where i can find some nice newborn clothing

[Bloom]

I really like the mothercare range - not sure if they have a store in melbourne but they are on the web. Great quality will last you through several children, if you are planning more!

[Pandora]

Mothercare has a store in Maribyrnong, west of Melbourne

[Gigi]

If you are interested in going organic, BlessedEarth has a good sale on right now, on organic cotton nb baby clothing. Their shipping rate is very low too. They;re an australian site, so just the usual com.au at the end of the name.

Whatever you buy in shops for your nb, i'd suggest keeping the pricetags on, until just before you use it.
The tiny sizes - sometimes you don't end up using them - cos you don't really know what size clothing your baby is, until baby is earthside and you can try it on them. So if you buy tiny stuff that they can't fit into (0000 etc), if you still have the tag on, you can exchange or refund. No tags means you're stuck with brand new stuff your child won't be wearing.

SOmetimes the seasons don't work. You have clothing for a certain season, but by the time your child fits it, it's a different season.

So for many reasons, be cautious with removing the tags. You might have a number of things in one size. Take the tags off ONE of those, wash, put on baby - if that is a winner (that size), THEN take off all the other tags of those same sized things.

baby shops are used to people exchanging stuff because of the above reasons. it's a bit tricky, to buy for someone you've never met, when you're not sure what size they will be (when you're pregnant). But so much fun to nest and get ready for your baby to be.

Look at the clothing for MORE than the cute factor. You'll be undressing and dressing your baby very often, so the easier that is (front closures) and closures that are easy, (not fiddly) to open and close, makes your life a bit easier. Sometimes you'll be doing this in the dark, when you're very sleep deprived, so the easier it is, the better. i found anything with back closures, zips, tiny buttons, to be a pain in the butt. Snaps and front closures were alot easier. Generous necklines, or more forgiving necklines like poloshirts, shoulder openings to extend neckline when you're putting them on baby.

hope your pregnancy and labour go well, best of luck.

[njon2]

My sisters and I went crazy buying the cutest outfits for DD before she was born. After the birth realized how unpractical they are.

I ended up buying 10 bonds wondersuits in 0000 which lasted for 1 month, and 12 in 000. I got them from big w as they have a twin pack for $17. I prefer the bonds brand as they have a decent 4-way stretch that other bodysuits don't.

I find that they really are the most practical outfit for the first few months but that hasn't stopped me putting her into cute outfits every now and again.

[Cassius2]

also, i LOVE the purebaby outlet store in collingwood. i have bought some lovely clothes there for $5 a pop. gone there for both the girls and the clothes are cute to boot!

[emc2]

If you're after cute clothes, eBay is fantastic, you can get all the designer brands on there. Old Pumpkin Patch is better quality than what they're churning out now.

But you don't need many clothes with a newborn, you want heaps of jumpsuits, so Wondersuits are great.

I have just been bidding on lots of bulk eBay lots, and I've been very lucky, there's been sleeping bags and all kinds of things in some lots of clothes. A lot of the bulk lots have had the more upmarket labels than what I could buy.

Once he gets to a size 1 I think I will find clothes more expensive. I plan on getting larger jumpsuits from overseas - in the UK they dress babies in them for much longer, and it's just a matter of googling somewhere that has them at a good price or on a clearance (end of seasons). I imagine that would work well for buying clothes from overseas as their seasons are ending, ours are starting.