What size clothing do you buy for an infant that is about 10 pounds?

Question

My neice is a few days short of 4 months, and she is only 10 pounds. Do I buy newborn clothes? Or do I buy the 0-6 month size? What diaper? I see the newborn sizes go up to 10 lbs. usually, or should I get size one to be safe? My employer has given me paid leave for one month due to thie extenuating circumstance to "figure this all out". And I'm still lost. How much clothing does a baby need in their wardrobe? I've been to the Carters outlet and spent close to $300 on receiving blankets, burp cloths, towels, booties, 0-3 month clothes (figured I couldn't go wrong there) and baby items like wipes, diapers and lotions, wash, etc etc. What else do I need?

David W> No, I'm adopting my sisters special needs baby, thank you very much. I'm glad my employer is not a bonehead like you.

Hello!! People the time off work is due to the legal issues surrounding the adoption of my niece and finding childcare so I can return to work. Not just to find baby accoutrements. That's silly.

Answer 1

The clothes you already bought should be wearable for a little while, but you should probably buy 3-6M size. As far as how many, it depends on how often you want to do wash. I'm a baby clothes addict so my kids had nearly enough to wear a different outfit for the first 3 months of their life!! Onesies are important but I can't say I ever used receiving blankets for anything more than something to change the baby on.

Diapers I'd say a size 1, although most brands are NOT the same size so you need to experiment.

As far as other things you need, I'd invest in a bouncy seat which will be invaluable to you for the next 6 months or so, but as far as the basics go you seem like you pretty much have everything covered.

You might want to buy some baby Tylenol and gas medicine to keep on hand as well, and a baby bathtub or sling to put in the big tub. You might choose to get the book "What to expect the first year" too - very informative.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Don't spend so much money on all that stuff. Trust me you really don't need a hundred blankets! You should probably buy the the size 1 diapers just to be on the safe side, they grow quickly! As for the size of clothes I would buy a few things 0-3 months and a few things 3-6 months! You don't have to go crazy! Especially since it is summer time, baby's don't need to wear a lot of clothes. They will just get hot and fussy if you over-dress them!! I would say if you bought 9 or 10 outfits, a little more if she spits up alot, in each size, you should be fine. You can use a bib more then one time so I would buy maybe 15-20 of those. Same with the burp clothes! Don't buy tons of wash and lotion, you will be surprised how long all that stuff lasts! Even with bathing them everyday! Good luck with everything and you can e-mail me with any questions, [e-mail]!!! Oh just to let you know, I have 2 kids, so I do have a little experience!!=)

Answer 3

I always buy up if she is 10 pounds then she is almost out of the 0-3 months size and although it fits her fine now i wouldn't want to invest too much money in it. I would begin purchasing the 3-6 months size it's always better to have things that are a little big than too tight. As far as diapers go size one those newborn diaper don't work long and are only good until you have lost the umbilical cord because they have that little divet so the don't rub the cord. Diaper sizes are never right they never work up to the maximum weight they say they do. When you experience lots of diapers leaking it's time to move to a new size.

Answer 4

I'm guessing here but you now have custody of a 4 month old baby because the mom couldn't take care of her. Good for you and you should give yourself a pat on the back. Right now with summer coming on make sure that you get cool clothes. Onsies, diaper shirts that sorta thing. If she is 10 pounds then she really would qualify for the 0-3 months clothing but she might be longer than those so I would try the 3-6 month clothing. Once you get her I'm sure that she will flourish and gain quite a bit of weight and you will have the right size clothing for her. By the way. 4 month old children are starting to use a spoon to eat cereal and other baby foods. Get on WIC if you can. Also you need a good Pediatrician. Hopefully you have insurance but if not there is medicaid. Good luck and email me if you have any questions. I have two children and willing to help out.

Answer 5

Usually for clothes size you double their ages so Yes a 0-6 month size would work but since she is only 10lbs a 3mo size would fit PERFECTLY. I seriously dont think its that complex to take such a long leave of absence at work for. That is just silly. Babies only need the basics. 1pkg side snap Ts, 2pkg Onesie and diapers sizes 1 (10lb baby) you will only need 4 towel sets buy 1pkg of cloth diapers for burp rags and regular socks (skip the booties) Make sure that she has 4 recvg blankets and you are set with the wipes, lotions and diaper creams!

Answer 6

For right now, 0-3 is probably fine, but it depends on the brand you get - some of it runs small.

If she's close on the weight side for diapers, go a size up - you can always wrap it around a little tighter. My all-time favorite size was 1-2 because it covered that in-between stage.

If you go on websites like Gerber, Carters, babiesrus etc - they have lists that will recommend what you need & how much.

Once you get situated for the moment, be sure to check out second hand stores & even yard sales. My next door neighbor is a practically a pro at finding stuff for her son & a lot of times it's practically new. (People's left over baby shower gifts!) Maybe there is someone at work who has stuff they'd give you or sell you cheap - or someone who knows someone......

Good luck & God Bless...you're embarking on an amazing journey - - you'll get there!

Answer 7

It depends on the shape of the baby and how her 10 pounds is distributed, really. If she's skinny and long, then newborn stuff probably wont' fit...it'll be too tight at the crotch when it snaps, so you might have to bo up to the 0 - 3 month size. If she''s short and sorta chunky, then newborn will probably fit for a while, but if she starts thriving in your care, then she's going to grow really fast and all the money you've spent on newborn stuff will go out the window because she'll only wear the clothes a few tiems. Both of my boys were large babies, and I found with most clothing manufacturers, they were actually a size bigger than wat the tags said (i.e. when my older son was 4 months old, he was wearing 6 - 9 months clothes). My younger son was the same way.

For diapers, I'd probably go with a size 1 and skip the newborn. Diapers usually have a pretty broad weight range, and it's better to have them slightly too big (you can always tighten the tabs) then to have them too small and have "accidents" or blowouts. :)

For the amount of clothing, depending on where you live (if it's hot) not much...a onesie and some socks should be enough for the summer months, so you might want to buy several packs of each. If she gets cold easily (I think I remembered you saying she was a preemie and born to a drug addict) you could always buy some long sleeve t-shirts. They're long sleeved, but thin material. As a rule, you should always dress your baby how you want to be dressed. A common mistake is to overdress babies because people think they become cold easily, when in fact, they get hot just like you and me.

For a bath, my pediatrician recommended I use Dove Free and Sensitive on my boys (bar soap...white box with the light green label). Just becareful of the eyes as it's NOT tear free. If you want to use lotion, Lubriderm Sensitive formula. You could always just just plain old johnson and johnson baby wash too...it's fine for the baby. :) The best diaper cream I've found is Calmoseptine. It's over the counter, but in my area, I have to ask the pharmacist for it. It's VERY nice...regular zinc diaper cream, but it also has menthol and calamine in it, so it's extremely soothing. You can use it on all kinds of things as well...bug bites, drainage tube sites (for post-op surgery patients), etc. You'd probably be best to buy one of those baby grooming kits that comes with a comb, brush, little nail trimmers, etc. Another few good things to have on hand are a bottle of saline nose drops (if she gets a congested nose), Neosporin, and infant tylenol. I'm not sure the rules for giving a baby in your niece's shape tylenol, so check with her pediatrician before giving her any meds.

Oh...and some teething rings! those are always good to have.

Answer 8

Me again- this is the 3rd of your questions I've responded to. If you haven't taken the tags off all those clothes and stuff, don't. She may be too long for the 0-3 month clothes, and she will probably grow fast once she is being fed properly. If you have the tags on, you'll be able to exchange if it turns out she's too long for the 0-3 months. Carter's clothes run a little longer than other brands though, so it might work out just fine.
Best to not get a ton of stuff now...get it as you go. Running out to get baby stuff will be good practice for you getting out of the house with te baby! *wink*
What climate are you living in? If it's warm where you are and you don't have your AC too cold, she can hang out in onesies or creepers most of the time. If it's cooler, thin jammies with feet are good all-purpose clothing.

Answer 9

Usually Preemie is for up to 12 lbs. Sometimes up to 16 lbs. I wouldnt get the 0-6 months because they are usually huge. I'd at least get the 0-3 months. For diapers I would get size 1 since they are from 8-16 lbs. she wont accidentally grow out of them if you get too many like she would with the newborn diapers. You sure are putting a lot of thought into this for it to be your neice and not your own kid! Very generous of you.

Answer 10

0-6 months! You need to have at least enough for 3 changes a day on infants. More is they spit up a lot. The best thing for this time of year is onesies. and diaper shirts. You will need a few cutsie outfits to take the baby out and to church/Dr. appointments/check ups in!