Sponsored Link: Personalized Children's Books

Long Live Our Baby Clothes

Having a baby is expensive enough without the constant replacement of baby clothes which the baby has outgraon. As any mother with a young child will tell you, babies grow very quickly; too quickly. Therefore for new mothers, getting the most out of baby clothes is of the great importance. So what do you do when your baby's onesies just don't quite fit anymore?

How do you get an extra month of wear out of those jeans that are now a little too short for the winter months? here are a few ideas for you:

One of the great thing about onesies, is that they're a very workable cotton fabric, and there really isn't any hemming necessary to turn a couple of onesies that fit at four months into a couple of shirts that fit at six months. Simply cut them off right at the leg holes, and gently pull the material around the edges so that it rolls a tiny bit. This way there are no exposed threads for baby to pull at or chew on. The same can apply to footsie pyjamas. By simply cutting off the feet, you can easily get another month's wear out of the sleepwear.

Next, adding extra buttons to overalls or snappy shirts makes them naturally grow with your child. Perhaps one of the best investments a new mother can make is in a mid-priced sewing machine. This makes alterations and additions easy, and will have the added bonus of giving you a new hobby for when your baby sleeps.

Once you have mastered some basic sewing talents, things like adding extra material to the bottom of a dress or skirt can be done in a few minutes. Similarly with letting out the hem of a pair of jeans or overalls. You can help yourself when buying baby clothes initially, by choosing clothes that are mid-priced, made of a cotton material, and with a lot of elastic and snaps. This really does make alterations and transitions that much easier.

Shoes will always be something of a problem, but if you buy canvas sneakers in the spring, you may be able to convert them into a mule for summer wear, as long as the baby is not walking yet.

Buying socks without built in heels is helpful, that way the baby can grow a little bit longer in the socks. Also, even though socks with ducks and elephants are cute, sticking to a plain color can help extend the life of individual socks if one gets lost. In the summer, grey or white socks are less likely to irritate a sweaty baby's sensitive skin because they do not contain dyes.

Think of ways that you could recycle your baby clothes. For example, things like first outfits and special occasion’s clothes can be put into a special chest to pass on to your child for when they have children of their own. or, to save for your next child. If any item is beyond use, you can always relegate it to a cleaning cloth for your baby to sue when it wants to help you as it gets mobile.

For the most part, making baby clothes last, laundering aside, is about ingenuity and personality. It helps enormously if you can learn the basics of stitching and hemming, and let you can let the designer in you shine through!