Baby clothes is the only item I did not have on my registry list. When we announced that we were expecting, and especially after we announced that we were having a girl, Bubbe Carrot (Yiddish for grandma/my mom) announced that she will keep Baby Carrot dressed from day one and beyond. Baby C is nearly 17 months old, and Bubbe has stayed true to her word – there are very few pieces of clothing in Baby C’s closet that weren’t bought by Bubbe, and those are usually my inability to resist something cute while I’m wandering around the Gap or H&M.

Baby C was due to arrive in late June – she appeared four weeks earlier than expected, but still a summer baby. Bubbe Carrot bought stacks of short sleeved onesies in every size from newborn to 6 months, a few footie PJs, socks and mittens. And aside from the fact that Baby C was tiny (barely 4 and a half lbs at birth) and didn’t start fitting into non-newborn clothes until she hit 3 months, I realize that while a newborn layette can be hard to plan for, not knowing baby’s size and structure, it’s also something that can be easily accomplished with just a few key items. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the following for Baby C’s starter closet:


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1) A few onesies in newborn and 0-3 sizes. And by “a few,” I really mean, 3-5 of each size, max. I recommend starting with Carter’s bodysuit sets like these, for warm weather babies and cold weather babies alike. The reason I recommend such a small number is because sets like these can easily be ordered online once baby arrives, at which point you can determine what size you need. We ended up having a ton of gorgeous onesies we never used because Baby C needed small sizes (preemie and newborn) throughout her first three months, and then we switched to long sleeves when seasons changed and anything above a 3-6 went unused.

2) Pants. I am one of the few people in the world (maybe the only one in the world) that really doesn’t like the “onesie only” look. To each their own, of course – I completely understand the efficiency of having a baby in just a onesie – but especially once we started venturing outdoors, I couldn’t bring Baby C out without putting pants on her; it just didn’t feel right. Old Navy, H&M and Carter’s make great leggings and light pants for babies that are easy to mix and match with bodysuits.

3) Rompers/Jumpsuits. I didn’t discover the beauty that is rompers until Baby C was 6 months old, when a friend sent us a hand-me down romper from her daughter. It was nearly Christmas by then, and we were spending a lot of time indoors, and for those days I didn’t want to go through the hassle of putting a full outfit on the kiddo, just like I wouldn’t for myself (yay, yoga pants!). Rompers turned out to be the perfect answer, and I went on a bit of a buying spree to outfit Baby C with a variety. It occurred to me that these would have been perfect to have in the newborn stage – they’re easy to put on, they come in light and heavy fabrics depending on season, you can leave the feet bare in the summer or put socks on in the winter, they’re easy to wear because there are no bands pressing on the belly, especially for newborns that may have tenderness due to gas and developing digestion issues, and most of all, the rompers are just super cute. Some of my favorites include Sweet Peanut brand rompers, which come in a ton of very fun patterns, and they’re very warm for colder months; Old Navy, whose offerings change seasonally and there’s always a great pattern to be found; and Amy Coe, which makes a fun, fashionable line for babies.

4) Socks and mittens. Tiny baby socks are the cutest thing in the world, and it’s definitely useful to have at least a few pairs to start with, especially for cold weather babies. My toddler is still wearing the socks we started with, even though her foot has grown significantly in the last year and a half, because they stretch and don’t get a lot of wear and tear until the kiddos really begin to move around.

I also recommend getting a set or two of mittens – Gerber has 3-packs of cute patterns. Whether you use them or not is going to depend entirely on the baby. Although Baby C was a pretty active baby that loved to flail her arms, bring her hands to her face and move around, she never scratched herself, and we never saw the need to use mittens on her. Others swear that these are a must for the first few months, so add it to the registry just in case and see what baby does.

This is basically all that I would have on my layette registry if I were doing it all over again. Although they’re incredibly cute, I recommend skipping dresses, skirts, shoes, and outerwear beyond a basic hoodie for newborns. Dresses and skirts seem like an unnecessary hassle when the kiddos are still tiny, and they’re likely to be covered up by bibs anyway; shoes are just plain not necessary until they start walking, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics; and since most kiddos spend a lot of time in their car seats and carriers until they become fully mobile, it’s easy enough to throw a warm blanket over them in the colder months, so a warm hoodie is plenty for colder weather when they’re little. Since puffy jackets and thick snowsuits are a no-no for car seats anyway, layers are always a good way to go, even as the kiddos get older.

The organized closet, pre-baby.

Are there any other items you found to be must-have’s for a newborn layette?