What should I consider when buying baby clothes?
1. We recommend clothes made of pure cotton.
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2. We recommend clothes that are easy to put on and take off, and clothes that are easy to wash.
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Consider clothes with snap buttons underneath for easy diaper changing. There is the spacesuit style with the top and bottom attached, and the style of where the top and bottom are separated, like a top and underwear separated.
Choosing between these two is totally up to the parent’s preference. When making your first purchase, try a variety of baby clothes but avoid choosing a style that requires a lot of effort to maintain.
3. Don't buy too many clothes at once!
After having a baby, a lot of pretty clothes catch your eye. But keep in mind that babies grow very rapidly. A child born under 3 kg will weigh more than twice they did after birth in just 100 days. Their height will also increase at a tremendous rate.
Also, you may find that second-hand clothes have been given when your child was born. So, if you buy too many clothes in the first place, you may not use them all and need to organise them.
4. Clothing sizes may vary slightly from brand to brand.
75, 80, 90, etc… There are multiple children's clothing sizes. However, if you measure the actual size, each brand's clothing size is slightly different. My child wears 75 in brand A, but she could wear 80 in brand B. It is helpful to measure the clothes you have with a tape measure, check the actual size, and then shop online. It is most accurate to compare through the actual size of the clothes you normally wear, especially if you are playing fastball.
5. When shopping, please consider the season and delivery delay.
If you are lucky, you will receive your item within a week or so, but if you are unlucky, you may experience delays in shipping for a long time. So, if you're ordering kids clothes, think about your estimated time of arrival and consider what clothes you can wear during that time. If you order something in late spring and it arrives in early summer, it will be difficult for your child to get the clothes on.
6. Wash with caution.
To avoid leaving detergent residue when washing, use the rinse function one more time than usual. This will avoid any irritation of your baby’s skin.
7. Be sure to wash new clothes before putting them on.
New clothes still have a lot of chemicals left on the fabric. Please dress your child in them only after washing. Otherwise, hives may occur. The same goes for clothes that have been stored for a long time (e.g., when taking out stored summer clothes). Please wash them first!
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Are you using a dryer at home? It is good to select the children's clothing size bearing in mind that the clothes will shrink slightly after running the dryer.
8. Check the details.
Check small things such as whether the zipper closes well, whether the clothing name tag is comfortable, whether the length and design cover the stomach well and prevent the belly from being exposed when the child sleeps, and whether there is discomfort for your child caused by the clothes when they are sitting up. It is good to check whether there is a safety certification mark or not.
However, it may be difficult for new parents to grasp these details right away. So, try buying a few clothes from each brand to determine which is best, and ultimately choose clothes from a brand that you know produces high-quality baby clothes that your child is comfortable in.
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Author: Lee Ji-hyun
- A Secondary School Level 2 Teacher Certificate
- As a real mother of a child, she ponders specific parenting tips between reality and theory. She has worked as an educational civic activist and freelance journalist.