Best Kid's Clothing

If you are a working mom, try to resist the temptation of buying more than one of those cute little wool peacoats, seersucker suits, dainty crinoline-lined party dresses or anything made of silk.  If money is no object, you can ignore my advice, but seriously you will be lucky if your child gets more than one or two wearings out of it.  These days many retailers are starting to come out with cute, stylish, cotton knit, washable wear and that is what I strongly suggest you buy.

With children in daycare or preschool full-time, what you will need are clothes that are comfortable (i.e. can be napped in), machine washable (who wants to spend your weekend or evening handwashing), but are still stylish.

Keep in mind that the clothing needs of your child will change based on naps and the age that they start crawliing or walking.

I try to take advantage of sales by buying clothing in larger sizes for later seasons/years. Keep in mind what size your child will be at the time of year s/he will wear the item, e.g. I was stuck with a thick, 6-12mos size sweater when it was summer time.

For infants:

• Onesies (long sleeve for cooler weather and short sleeve for warmer weather)
  
• Cotton sleepers that zip or snap in the front (footed or not depending on preference)
  
• Sleepsacks (cotton for warmer weather, fleece for cooler weather, preferably organic)
• Sunhat with wide brim
• Cotton knit t-shirts and pants
• Fleece jacket
• Cotton Socks (the stretchier the better)
• Soft soled shoes (I love Pedipeds for my son who has very wide feet)

For Girls (starting at 18 months):

• Cotton jersey dresses
  
• Cotton leggings or cotton jersey pants
  
• Cotton T-shirts (both long and short sleeves)
  
• Fleece jackets
  
• Footless and Footed tights
  
• Stop buying onesies when toddlers start being toilet trained (usually at age 2-2.5)
• Preschoolian shoes are great for kids once they start walking and need shoes with a little more substance to the sole, but still with a little flex - with velcro closure for easy on/off.
  

For Boys (starting at 18 months):

• T-shirts (both long and short sleeves)
  
• Cotton jersey pants
  
• Fleece jackets
  
• Stop buying onesies when toddlers start being toilet trained (usually at age 2-2.5).
• Preschoolian shoes - with velcro closure
  

Favorites Retailers:

$-Inexpensive, $$-Moderately Priced, $$$-Expensive

• Gymboree - $/$$, Good quality, classic and stylish, washable clothing. Great sales; get on their mailing list and receive coupons good for 20-30% off everything. I usually identify in-store items that I adore, and wait until it goes on sale. If you time it right, you can also use a coupon (generally mailed on quarterly) and the item becomes very reasonable. Good for cotton dresses, tops, sweaters, pants and leggings. Make sure that sleeper/pajama arm holes stretch - sometimes the sleeves and body were too tight (but long) for my chubby babies. I imagine they would be great for skinny/long babies.
  
• Pumpkin Patch - $$, Moderately priced, stylish, cotton, washable clothing. Adorable skirts, dresses and leggings. Great colors.
  
• Janie and Jack - $$/$$$, High-end sister store of Gymboree. Really cute stuff, but expensive. Check out sale racks.
  
• Peek...Aren't You Curious! - $$$, hip newcomer. Surfer-style.
  
• The Tea Collection - $$$, hip, great, comfortable cotton jersey knits. Good value as many of their pieces will be favorites with you and your baby.
  
• Mini Boden - $$$, hip clothing.
  
• Hanna Andersson - $$$, Pricey, high-quality, stylish. Cute Fleece jackets, coats.
  
• Lands End - $$, classic clothes. Good sales.
  
• Gap - $$, Good quality, classic and stylish, washable clothes. Cute jeans. In recent years, sales haven't been as good as they used to be.
  
• Old Navy - $, Inexpensive, stylish, washable clothes. Great selection of cotton knits, sleepers, dresses, pants.
  
• Target - $ Inexpensive, durable; great for onesies and sleepers, t-shirts, leggings and swimwear.
  
• The Children's Place - $, Inexpensive. Good for sleepers.
  

First Book Suggestions

6-12 Months

Hug (boardbook)

Where is Baby's Belly Button? (boardbook)

Brown Bear, Brown Bear (boardbook)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (boardbook)

1 year

Wheels on the Bus Pop-Up

2 years

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale

3 Years

Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever

Amazing Adventures of Cow

Madeline

The Lorax

Eloise

Baby's Favorite Solid Foods

6-9 months

Jarred/pureed foods (preferably organic, i.e. "Earth's Best").  My pediatrician suggested we introduce veggies first, then meats, then fruits.  This has seemed to work well for our son, who ate many more veggies than my daughter who only ate sweet potatoes, carrots and winter squash.

• Sweet Potatoes
  
• Carrots
  
• Winter Squash
  
• Anything with chicken, turkey or beef in a base of carrots, squash or sweet potatoes
  
• Peas
  
• Green Beans
  
• Lentils
  
• Summer Vegetables, Garden Vegetables
  
• Apple Sauce (no sugar added)
  
• Mashed bananas
  

Some tricks to try to get the veggies in:

1) Mix some apple sauce in with the veggies.

2) Alternate bites of his favorites foods with a bite of veggies.  

3) Have baby smell one food and sneak in a bite of veggies.

10-12 months

Around 10-11 months, my son stopped wanting to eat most jarred foods.  I tried a brand of frozen pureed foods called Happy Baby, which has been a big hit.  However, he still loves to try finger foods. 

• Toasted bagels cut into small pieces
  
• Small slices of soft cheese
  
• Whole-milk yogurt  (my son's favorite flavors are Trader Joes vanilla and blueberry).
  
• Steamed broccoli (I boil frozen organic broccoli for about 5-6 minutes)
  
• Gerber "stars"
  
• Gerber "wheels"
  
• Puffed Rice or Wheat cakes called "Bahng Toh Ggee" purchased in Korean Food Markets.
  
• Fruit: applesauce, bananas, kiwis, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew.
  

1+ years

• Chicken nuggets
  
• Mac & cheese (Annie's Organic Microwavable are great when you have no time or energy to prepare a meal)
  
• Roast chicken
  
• Cold cuts
  
• Rolled Cold cuts with cream cheese
  
• Potstickers
  
• Meatballs
  
• Pasta with grated parmesan and butter
  
• Steamed Broccoli
  
• Edamame
  
• Cooked Spinach
  
• Rice and Beans
  
• "Burritos" - mashed avocado, ground meat, beans, sour cream, grated cheese and/or tomato served on small slices of tortilla or tortilla chips.
  
• PBJ sandwiches
  
• Fettucine Alfredo
  
• Fettucine with mushroom sauce
  
• Fried Rice
  
• Hard-boiled eggs
  
• Omelets made with cottage cheese, milk or cheese.
  
• cheese sticks (mozzarrella, cheddar, monterey jack or BabyBel)
  
• yogurt
  
• Fruit: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, raspberries, honeydew, clementine oranges, pears, plums...
  
• Bagels
  
• Toast
  
• Raisin toast or raisin english muffins
  

Napping Schedules

Every child has different needs but here is a sample schedule you may want to try and adapt to your child's needs.  The bedtime is often very difficult to adhere to for many office moms.  I feel that the children of my working friends often had bedtimes that were closer to 8p and slowly gravitated later as the children got older.  I would target the 7 or 7:30p bedtime, but if your child goes to bed later, try to make sure that they get good naps in during the day to compensate for the shorter night time sleep.

0-4 Weeks

Generally, newborns will feed every 3-4 hours and wake in between. 

1-5 months

Around the first month, Baby will probably start to nap about 3 times a day for about 60-90 minutes every 2-2.5 hours. Target 3.5 to 4 hours daytime sleep.

Nap #1: 8/8:30a (for ~1 hour)  or ~1.5-2 hours after waking for the day.

Nap #2: 11a (for 90+ min) or ~2 hours after waking from previous nap.  

Nap #3: 3pm (for 60 min) or ~2.5 hours after waking from previous nap. 

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes

5 Months

Nap #1: 8:30a (for ~1 hour)  or ~1.5 to 2 hours after waking for the day.

Nap #2: 11:30a (for 90+ min) or ~2 to 2.5 hours after waking from previous nap.  This nap will progressively start later as her brain matures and baby is able to stay awake for more than 2-3 hours (11:30a - 12p -12:30p -1p)

Nap #3: 3pm (for 60 min) or ~2.5 hours after waking from previous nap. 

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes

6 months

Nap #1: 8:30/9a (for ~1 hour)  or ~2 hours after waking for the day.

Nap #2: 12p (for 90+ min) or ~2 to 2.5 hours after waking from previous nap.  

Nap #3: 3pm (for 60 min) or ~2.5 hours after waking from previous nap. 

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes

 

7-8 months

Nap #1: 8:30/9a (for ~1 hour)  or ~2 hours after waking for the day.

Nap #2: 12p (for 90+ min) or ~2 to 2.5 hours after waking from previous nap. 

Nap #3 will start to disappear.

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes.  Target 12 hours nighttime sleep.

 

9-12 months

Nap #1: 9a (for ~1 hour)  or ~2 hours after waking for the day.

Nap #2: 12:30p (for 90+ min) or ~2.5 hours after waking from previous nap.  

Target 3 hours daytime sleep.

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes

 

12-14 months

Nap #1: starts to disappear

Nap #2: 12:30p (for 2-3 hours)  

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes

 

12-20 months

Nap: 12:30p (for 2-3 hours). Target 2 to 2.5 hours daytime sleep.  

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes

 

10-24 months

Nap: 1:00p (for 2 hours). Target 2 hours daytime sleep.

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes. Target 12 hours nighttime sleep.

 

3-4 years

Nap disappears. If possible, target 1-1.5 hours daytime rest/sleep.

Bedtime: 7p +/- 30 minutes

 

I want re-emphasize that all children and families are different and you should try to follow a schedule that best fits your routine and your child.  My son had a longer first nap and rather than wake him, I usually allowed him to sleep as much as he needed.  If he slept longer than I thought he needed to, I would open the shades, curtains, and door to bring in more light into the room and make a little more ambient noise, so that he would rouse on his own.  There are other schools of thought that you should never wake a sleeping baby, except first thing in the morning, in order to keep to the daily schedule.  Again, do what works best for you.