Baby and Toddler Clothing Shopping 101

I had no idea there were so many tricks to building a functional and adorable baby/toddler wardrobes! With my son I had no idea what I was doing, but I've learned some valuable lessons throughout the past 2 years. 

• Do NOT buy just shirts and pants randomly, but create outfits! If I just bought items I liked that didn't necessarily go together, I ended up with a hudge-podge and nothing cute for him to wear.
• It's important to be mindful of the season and size when purchasing clothing. (My son arrived in the fall and I live in a cold climate so I preferred long-sleeved onsies, but all of the onesies that I had purchased were short-sleeved.)
• Pajamas: Zippers are your friend and 5,358,985 snaps at 1:00am are part of you worst nightmare that you thought you'd been awakened from. Also fleece pajamas were brilliant for us. We live in a cold climate so it was comforting to know my baby wasn't freezing or potentially being strangled by a blanket. Due to cold temperatures I definitely prefer pajammas with footies because socks never stay on at night and cold feet is a quick way to wake a sleeping baby.
• Not all brands are sized the same. You'll learn through a bit of trial and error and as your Little's body grows and changes. My son has always had narrow hips, so some brands that made wider clothing never fit right.
• I like very plain socks so I don't feel obligated to try to make them match. Yes there are many cute ones out there, but that's to complicated for my life. Bonus points if the size is on the socks so it's easy to keep the same sizes together.
• It didn't occur to me until after we had our son and I was pregnant with our daughter- go gender neutral when you can! A lot of clothing can be gender neutral, but it's especially wise for winter gear and other big ticket items.
• Hang outfits together on a hanger so it's easy to grab and go and you're not trying to put something together on the fly.

Newborn Notes:

• Jackets are cute, but be mindful of rough zippers that can scratch a newborns fragile soft skin. My son didn't really wear zip up sweaters until 9 months. Also jeans are cute, but less snuggly and cozy, so when your Little starts walking around 12 months they make more sense.
• Pants with footies are amazing for newborns because socks falling off is a constant battle that you don't need on your life.