Looking for a guide to minimalist baby clothing essentials? Today. I am sharing my minimalist lifestyle must-haves for baby!
Are you pregnant or know someone who is? Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the clothing out there for your impending baby? Take a deep breath, exhale, and read on to learn what you actually need for your baby, clothing-wise.
My minimalist baby clothes cheat sheet will help you buy only what your baby will need. Because an overstuffed closet helps no one. And stress is the last thing you need as a new mom!
Shopping for Minimalist Baby Clothing Essentials
I remember one of the first things my husband and I did when we found out I was pregnant: picked out a gender-neutral baby outfit to use as a pregnancy announcement for our parents. The looks on our parents’ faces were priceless when they learned they were about to become grandparents.
With my first, we learned we were having a boy at our anatomy scan and definitely left the appointment with a mission. Buy all the cute baby boy clothes. And my goodness, did we ever accomplish our goal. By the time my son was born, I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of baby clothing pieces. Not to mention, we had a full size run from preemie to about 24 months.
My heart broke as I packed away clothing that H never even got to wear; the tags still attached as I placed them into a plastic box that wouldn’t be opened again until he got a sibling.
Two years later, as I was attempting to sort through all the excess baby clothing, it hit me. We had too much. And not only that, but it was a smorgasbord of colors and styles. It was chaos. SO, here’s what I wish I would have bought for baby clothing, and a realistic take on what you really need for your little bundle.
Babies grow SO fast. And it seems like the more you have, the faster and faster it goes. I keep my numbers on the smaller size because I have big chunky babies that get taller and more roly-poly as they get older. These numbers of pieces are a great starting point to build the perfect capsule-like wardrobe for your minimalist baby clothes!
Minimalist Baby Clothing Essentials:
As you may remember, we kept the sex of our rainbow baby a surprise. Because of this, I started with a gender-neutral wardrobe for our baby. Lots of neutrals and basic colors that could work for either sex and be mixed and matched.
You will need: 6 – 8 bodysuits, 6 bottoms, 6 socks, 2 hats. I recommend doing about half and half short sleeve and long sleeve, depending on baby’s birth season. For example, J is a late September baby, so I have 4 long sleeve and 3 short sleeve onesies, 4 pairs of pants, and 2 pairs of shorts in 3-month sizing.
Easy Outfit Sets for Minimalists:
If you’re like me, you’re a busy parent and not always functioning at 100% brain capacity. Carter’s Easy Outfit Sets are the perfect solution for us. With these paired up, made to match two and three-piece sets, just grab and go.
You’ll need: 2 – 4 Easy Outfit sets. These Easy Outfits and Little Collection outfits are perfect for special occasions and dresser outfits as well. This includes having a special outfit for church, birthday parties, dinner celebrations, and more.
Baby Sleep Essentials:
Both of my boys practically lived in their sleepwear for the first month. Baby is practically sleeping all day, and it’s so easy to stay in jammies. For the newborn and 3 month stage, I love sleep gowns. They made sleepy diaper changes a breeze! And I love seeing those sweet little baby toes peeking out from underneath. Sleep and play footie pajamas are also a favorite mom hack – no need for socks that might fall off those tiny feet!
A swaddle and sleep sack are two of my baby necessities – no question. Friendly reminder re: how long can I swaddle baby? You MUST stop swaddling your baby at 8 weeks *or* the first sign of rolling. Whichever comes first!
You’ll need: 2-3 sleep gowns, 6 – 8 sleepers, 2 swaddles, 2 sleep sacks. Numbers-wise, I suggest having more when baby is younger and they’re wearing them more often, less as they get older. The swaddles are great for before baby can roll (about 4 months), and then we switch to the sleep sacks afterwards. I also like to have 2-3 gown sleepers for the newborn and first few months and then switch to the footie sleepers as they get older, and include 2 – 4 mix n’ match pajamas after 9 months.
And there you have it – my minimalist baby clothing essentials. Because when you’re a future or current new parent, the last thing you want to be doing is second-guessing what you’ll really need for your baby.
What is one of your must-haves for baby clothes?
For more tips for new moms, here are some great reads!
Supportive Postpartum Maternal Mental Health Awareness Story
How To Feel More Like Yourself After Pregnancy
The three types of nursing bras you should have
I had totally gone overboard with my first child.. having a list totally helped the second time around! It’s so easy to go overboard when shopping at Carters.. such cute clothes!
Same here! I totally went overboard and it was so sad to see all those cute clothes that were never worn! This time we majorly paired down and with these new goodies from Carter’s, J has the perfect wardrobe!
I wish I could be a minimalist when it comes to baby clothing…. I agree I hate putting clothes away with tags that they never wore!
Ha I totally get that! There are so many cute ones out there!
I love cArtErs! And your babyS HAIR!
Thank you so much Kimberly!
What a great list of what baby needs. This time around i have linited how many pieces of clothing i have for baby. Just so unnecessary to have so much clothing!! Carters has a great selection!
Thanks Kristen! Its so much easier to just have a streamlined closet for baby for sure! 🙂
Such perfect Carters Finds!
I absolutely love Carter’s! Those astronaut jammies are adorable!
Thank you Stefanie! My boys are obsessed with the astronaut ones too 🙂
I wish I could be more like this! I don’t have the will-power :/
It takes time and practice to learn how to have and life with less 🙂 It’s been a big journey for us to work on our shopping habits, ha!
I love this! my son had so much clothes that it was overwhelming. That cactus shirt is seriously the cutest!
We had that problem with our first, too! There are too many cute options out there!
We bought way too much clothes and even though our second was a girl too we still have lots of stuff that even the second one didn’t get to either. It kind of makes me sick to think of all that money wasted- I could have put that in their savings accounts.
Exactly! All the money wasted on things never being worn or barely worn – this way everybody wins 🙂
Really nice clothes. I like it very much
Hi, I have a question, this “6 – 8 bodysuits, 6 bottoms, 6 socks, 2 hats” are per month?
Hi Paola! Each number is for each sizing. So for example, 6-8 bodysuits in size 6m, 6 bottoms in size 6 m, etc. Then 6-8 bodysuits in size 12m, and so on. Let me know if you still have any questions!
Superb…! I like your blog very much, thanks for sharing this all
I’m so glad we barely bought anything for my first before they were born. We had a pack of 7 short sleeved bodysuits and 5 sleepsuits plus 2 sleeping bags.
We were gifted more when our daughter was born, I didn’t need to buy anything until 6 months. Even then, it was a wooly hat and more sleepwear plus a couple of key outfit items because I wanted to give her some clothes from us.
Even at 9 to 12 months, she was given clothes at Christmas that all we need are bodysuits and sleepsuits again. Otherwise, she really doesn’t need. And I’m so glad we’ve kept it minimal. When packing away, even though we didn’t buy, some things were oy worn a couple of times.
It’s well worth waiting until they are born to buy more if you need, with shop opening times these days, you aren’t going to struggle to buy when you really need to.