5 Types of Baby Clothes to Never Gift at a Baby Shower

Baby clothing is understandably a popular and favorite baby gift-- everything is so wonderfully soft and little! Plus, what new parent doesn’t need more baby clothing given how quickly newborns seem to outgrow onesies and how frequently they need to be changed after a spit-up or blowout?

While we always recommend giving something from the soon-to-be parents’ baby registry, there are times when you come across an adorable baby set (always with a little hat with ears!) that you just cannot resist buying for the little bébé. 

But, before you hit Checkout on that pair of baby overalls, here are some pointers on newborn clothing to not give expecting parents...

1. Dry-Clean Only Clothing

I feel like this should go without saying, but giving a newborn dry-clean only jumpers and overalls is a huge inconvenience for the parents who already have a lot (read: a new baby) on their plate. Newborn parents barely have time to shower let alone run a teeny-tiny set of bloomers to the dry cleaners. So give the new parents a more practical gift: a pack of cotton onesies that they can throw into the washer without a second thought.

If you really can’t resist an ultrasoft knit sweater for the little bundle (which I understand), recognize that it may only be worn for a photo opp before it is spit-up upon and then unceremoniously removed from the baby’s wardrobe.

2. Onesies or Clothing for More than 6 Months Out

Newborns grow at vastly different rates with some babies chunking out quickly and others more slowly, so having different sized onesies (for about newborn to 3 months old) is very handy for new parents.

But gifting a newborn baby clothing designed for a six-month-old may actually be an inconvenience. Between the seasonality of clothing and the unpredictability of the baby’s size at a future date, the size 6M snowsuit may just wind up taking up precious storage space. It’s more likely that the bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived parents will store the snowsuit in the closet until the winter, but forget they even have it until they go to store the snowsuit they wound up buying themselves. 

If you want to gift clothing for when the baby is older and pace out gifts a little bit, send a congratulatory card with a note (or handmade gift certificate) that you’ll send a winter jacket come October or November.

3. “Cutesy” T-Shirts with Ridiculous Phrases

So let me preface this with: Personally, I am not a fan of baby clothing emblazoned with absurd quips like, “Mommy is way more fun now that she can drink again.” And obviously, there are parents who will get a kick out of a onesie that says, “I’m not just milk drunk, I’m tit-faced.” 

But I would strongly recommend that, before you buy the itty-bitty t-shirt with, “Don’t look at me, that smell is coming from my dad,” to do a quick scan of the parents’ baby clothing registry and find styles in a similar vein. (If they didn’t build a registry, consider what the baby’s parents typically wear themselves.) You’ll be able to pick up pretty quickly on whether they want neutral Earth tones or sprightly floral patterns or silly donut prints.

4. A Swaddle That Isn’t On the Registry

Swaddles are a great gift and essential for newborns. But countless expecting parents have told me, “We’re good on swaddles. We have a dozen already.” I don’t know how or why parents wind up with so many extra swaddles, but they somehow inevitably do... 

So, if you see no remaining swaddles on the registry but still want to give them a swaddle that helped your newborn sleep peacefully, double-check with the parents-to-be.

5. Unsolicited Hand-Me-Downs

Hand-me-down clothing is a Godsend for new parents, so we always recommend passing along the clothing that your little one has outgrown that is still in good condition. What you don’t want to do is dump an IKEA bag’s worth of clothing off without warning and saddle the expecting parents with unusable clothing.

Instead offer the clothing with a brief description of what it includes, “It’s summer boy’s clothing, probably age 3-6 months: swim trunks, t-shirts, and a sun hat,” before hauling it to the new parent’s house. If they seem interested, double-check each item to ensure it’s clean and not overly worn. And when you drop it off, tell them to take whatever they’d like; don’t hang around to sort through it with them. If they politely decline, leave it at that and consider donating the clothing instead.