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Baby's Layette Series

Your Baby's Layette
by Lisa A. Flam

After coming home from the hospital with a healthy and happy baby, there may be no better feeling than knowing everything you'll need for Baby's first few months is right at your fingertips. To avoid mad dashes to the store during Baby's first hours and days at home, many mothers-to-be choose a layette while they're still pregnant. That way, everything new parents will need for their child -- from playtime to bathtime to bedtime -- has already been selected. "A baby is born with nothing, so you have to outfit them with everything they need to come into the world,'' says Marion Tarnofsky, owner of the Manhattan baby boutique LaLayette ET Plus.

For parents, a layette provides the security of knowing that all the necessities have already been stashed away before the baby arrives. "Your things are already washed, they're in your drawers and you're totally organized,'' says Marianne Lee, a New York City mother of two boys. "Once you get home, there's no organization in your life. It's definitely helpful because for the first few months, the last thing you want to do is shop."

For parents, a layette provides
the security of knowing that
all the necessities have already been stashed away before the baby arrives.

At some stores, mothers-to-be choose their baby's first items of clothing and bedding and buy them on the spot. Women who know the gender of their baby can buy accordingly. Women who don't tend to buy everything in neutrals: white, yellow and pale green. At other stores, a future mom can choose complete layettes for both a boy and a girl, which the store will then set aside for the rest of her pregnancy. When her child is born, a relative or friend notifies the store if she had a boy or a girl and picks up the appropriate layette. Stores that provide this service require anything from a deposit to full payment for both layettes. (The unneeded layette is returned for a refund.) Every store has its own recommendations on what you should buy. Women sometimes say they found that stores recommended too many of a particular item. While this may be true for some, be mindful of how often you will be able to do the laundry when making your selections.

For the basic layette, excluding seasonal items, stores generally recommend:

Layette:

  • four to six undershirts
  • four to six sleeping gowns
  • four to six onesies
  • four to six stretchies

  • four to six hooded towels
  • four to six wash clothes

  • four to six bibs
  • three to four booties
  • four to six pairs of socks
  • one to two sweaters or sweatshirt

  • one going home outfit
  • one outfit for a Christening/bris or naming

  • four to six receiving blankets
  • one dozen cloth diapers
  • two packages of disposable diapers (size newborn and size one)
For the crib:
  • bumpers
  • dust ruffle
  • three to six crib sheets
  • two to four quilted mattress pads
  • two to four crib blankets
  • waterproof pads

Jill Vella, a New York mom of two boys, was ready for her children, choosing a layette with her sister. "It was fun to pick it out and have it ahead of time,'' she says. "We were prepared.'' Other moms don't worry so much and play it by ear, relying on gifts and items passed down from other moms. Lyn Callan didn't buy a layette before her son was born in December. She got lots of gifts at a surprise shower as well as hand-me-downs from a family she used to baby-sit for. "It's expensive and frankly it's not worth it because you use those things for such a brief period,'' she says. "We panicked a bit on a few items, but I honestly can't remember what they were. I like to rough it and get by.''

About the Author: Lisa A. Flam is a journalist living in New York.

Other articles in the series:
Tips for Buying a Layette Your Baby's Layette
Baby's First Months: Surviving the Seasons

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