MiniMagpie Sleepwear.

AHA!  Two-post Thursday is BACK this week, this time focused on sleepwear for an infant!

This is going to come as a surprise in light of how much thought I’ve given to mini’s wardrobe, but I actually had a kind of hard time figuring out what the hell to dress minimagpie in after she was born.

It was cold out, I was changing her diaper what felt like every five minutes, and she was so darn teeny that she barely fit into any of the clothes I’d bought her.  All of the precious dresses and rompers and bubbles I’d found for her (especially with their tiny buttons down the back) were just plain impractical.  Plus, did I mention that it was cold out???  I didn’t want to dress her in anything but layered, cozy, cotton knits.

So, on most days, I tended to dress her in a pair of infant leggings with a patterned onesie.  I loved Gap’s pieces for this reason (she owns, for example this set of onesies and coordinating leggings), especially when she was really teeny tiny and I was relieved to find her these sets in an “under 7 lbs” size.  (Their size 0-3M is GINORMOUS.  I swear her teddy bear sweater could fit a toddler.)  I also leaned heavily on a few impractical cashmere sweatsuits I’d found at Zara, some inexpensive Gerber onesies (they run super small, but are so great to have for layering), and some cuter printed onesies from Sapling and some adorable Sapling leggings.  There were the occasional special events and holidays where I’d put her in cuter dresses and so forth, but I genuinely felt guilty exposing her to all that cool air and tended to cover her up with blankets and swaddles anyway.

So, cotton leggings and onesies it was.

I also realized I’d woefully underbought in the nightwear category.  Even though mini has no idea what time of day it is, I always change her into fresh jammies and get her a fresh swaddle around 7 pm at night, often after giving her a bath (though, I learned you aren’t supposed to give a newborn baths too often or you dry out their precious little skin).

{A very, very young mini — maybe 2 weeks??  She has filled out so much since this photo!  She’s wearing this Monica + Andy sleepsack.}

My favorite brands for sleepwear have been…

+Sapling (especially this style, which zips right down the front…ahhh, the best!  The snaps on so many baby jams are doable but frustrating when you have a wailing babe on your hands!  There have been multiple occasions where I just give up on snapping so I can feed her and then dress her afterwards.) She owns both of the prints shown below, as well as this snap-laden version in the yellow galaxy bear print.

+Hanna Andersson.  At the suggestion of my girlfriend and pro mama S., I looked into Hanna Andersson, who sells their baby jams by LENGTH as opposed to age.  Brilliant, since mini is actually pretty tall for her age!  (I’m guessing she’s going to tower over me and my 5 foot stature some day.  Good for her.)  My friend also underscored that their pieces are incredibly high quality and have lasted a long, long time and infinite washings.  Mini now owns a bunch of different prints, but my favorites are the two prints shown below, and available here for $30 a piece.

+Kissy Kissy.  Mini came home in a pair of bunny-print pajamas from Kissy Kissy similar to these ($33). They are so dear to me because they are the first thing I put her in of my choosing.  And she was swimming in them.  And now they’re just about too small for her, but I keep putting her in them.  Wah.  I’ve always been sentimental, but becoming a mom has really pushed me over the edge.  I may or may not have sobbed every time I’ve sat down to update her baby book.

+Gerber Baby.  My saintly mother marched down the street from our hospital to the nearby Bloomingdale’s (I delivered at Prentice, which is right smack dab in the middle of the Mag Mile) and picked up several sets of newborn-sized pajamas after mini was born and was so teeny tiny and I told my mom I basically only had size 0-3 pieces.  A few of them were by Gerber, and I found that were well-made–a slightly heavier cotton than a lot of the other brands above–and that they got really soft as I washed them over and over.  Bonus points for affordability!  I can’t find the pairs my mom bought mini, but they were really cute prints, too–navy and white polka dots on one and florals on another.  The two-pack below is a cool $15!

But also, I found these two-piece sets from Gerber for when she’s a little older, and they’re only $11 a set!  They’re apparently “for boys” but I am totally outfitting mini in these.  I love their simple, chic prints — that striped beige situation is sorta yeezy season 3, eh?!

+Monica + Andy.  I loveee the cute and funky prints of this Chicago-based infant clothier.  They have an adorable boutique back in my old neighborhood, Lincoln Park.  I bought mini this precious cherry print sleep sack ($28), although I also love the kimono style jams in the same print ($26), and this strawberry print one-piece is pretty damn cute, too ($32).  (HA, it’s occurring to me that this is the fruit print trend for minis!)

+Beaufort Bonnet Company.  I bought mini this gorgeous “debut” sleepsack and coordinating hat ($48) with her monogram large and proud on the front and it’s absolutely darling on her.  I also bought her a few pairs of night-nights that haven’t yet arrived.  How sweet is this style?!  

p.s. I haven’t yet ordered anything from them, but I like th designs from brand Papallou, especially this checked style.

ALSO: my mom gave minimagpie these darling lamb slippers on her last visit.  I can’t even.  Too cute for words.