Baby Clothes - First Clothes For Baby - Newborn Essentials

When you are expecting a new baby, one of the nicest - but most confusing - events is buying newborn baby clothing.

Like parents all over the world, you may have spent months planning for the new arrival, making sure that you have tried to buy your baby the best of everything. By the time you have bought those newborn baby essentials such as a car seat, cot or bassinet and baby bath, you may be puzzling over exactly which clothes your new baby may need.

Hopefully, the new arrival will, of course, get some new baby gifts, but there are some infant clothing essentials you won’t want to leave to chance!

Firstly, you need to consider practical issues. Babies get through many changes of clothing in the first few months. Getting clothes stained with milk (or worse!) will happen every day, so it’s best to not indulge in expensive designer clothing, apart from the odd fun outfit, until your little one is older.

Prioritise clothes and accessories which are practical as well as cool to look at and you will save yourself a lot of hassle in the first few months of your new baby’s life.

As a mum, I can recommend four "must-haves". These are all baby items which I myself,, couldn't do without for those first few weeks.

Rompers - For ease of dressing nothing beats a rompersuit! They’re also known by lots of different names - rompers, rompersuits, playsuits, daysuits, onesies, babygros, babygrows. Choose a romper with lap (envelope) shoulders for easy dressing and in a cool print (for interest), if you can!

Inside-leg poppers are great as it means you can dress baby quickly and if you choose the footless type, they last that little bit longer than babygros with feet. As baby gets older, you might like to avoid dressing your baby in rompers which fasten across the front - a toddler quickly learns that they can unfasten the poppers!

Baby Hats - Even if your little one arrives with a full head of hair (!) every newborn baby needs a baby hat to keep their little noggin warm. Beanie styles look cute on both baby boys and girls.

Nightgowns - A baby sleepgown is essential for at least the first six month. This is because they keep your baby snug and warm but also provide easy nappy access for night time changes. It’s a good idea to check the nightgown length - buy one just a little bit longer than other brands and it should last until your baby is between 6-9 months.

Baby Blankets - A cotton baby blanket is a truly versatile buy - for both the early months and beyond. Make sure that you buy a large baby blanket of at least one metre square. A larger than normal baby blanket means that you can use it at night, as a pram or buggy blanket, or during the day as a play mat. That way you get lots of use out of your baby blanket before you even think about the times you use it as an extra wrap or baby comforter.

Once you’ve chosen your newborn baby clothing, you need to think about what it is made from. A newborn baby’s skin is incredibly soft and delicate. A newborn has spent the last 9 months enveloped in a protective environment. Their skin has not yet been exposed to the wind or sun, so you need to make sure that it is irritated as little as possible.

That’s why I would always recommend buying organic cotton. Organic cotton clothing is made from cotton grown without pesticides or chemical insecticides. It is also made from cotton plants which have not been genetically modified.

Organic cotton is best for clothing for environmental and humanitarian reasons, as well as for your baby's sensitive skin. So you are not only doing the best thing for baby, but best for the planet too.

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Choose organic cotton for your baby

Organic baby clothes are made from cotton grown without pesticides or chemical insecticides. It is also made from cotton plants which have not been genetically modified.

I believe that organic cotton is best for clothing for environmental and humanitarian reasons and I also believe organic cotton clothing is best for a child's sensitive skin.

When cotton is produced, more chemicals are used per unit area than any other crop - accounting for 16% of the world's pesticides ("Picking Cotton Carefully,” Institute of Science in Society, March 2007).

These harmful chemicals cause water and air pollution, polluting the land, killing plants and animals, and causing illness and even death for farmers and workers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 20,000 deaths occur in developing countries each year from poisoning by agricultural pesticides used on crops, of which many, due to their relative toxicity, can be attributed to cotton. In Benin in West Africa, 24 people died as a result of poisoning from cotton pesticides in 2000 – this included 11 children under the age of 10. (Information from The Soil Association)

Growing organic cotton without chemicals means that not only is it safer for the farmers and workers who grow and harvest the crops but the land is not damaged by over use of chemicals and the farming is more sustainable in the long term.

Organic farming uses crop rotation on the farmland and natural fertilisers instead of chemicals and artificial fertilizers. Biological pest control (using one species to eat the species destroying the crop), is used instead of harmful chemical alternatives.

As well as being better for the environment, organic cotton is often bought directly from the farmer or a local co-operative. This means a fairer deal and more income from the crop for those who farm it.

It’s frightening but around 150 grams of pesticides and fertilisers are used to grow the cotton for just one T-shirt – this is the equivalent of a cup of sugar (Soil Association).

But when you chose to buy organic cotton clothing you are helping to reduce this chemical cocktail on our planet.

In addition to the environmental and health benefits of choosing organic cotton there is also the fact that it feels so much nicer next to your skin. The cotton fibres are longer and you can feel the luxurious quality.