Growing Up Baby

Kids clothes and baby clothes; where can you really get your money's worth? Where can you go and not spend a fortune? As a first time mom I've put together some of the places that I've found great deals and will share them with you here.

Among the regular places like Walmart, Target and Ross there are also name stores and resale stores.

CARTER'S

Carter's is a great place to shop baby and toddler clothes all season long. While out of sale season their clothes can be in the middle price wise, during their sales they are quite a deal.

Carter's has around eight sales out of the year. Though the dates vary from year to year, you can always find good prices and sales on certain items.

• Semi-Annual Sale (January/September)
• President's Day Sale (February 18th)
• Memorial Day Sale (May 27th)
• 4th of July Sale (July 4th)
• Labor Day Sale (September 2nd)
• Black Friday Sale (November 29th)
• Cyber Monday Sale (December 2nd)
• After Christmas Sale (December 25th)

Many children's stores have sales during holidays and sometimes for several days before and after. Carter's has 50%, 30% and deals on their sets for sometimes really great deals. If you join their Rewarding Moments you can get extra points during some sales. For instance, this year July 4th 2021 you can earn extra points from June 29th-July 6th which earns you points towards extra deals.

When I was shopping around for my son I found that the Zip-Up Footless Sleep & Plays were perfect for him and I got 50% off during the 4th of July Sale. Carter's also sells OshKosh Bgosh which have pretty good deals on certain items too. I got an adorable pair of Overalls in one size up for him to wear this summer. These Starry Denim Shortalls were only 13.59 and were 60% off during the sale. Not to Mention their doorbusters are a great deal, you just have to go in store early or shop online early in the sale or you miss out. Their Cotton Rompers were a doorbuster this July Sale.

The only downside to Carter's is many of their styles and patterns don't stick around forever. SO if you see something cute, you might want to grab it because it may not be in the store later. You can sometimes find older styles on Amazon.com but not always.

Black Friday usually means they will have sales on 5-pack bodysuits (Onesies) and usually sleepers. Another cute thing Old Navy and Carter's have in common are matching pajamas. You can get matching pajamas for Dad, Mom and the kids if you shop during the black friday sale.

January and February are pretty big sales too and you can sometimes get up to 60% off clothes if you can find Carter's at Kohls.

The best deal on bodysuits is to buy them in packs. You can find the adorable single bodysuits too, but for everyday wear buying them in packs of 3 or 5 can save you some cash.

CHILDREN'S PLACE

The Children's Place has an amazing sale every fourth of July, their Monster Sale where clearance is 60-80% off. This is an incredible sale and unfortunately hard to take advantage of. Again, you have to be early in order to snag good deals. The Cotton One Piece Pajama's will be a future purchase of ours. Unfortunately I missed the sale and this was sold out in the print I wanted. No worries, I'll get it next time.

Top Items for Children's Place during this monster sale is Onesies, Shorts, Shirts and shoes sometimes.

I quite liked the shorts since the material was not hard or scratchy. They were a pretty good find. Like Carter's this store also does Holiday sales and some items are a pretty good deal. It's a little higher price to pay for kids clothes out of sale, but the quality is very good.

If you sign up for the MY PLACE REWARDS you can earn 2 points per 1$ spent. If you have a Children's Place Credit Card you can earn 3 points for every 1$. This can earn you some great deals after a few purchases.

RESALE STORES

Another great place to get kids clothes is resale stores. You have to shop in the store but you can get lucky and find really great deals on certain items. I like to go to Once Upon a Child in Salem, Oregon for my great finds. There are many others like it around the country and if you look them up on Facebook you can see comments on how good the variety is from other buyers and moms.

Stores like these sell clothes, baby items, strollers and shoes in sizes from preemie-5T from what I've seen. All the items are usually in great/good condition and are sold at quite a bargain.

At Once Upon a Child I found three pairs of overall's one was by OshKosh and I only paid 6.99 for the pair when they would have easily been 20.00.

If you're looking for other great deals here are a few brands that cater in quality but low priced baby items.

OLD NAVY

Another good store to find baby clothes and kids clothes is Old Navy. The material used to make them is usually cotton and its nice to the touch and really good for spring and summer months. I haven't had a chance to use them during winter, so I'll write a Winter article on baby clothes then.

Old Navy sells many seperates as well as onesies, pants, pajamas and shorts. They usually also have a sale around 4th of July and sales can go up to 50% off on a lot of stuff. You have to be quick though because a lot of things go out of stock quickly.

Great deals like these Dark-Wash Jean Overalls are a great steal at $12.00! At regular price these go for 24.99 each. These are great for the spring and summer months. You can also get great deals on pajamas footed and footless. The material is usually 100% cotton which means when you wash the item it becomes even softer. With a reversible zipper its another great buy for easy diaper changes. Best for long legged babies in my opinion. I found the 2-Pack Printed One-Piece to be a great deal. They also come in short sleeve if your baby runs a little warmer during the summer months. The Printed Short-Sleeve One-Piece is super comfy and cute.

The deals are good in-store and online like any baby store you just have to order online fairly early in the sale or you could miss out on some of the items that go out of stock quickly.

Old Navy has Super Cash, you earn 10$ when you spend $25.00 and this can also help you save money for future purchases. Old Navy often has sales so you can usually always find a deal.

JCPENNEY

JCPenney is another good store to find deals, the only issue is I had a harder time finding good or better deals here than in the other stores. This is a store to look for if you're wanting certain styles of clothes. Like seperates or nicer looking wear. Such as this handsome Van Heusen Baby Boys 4-Piece Suit Set it's a good deal at 26.88 during their 4th of July sale and similiar deals can be found during Black Friday, Memorial Day and Cyber Monday.

Like Target, Walmart, Ross and Amazon this store carries a variety of brands so you might find deals during different sales than in the parent store. JCPenney is the one store I've been able to find the brand Okie Dokie which is good quality I've been told. Other mom's have told me that Carter's, Gerber, Cloud Island and Okie Dokie last a very long time if well taken care of. I have to admit, when searching through the resale store a lot of Carter's, Gerber and Wonder Nation are found there so that seems to mean the clothes are pretty durable.

How to Keep Your Clothes in Good Conditon

If you're looking for the best way to keep kids clothes looking and lasting longer here's a good place to start.

• Wash clothing in COLD water when possible

• Use a gentle detergent that contains no fragrance or harsh materials.

We use Amway Home SA8 Powder Laundry Detergent another good brand for washing baby clothes is Seventh Generation or Mrs. Meyers Clean Day detergent is also a great choice for washing baby clothes and has less chemicals and more natural ingredients.

• Use Fabric Softener or Dryer Sheets that are unscented or designed for Sensitive Skin.

Baby clothes don't require dryer sheets unless static is a problem.

One option is Babyganics Natural Wool Laundry Dryer Balls these are specifically designed to be gentle. I haven't used them myself, but I have seen them recommended by other moms. These don't deal with the lint but they are organic. Another brand of dryer sheet that are gentle to use on baby clothes is Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets, Free & Gentle which are for sensitive skin and contain no dyes, perfumes and are dermatologist tested.

We use Bounce in our house because we can buy them in bulk at Costco. However, you can find these for a good deal in several stores.

Other brands that we liked for our son were:

• Cloud Island (Target)

1. Great Selection
2. Great Prices
3. Multiple clothes in one pack
4. Unisex colors and prints but not designated as such

• Wonder Nation (Walmart)

1. Multiple Packs of Onesies
2. Good Prices
3. Cute prints
4. Unisex Colors and Prints

• Gerber (Walmart, Target, Amazon)

1. Cute Prints
2. Multiple packs
3. Not always on sale, but when they are can be a good deal

Why Buy Unisex?

Buying Unisex prints can be helpful when you're purchasing clothes before baby is born. Especially if you want to be suprised by the gender. Many of the brands listed in this article carry either plainly stated unisex clothes or prints/colors/styles that could easily work for a boy or girl.

I hope these tips and info help you find some great deals on clothes for your baby, toddler or child!