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outerwear (depending on the season) |
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| As your baby grows your needs will change depending on the
season. Your child will grow so quickly that many recommended buying
sizes at least 3 months ahead of your child. Bigger babies (up to
one year) will use: |
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One pieces outfits: Sleepers and jumpers are easy for
you to put on your baby and comfortable for him or her to
wear. Denim overalls are durable as your child learns to
crawl. These wardrobe staples will be used throughout your
baby’s development, so always have a few one pieces on hand;
5-10 would be good to start. |
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Shirts: Cotton T-shirts and turtlenecks, with snaps at
the neck to stretch over big baby heads, are helpful in
preventing full outfit changes as your baby grows – just
swap out for a clean shirt and away you go. Keep about 5-10
of these on hand. |
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Pants: Pull on pants or leggings allow you to quickly
change dirty clothes without changing the whole outfit. Look
for stretchy, pull on styles; you could use 2-5 of these. |
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Sweaters and Sweatshirts: Many babies don’t like having
to put their head through sweater holes – look for zip or
snap up cardigans and sweatshirts. A combination of 2-5
sweaters and sweatshirts are recommended. |
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Hats and Mittens: A broad-brimmed sun hat for summer and
a warm hat that covers ears and fastens under the chin for
winter are necessities. A pair or two of mittens for fall
and winter should suffice. |
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Jacket: A light spring jacket will be useful, even in
the warmer months, for evening walks. A warm jacket for
winter will be most comfortable with a hood. |
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Socks and Shoes: Some doctors recommend shoes not be
worn until a child begins to walk, in order to encourage
proper foot development. In any case, some booties and many
socks will be used (and lost!) over your baby’s first year.
Make sure booties can be secured to prevent them from being
kicked off. 10 pairs of socks and 2 booties are recommended. |
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| So what will it cost to clothe your baby for its first year?
This all depends on how you want (and can afford) to! Parents who
receive many hand-me-downs and shower presents might only supplement
with a few new outfits for their baby’s first year, while other
parents might spend into the thousands. For a family of average
income buying only the necessities, and all of it new at mid-priced
stores, clothes for the first year of baby’s life would cost in the
range of $700-$1000. |
