Baby Michael is just about 6 months now and is wearing 9-12 month outfits. You can imagine how fast these little weeds grow! I already have 3 tubs full of clothes and many he only wore once because I had so many. I am very thankful that I never paid full price for anything. Just saying the phrase ‘full price’ makes me nauseous.
So how do you know what to buy and how much to buy? I am just going to guess that buying fewer items for a boy is easier than for a girl because everyone wants to dress their very own real life Barbie doll! Here are things I wish I would have known when I was planning things out.
Purchase Less 0-6 Months
I hit up Mom 2 Mom sales and bought anything and everything that was unisex and cheap. I found that I focused more on the smaller sizes and not nearly enough for 6+ months. I guess I didn’t expect him to grow so quickly and I would be able to get more during the next Mom 2 Mom season. WRONG!
Purchase Sleepers Vs Onesies
This suggestion is purely my opinion because sleepers are easy. As a Stay at Home Mom we spend most of the time playing at home and why do I need to get him all dressed up for that? I find that onesies and pants are such a drag unless he is out and about. You have to do more to change his diaper when you can just unzip a sleeper! I am pro anything that makes my life easier.
Purchase Off Season
Do you really think that your baby cares if they are wearing a Halloween outfit in January? Uh no! The picture at the top of this post is my recent Target haul. I spent $50 on everything pictured and it came out to about $3 for each item. I can’t pass up something in his size that is $1.74! If you are worried about dressing your baby in the wrong season then save those clothes for when you are at home.
Garage Sales & Mom 2 Mom Sales
When I was pregnant I took advantage of these types of sales and got some great finds! I even found some onesies for .10 each! Moms seem to be pretty desperate to get rid of all their clothes because they have purchased way too much, need room, are done having kids or need the cash. I always like to go to the sales at the end too because they mark things down and are up for bulk deals. I got a Boon frog bath scoop for $5! Those suckers retail for $35+ in the stores!
Consider Unisex Items
We had a surprise baby and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. There are so many reasons why I didn’t want to find out but the main one was because I wanted unisex items. For some reason when you tell people what you are having they stray from what you actually want and purchase everything in pink or blue. (this is what I have witnessed) Michael and I want a lot of kids and I am not buying new things for each kid just because they are the wrong color. There are plenty of cute things out there in greens and yellows. From what I saw during my pregnancy people don’t even like buying unisex clothing! That was A OK with me because I did not want/need diapers or clothes since I got way better deals than they would have. (except for a few family members)
Buy a Size Bigger
If your baby isn’t drowning in the next size up it would make more sense to me to buy the next size if you can. I should have done my Target haul in 12 months since he is wearing 9 months but 12 months were all sold out. Different outfits fit smaller or larger so you never know until you try them on. You will get more use out of your clothes if you buy the next size up.
Of course these tips are just based on what I experienced during my pregnancy/motherhood but it could give you some ideas when it is time for you to start buying things.
You can also buy from sale sites Like Totsy.
There is also a site called ThredUP where you can purchase used items and sell your items. I am going to write up a post just for ThredUP but you can check it out in the mean time!
