Dressing your baby

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• Clothes that are machine washable and don’t need ironing will save you time.
• Babies grow out of clothes very quickly.
• For crawlers, look for durable pants that don’t show grime.
• Babies don’t need shoes until they start walking outdoors.

As your baby becomes more mobile it makes sense to choose clothes that are comfy and don’t restrict movement. Once your baby starts crawling, her clothing will quickly become dirty. Darker colours will not show the dirt as much. While your baby is on all fours, cotton overalls and pants (ideally with padded knees, and buttons at the crotch) that are easy to wash are worth their weight in gold.

In general, look for things that can be thrown in the washing machine and won’t need to be ironed. Also, try to buy clothes that are slightly too large as your baby will get more wear out of them. 

When your baby is learning to walk she’ll find it easier if she has bare feet as often as possible. If it’s really chilly, you can try non-slip socks or soft leather slippers that double as a first pair of shoes. Proper shoes aren’t needed until your baby is going for walks outdoors. When buying shoes, it’s important to have a thorough fitting by a child shoe specialist, as it can be quite difficult to tell if they fit properly. Keep sock sizes up to date as well – if they’re too small they’ll squash toes and make walking uncomfortable.

How to dress baby

As your baby becomes more wriggly it can be a good idea to dress her on the floor or on top of a bed or couch, making sure you keep a hand on her so she doesn’t roll off. Once any baby starts to move or roll it is much safer to place the baby on the floor to dress or change nappies.

As always, put the nappy on first to avoid urine or bowel motions on clothes. Dressing your baby now is likely to be easier than it was in the early days. If she can sit or stand you’ll be able to place things over her head, and you can help her to guide her hands through armholes and sleeves.

Once she reaches the magical age of one, however, she'll be a bundle of energy and she may not want to stay still long enough to put a nappy on, let alone several layers of clothes. And once she’s walking, it's best to have clothes that can be put on and taken off easily.

How to wash clothes

Baby clothes can be washed with the rest of the laundry, but try to avoid strong detergents and fabric softeners as these can irritate your baby’s skin. Soak nappies and clothes soiled with poo in nappy sanitiser before washing. Nappy sanitiser also makes a handy presoak once your baby starts on solids – even with a bib your baby’s clothes will get covered in food or juice.

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