Ok, so I might be eating my words a little bit today… Despite being on my big high horse about how much I want a baby to look like a baby and rompers/ one-pieces are the best, etc. etc. etc., I had never actually spent all that much time actually looking at my other options… Outside of smocked/monogrammed dresses (which I LOVE and plan to dress my little girl in for every special occasion until she’s 18), I really didn’t consider dresses a great option.  Until, that is, I took one look at the Baby Gap website and fell head over heels for the dress + leggings/ tights/diaper cover look on a little one… And, since I’d pretty much wear any one of these dresses in a heartbeat myself, I guess I’m totally going to break my (self-imposed) rule about not dressing a baby like a grown-up sooner rather than later…

I mean, just look at this stuff…

And these from Mini Boden…

I can hardly stand the adorableness!!! Clearly, I’m going to need to win the lottery pronto!

(Of course, I still have some standards… Like no ruffles, tulle, sequins, etc.  But, then again, I should probably never say never…)

Where do you buy dresses for your littlest girls?  Also, are tights uncomfortable for babies? Are they the biggest pain ever for diaper changes? What about leggings?  Next week, let’s talk about baby shoes… What do you think?

E

P.S.

Don’t forget TOMORROW is the kick-off of the Mid-Month Confessions Blog Hop hosted every month here and at Notes from the Nelsens.  I’m so excited and hope lots of you will join in and share your not-so-finest moments with the rest of us imperfect goons!  Get all the details and grab the button right here and start working on your post to link up tomorrow morning at 8AM.  (Also, if you missed my interview with/introduction to Heather last week, check it out here.)

These days, I’m really not much of a fashionista myself – I’m too busy trying to keep my belly covered and figuring out a way to appropriately wear pajama pants to work.  So, for the next few weeks, I’m going to be sharing some of my favorite styles for a BABY GIRL… I apologize in advance if these posts present a dangerous situation for your wallet (or your ovaries). 😉

Those of you that have been reading since Sam was born probably remember how picky I am about dressing my babies.  I have very strict rules, if you will, like “no jeans until one,” “no characters,” “no tacky sayings,” etc.  These rules, of course, get a little harder to follow as babies become kids; but, for the most part, they are pretty hard and fast when it comes to the clothes I buy for the first year or so. (Honest to goodness, I really do not go around judging other moms who don’t have the same guidelines – who has time for that when you have a baby? – it’s just my personal preference.)

This time around, I’m so excited to get to dress a little girl; but, of course, that presents its own new set of challenges.  I’m not a fan of tulle, excessive ruffles, too much pink, princesses, etc. I just want my baby to be cozy, cuddly, comfortable, and ADORABLE.  Is that too much to ask? 

Luckily, thanks to a very extensive online search over the holidays, I’ve found a few places that meet my “criteria,” and I’m excited to get started collecting some cute things for our girl…

My absolute favorite thing to dress young babies (0 – 6 months) in is a one-piece romper.

Here are a few of my favorites at Nordstrom right now:

(All items shown are for sale at Nordstrom.com.  Brands include Hanna Anderson, SkipHop, Zebi Baby, Hatley, and Tea Collection. I also love Baby Gap, JCrew Baby, Mini Boden, Hanna Andersson, and some Old Navy, Target, and Carters.)

And a few things I look for when shopping:

– I want my items to be well-made, but not expensive.  Especially the smaller sizes will only be worn a couple of times – at most – and often the only people that will see the outfit are our family and strangers at Target.  For this reason, I will probably never own most the items shown above… Instead, I love shopping consignment sales and clearance and am SO grateful for generous friends and family.

– Easy access for diaper changes etc. is important.  Even almost four years out, I remember the newborn stage well enough to recall the frequency of diaper changes in those early months.  Being able to change a baby without taking off her entire outfit is KEY.  Honestly, zippers are preferable – they make things so easy and quick – but snaps are fine too.  The best outfits snap or zip all the way up, but sometimes I will make an exception in the name of style and buy a piece with snaps only on the legs.

– I will dress my baby is footies and footless rompers; but, in general, I think the footless styles feel a little more like an outfit and less like pajamas.  Of course, this baby will be born in a colder month than Sam was, so maybe my opinion will change here.  We’ll see.

– Footless feels a little more “outfit” and a little less “pajama” – but I love the feet for very tiny babies

– Finally, I’m not opposed to pink, but I really just love fun, bold patterns (like the polar bears, geese, goats, and bunnies above) most of all.  You really can only get away with wearing this sort of thing for so long, so why not live it up?!

Alrighty, that’s all for today…  How do you dress your baby girl?  Where do you shop mostly?

Stay warm today!

E

*Post contains no affiliate links.

P.S. Want to know what Sam wears?  Check out this post or this one.

P.S.S. Since writing this post, I have discovered that Hanna Andersson is having their big twice a year sale… All of the outfits on the top row of my image are on sale for $24.00 or less right now at www.hannaandersson.com.  🙂