Newborn Sleepsuits – Your Baby's First Essential Item of Clothing

The term baby sleepsuit or babygrow is common everyday language for a parent of a new baby. Every parent knows exactly what it is and probably remembers the first time they dressed their little one in that complicated seeming little outfit!

Parents of young babies gradually get used to poppering up from bottom to top, to the point that they can do it in their sleep (literally!) or at least in that dazed newborn baby haze.

So what are Newborn Sleepsuits?

Does my baby need newborn sleepsuits? What are they and what are the options?

Newborn sleepsuits are generally your baby’s first outfit. Made of soft cotton (cotton jersey or interlock), they are comfortable, cosy and very practical. Depending on how quickly your baby grows, they can wear newborn sleepsuits until they are almost 3 months old or maybe they will go straight into size 0-3 months and will never even wear their newborn sleepsuits.

On the other hand, newborn sleepsuits may actually be too big for your baby and you may need a tiny baby size for baby’s first few weeks as all babies are individual and grow at different rates.

The design of a sleepsuit is intended to make nappy changes quick and easy, although it may not seem that way to a new parent. They fasten up using poppers, which can confuse when you are not used to the ‘fastening up’ procedure! Most designs fasten to the neckline and down to the feet, but the trick is to put the feet in first, then the arms, before you start to fasten.

If I put the arms in first, I always found it difficult to get my baby’s long legs into the feet and ended up having to unfasten most of it and start again! Frustrating when you have a wriggly, screaming little individual.

Newborn sleepsuits without feet are available, but would need separate socks or booties to keep little toes warm. Also, my oldest could never keep socks on when he was a baby. He always kicked them off as he was never still!

Another feature newborn sleepsuits have is integrated scratch mittens. Scratch mittens are important for new babies as they can quite easily catch their delicate skin with their nails. New babies can have quite sharp fingernails which can lead to cuts on their face as they move their hands. These soft cotton mittens also aid babies underdeveloped body temperature regulation. Separate scratch mittens are available for most ranges of baby clothes, but can easily fall off or be pulled off by a wriggly baby.

An integrated scratch mitten on newborn sleepsuits is therefore the perfect feature. They are essentially a fold-over mitten, built into the suit instead of a conventional cuff.

Fastening a Baby Sleepsuit

Any article on baby sleepsuits would not be complete without a thorough explanation on the fastening technique. It sounds very complex, but really it is simple ….

• Completely unfasten the sleepsuit and lay out flat with the back of the sleepsuit face down.
• Lay baby on top (ensure baby is clean, has a bodysuit on and is ready to dress!)
• Start at the bottom – ease one leg in and then the other.
• Gather up one sleeve and ease baby’s hand through, then the other.
• Start fastening the first two poppers from the feet up on one side, then the other.
• Fasten the top from the neck down to waist.
• Fasten remaining leg poppers, from bottom up.
• Finally, fasten the remaining poppers under the leg.