How Many Sleepsuits Does a Newborn Need?
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When preparing your nursery, you’ll need to determine how many of each clothing item your baby will need. Sleepsuits are essentials when it comes to baby clothing, so you may find yourself wondering, “How many sleepsuits will my newborn need?”
Your newborn will need between two and three sleepsuits in a newborn size. However, because babies outgrow clothes quickly, you should also purchase a few larger sizes. Ideally, you should also buy 4-5 sleepsuits in a 0-3 months size so that your little one will always have an option on hand.
In the rest of this article, I’ll walk you through what sleepsuits are, whether your newborn needs a sleepsuit, to begin with, and how many sleepsuits you should buy. I’ll also walk you through factors you should consider when buying sleepsuits.
What Is a Baby Sleepsuit?
Sleepsuits are comfortable, all-in-one pieces of clothing with long sleeves and legs, often with enclosed footies. They are also called baby grows and are practical clothing items that babies can wear to stay snug, cosy, and comfortable while sleeping.
Do Newborns Need Sleepsuits?
Newborns need sleepsuits because it helps keep your babies’ temperatures regulated. Additionally, they ensure your little one is warm and comfortable while in bed, and they allow for easy movement and growth. They’re also easy to change your baby out of in the case of a nighttime accident.
Sleepsuits are especially useful when your baby is sleeping in a crib. The long sleeves and legs keep your baby warm and comfortable. Additionally, because they help regulate your baby’s temperature, you should not need to use loose blankets, which can be hazardous to your newborn’s health and safety.
How Many Sleepsuits Do Newborns Need?
Your newborn will need at least 2-3 sleepsuits to begin with. However, depending on how many accidents your baby has and how often you decide to change her sleepsuit during the day, you may need to buy more. Given how quickly newborns grow, you should also buy a few sleepsuits in a larger size.
Sleepsuits often are sold in multi-packs of three or five. You could purchase one or two packs for your newborn and additionally buy one or two packages in the next size (marked as 0-3 months) to keep on hand as your baby grows and gains weight.
Vests – short- or long-sleeved t-shirts worn as underwear for babies – are also essential for your newborn. Layering vests under the sleepsuits will help keep your baby warm and comfortable at all times.
Factors To Consider When Deciding How Many Sleepsuits To Buy
There are several factors, such as weight, whether the baby is premature, and your lifestyle and social media habits, that can influence how many sleepsuits you should buy.
You may also consider how often you will dress your baby in sleepsuits and how often you expect to need to change her because of accidents.
How Big Your Baby Is
Babies are known to quickly outgrow their clothes as they gain weight and grow rapidly in their first few months of life. Their average weight at birth is between 3.2-3.4 kilograms (or 7-7.5 pounds). Newborn sleepsuits are meant to fit babies that weigh about 3.4 kilograms (7.5 pounds) – that is, the size of the average newborn.
Not all babies are average, however. This chart shows that newborns’ weight can range from 2.4 kilograms to 4.5 kilograms (5.3 pounds to 10 pounds) at birth, meaning that an average sleepsuit may not fit your baby for as long as you expect. If they are larger than average, they will outgrow their newborn sleepsuits rather quickly, while smaller babies will wear their sleepsuits for longer.
Another factor related to your baby’s size that can affect how many sleepsuits you buy is having a premature baby.
If you give birth before the start of your 37th week of pregnancy, this means you have a premature baby. If your little one comes very early and is very small, you will need a preemie sleepsuit to start with and then move up to a regular newborn sleepsuit.
This may change the number of sleepsuits you need to purchase, depending on how fast your doctor says your baby will gain weight.
The hospital can provide your baby with preemie clothing right away, especially if you haven’t already bought any clothes that are small enough to fit. Once you return home, you can take the time to purchase new sleepsuits and other clothes.
Lifestyle and Use of Social Media
Your budget and preferences will have an impact on how many sleepsuits you decide to buy in the first weeks of your baby’s life. If you have a larger budget, you may choose to buy extras or buy all the cute sleepsuits you love.
Additionally, if you’re fond of social media, you may want your baby to have several changes of clothes on hand so that she can match you in photographs.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to cut down on waste as much as possible, you may prefer to keep your sleepsuit purchases to the minimum, especially given how quickly your little one will grow out of them.