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How Do I Choose the Best Infant Pajamas?
When choosing the best infant pajamas, it's important to consider safety standards and fit. If pajamas are too small, they can be binding and cause discomfort for the infant, but if they are too loose, they may be a safety hazard. It's better to purchase a few sets of quality, government-approved, brand name infant pajamas than have many different sleeping outfits that don't meet safety standards. In addition to those guidelines, picking different weights of cotton sleepers and baby pajamas to suit the season can help keep your infant sleeping comfortably.
Terry cloth and lightweight cotton are excellent infant pajama fabrics for warmer weather. Cotton fleece and brushed cotton, or flannel, are better choices in colder seasons. Blanket sleepers with a covered foot portion included can help keep your baby warm in winter weather. Yet, babies do tend to grow out of this type of sleeper quickly because of the foot portion, so you may want to choose warm, fleecy infant pajamas without that feature.
Instead, you can simply add socks to fleece pajamas that end at the ankles. Infants shouldn't wear socks in blanket sleepers with feet-covering portions already included. Look for a soft underside in the fleece fabric when choosing blanket sleeper types of infant pajamas.
Buying pajamas for infants at secondhand stores isn't recommended without the knowledge that the garments haven't been recalled due to faulty manufacturing. Buying new, packaged infant pajamas from reliable sources such as established stores that carry brand name manufacturers' baby products is a good idea to help guarantee quality. Always check labels and package information for assurance that the baby pajamas you buy are in keeping with any set government standards for infant sleepwear, such as flame resistance. Do your research before shopping and never be fooled by manufacturers who don't label the products as "sleepwear" but rather as "lounge wear" or another identifier as a way of getting out of having to comply with flame-resistant standards for pajamas.
Having fewer sets of top quality, safe baby pajamas is much better than choosing a large wardrobe of sleepers for your infant. Most likely, your baby will soon need a larger size anyway, and typically you're likely to find yourself washing your infant's laundry quite steadily. It can be a great idea to have at least one or two sets of infant pajamas in the next size your baby will need rather than too many in his or her current size.
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![Lightweight fabrics will keep baby cool during warm months.]()
By: Ana Blazic PavlovicLightweight fabrics will keep baby cool during warm months. -
![Footed pajamas will keep baby warm during the cold winter months.]()
By: Barbara HelgasonFooted pajamas will keep baby warm during the cold winter months. -
![Cotton pajamas of varying weights are a good choice for babies throughout the year.]()
By: Adam BorkowskiCotton pajamas of varying weights are a good choice for babies throughout the year. -
![Pajamas for baby girls are available in many colors with shades of pink, purple, and green among the most popular.]()
By: Sylvie BouchardPajamas for baby girls are available in many colors with shades of pink, purple, and green among the most popular. -
![Two piece pajamas are more common with older babies and toddlers than newborns.]()
By: Pavla ZakovaTwo piece pajamas are more common with older babies and toddlers than newborns.
Discussion Comments
@feruze-- Zip up footie pajamas are pretty comfortable too, but you still have to pull the baby's feet out of it when changing diapers. So you're right that button ups are good in that regard.
Have you tried the fleece infant sleep bag pajamas yet?
Those are great too! The bottom part of it looks like a sleeping bag and it leaves lots of room for the baby to move and wiggle. My daughter loved it when she was a baby. She used to get a better nights sleep and stayed asleep for longer in the sleep bag than the footie pajamas.
@chivebasil-- I agree that cost is an issue because babies grow very quickly like you said. But I don't have any relatives or friends that had a baby recently, so I do have to buy all of my own. I generally buy newborn clothing from outlet stores because they are good quality and more affordable.
The things I look for in baby pajamas is for it to be snap up all the way and made of cotton. I don't care as much about the color or style as much as I am about how my son will wear it. Snap-ups are great because it makes changing diapers very easy.
I also make sure that it is made of cotton and that the fabric feels very soft. I even check the country it was made in because I think that confirms the quality.
@truman12 - I agree that I tend to look at the design first! I love footie pajamas where the feet are animal heads or animal feet.
The article is very cautious of buying infant clothing secondhand, but I think doing anything else is just awfully wasteful. You can easily check for recalls, and I don't think recalls on clothing are all that common.
Another advantage of secondhand clothing is that any chemical residue has been washed out. Some highly "green" parents prefer buying used baby clothing to buying organic cotton. After several washing, it's just as clean as organic, and reuse is always going to have lower environmental impact.
But the article is absolutely right that you should be cautious about *anything* you buy secondhand for a baby. *Always* check for recalls. If you aren't going to be diligent, buy new (and make sure to register your products so you'll be notified). I have seen recalled items, like the Infantino "bag of death" pouch-style baby sling, for sale in high-end resale stores.
I know that there are probably more important concerns for than this, but when I am buying clothes for my friends babies I always think about the design on the cloth. They make so many cute and cool looking baby clothes these days!
I recently got a friend's son a onesie that makes him look like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I got a little girl a pajama top that had a picture of Emily Bronte on it. Its stuff like this that they didn't have when I was a kid and baby clothes were all just canary yellow. I can't resist the urge to dress them up.
One of your biggest concerns for infant pajamas should be cost. As cute and cuddly and built to last as some infant pajamas can be, they are only going to be around for a few months.
As any parent will tell you, babys grow like weeds. Things that fit one week will be way to small the next. So save yourself some money and don't spend a ton on infant pajamas. In all likelihood the baby will only wear them for a few months and then they will have no use.
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