Choosing the right clothes size for a first time parent-to-be or friend can be daunting. Babies come in all shapes and sizes! To make it even more interesting, brands vary somewhat, so here we talk about what size you want and what you are getting.

When choosing clothes for your baby or for a friend, you need to consider how big your child might be. According to "What to expect the first year", 95% of babies weigh between 5.5 and 10lb, or 2.5 - 4.5kg, with the average baby being 7oz 5lb or 3.4kg. This finding concurs with many others, which put the average weight of a newborn at 3.2 to 3.4kg. So odds are your newborn is likely to fit the newborn or 0000 size, but depending on how large they are that might be only for a few days.

For mothers-to-be it's worth finding out how large you and any siblings were at birth, as your baby may well follow suit. Your height may well indicate the size of your baby too, with smaller women having smaller babies, taller women larger ones. For me, my mother was tall, but had small babies, so I expected to do the same and did. My babies were 2.8kg and 3kg, so they were fine in the 0000 size when born and the 000 size was too large to contemplate for a month or so. Most babies will move into the 000 size within the first month.

As sizes vary from brand to brand, we've started a brand size conversion chart. If you want to add to the list, contact us . For more information on which clothes to buy, see Baby Clothing Essentials .

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