Clothes shopping, anyone?

You know that sense of panic you get when a special occasion comes up and you have nothing appropriate to wear?

Amplify that feeling by a gazillion times, and you might start to understand what Baby Clothes Shopping is like.

Babies are pretty difficult to buy clothes for as it is.  I decided to make my life even more difficult by opting not to find out Creature's gender until the big day.  AND! S/he is due at the beginning of February.  Meaning... I need to have gender-neutral winter clothes for the age of 0-3 months.  Do you have any idea how difficult that is?

Now, the issue is this - there is no knowing how big the baby might be at birth.  Nor when s/he actually will be born.  Thankfully, in my case, even if s/he is born before the 40 week mark, it'll still be Winter.  Imagine the difficulty people face if their baby is due in September [like I was] and s/he decides to arrive early! It would demand a completely different wardrobe, according to the weather in Malta.

My word of advice is this: get as few Newborn sized clothes as possible as there is a big chance that Baby will be too big at birth for them anyway.  And always get a variety in sizes - enough to get you started in 0-3 months, and some clothes in 3-6 months as well. 

The reason? Babies grow up fast. Real fast.

Oh, and do your bank account a favour and stay away from designer labels and from shoes.  Shoes for children under the age of 1 exist only to frustrate the parent whenever Baby decides to kick it off whilst  Parent is pushing the pushchair in a crowded place whilst trying to multitask with other stuff.

Whenever possible, go for 2nd hand clothing in good condition.  And never turn down free hand-me-downs from family/friends.  Your finances will thank you in the long run. 

Speaking of which...