You’ve seen it. It’s adorable. You’ve felt it. It’s the softest thing you’ve ever touched. Do we really need another reason to want to snuggle our babies even MORE? Yeah, we do.
Benefits of Bamboo Baby Clothes
“Are they worth it?” Hint: Yes.
Durability
Due to the stretchy nature of bamboo fabric, you will find that unlike cotton, you’re less likely to find holes in your baby’s clothes. Instead of standing around the changing pad with your baby, wondering where these mystery holes came from in your baby’s new outfit, you’ll be standing around wondering where your favorite bamboo outfits are. (Hint: You probably left them in the washing machine. Yeah, you’re going to have to do another wash cycle. We’re all in the same boat, mama.) Either way, there is a lot of standing around the changing pad with a naked baby, not having the things you need, praying they don’t decide now is the time to poop.
Another benefit of bamboo baby clothes is the ability to machine wash and dry them. Who has time to hand wash their baby clothes? No one. Throw those outfits in the wash! Just make sure to wash on a gentle cycle, which I recommend for all baby products, and tumble dry on low heat. You may want to hang them up to get them completely dry or keep them in for the next dry cycle. We’ll get into more about why that’s necessary later.
Longer Wear
Again, here you are, standing at your changing pad. “Did my baby grow out of his clothes overnight?” Yes. At least, mine did! Not only are you ordering new clothes every 3 months or so with normal growth but during growth spurts your baby’s head can get too big to fit into their clothes overnight! Bamboo fabric is incredibly stretchy and hangs loosely when oversized. What this means is that you can actually size up in bamboo and put your baby into it right away. It will just hang a little loosely on them until they grow into that size. Even after they outgrow that size in their cotton outfits, their bamboo clothes will still fit because of the stretch!
Not only are you going to get longer wear throughout the months but the days will go by much quicker because, like me, you will actually be spending LESS time at the changing pad. “Wait, didn’t you just say we are all in this thing together, standing around our changing pads?” Okay, yes. BUT, if you have your baby in a bamboo outfit, you will be there less. Bamboo actually absorbs the moisture from your skin versus other types of fabric, like synthetics, which repel moisture and make your baby clammy and uncomfortable. And have you ever noticed how quickly your baby’s cotton outfits get completely soaked? Then their outfits are soaked and the remaining moisture with no other place to go pools under your baby’s chin and around their mouth. I prefer my baby kisses dry, not soggy, thank you. Thanks to bamboo’s breathable nature, it will collect the moisture and actually help your baby regulate their temperature. It will help your baby stay warm when they are cold and dry and help them cool down when they are hot and sweaty. As I’m writing this, I think I finally understand how my dog’s double coat helps him regulate his temperature as well, hmmm. Anyways! It is truly the year round fabric and my favorite thing to put my baby down to sleep in. I know whether he is warm or cool, his bamboo pajamas will help keep his temperature regulated and make him more comfortable. Which, as we all know, leads to better sleep. For everyone.
Good for Babies with Sensitive Skin
Bamboo baby apparel is a triple threat (in a good way). It’s softer than silk, it’s actually hypoallergenic, and it is even SPF friendly. Because of its natural abilities, bamboo fabric can offer up to 97.5% of UV radiation protection. So for babies with sensitive skin (I mean they really all have sensitive skin) or babies with eczema, bamboo can be a wonderful relief and guard against those red bumps, rashes and an inevitably fussy baby.
Smell
I know what you’re thinking_ “Why is there a section on here called smell?” I laughed as a typed it, I know. There is actually much debate over whether or not bamboo clothing is antibacterial. Some claim it is, some claim it isn’t. Bamboo trees do in fact have antibacterial properties, but according to the FTC - the way in which they are turned into fabric alters its composition and removes its antibacterial properties. All I will say is this_ Bamboo baby clothes do not smell like cotton baby clothes. Don’t get me wrong, there are some pee-filled diapers you could smell through a bomb shelter. So your bamboo outfits for your baby may not do much there. But they simply don’t hold the smell the way cotton baby clothes do. There’s something to be said for that, and my guess is, they have a way of maintaining their ‘clean integrity’ because of their anti-bacterial nature.
Downsides
Like we discussed earlier, one of the huge benefits of bamboo is its ability to absorb moisture. Parents of teething babies know how important this is. Because bamboo has such an absorbent nature, it is actually able to absorb three times its weight in water. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner for the drooling babies! But this does mean that it is slow to dry. If you compare a wet cotton outfit to a wet bamboo outfit, you will see the difference here. You can wring out a cotton outfit and watch the water drip from it. If you tried to wring out a bamboo outfit, nothing would happen. It helps your baby feel much more comfortable. Because, well, they’re always wet! Bamboo just holds the moisture in a much more comfortable manner. But, hey, you’re in this section because you are a natural pessimist concerned parent. The downside is this_ You can’t run from your changing pad to the dryer to grab the dry bamboo outfit for bedtime. Once the dry cycle is complete, lay is out to get it completely dry or hang it up and it’ll be ready at bedtime. If you leave it in the dryer like me until last minute and try to pull it out for bedtime, it may still be damp.
Other downsides:
- The fabric may pill if you continually dry it in high heat, especially with rough clothes, versus tumble drying on low.
- I have found this to be true with all baby clothes, but if you constantly yank on the material to open the snaps, the material can rip. Pull directly from the buttons to avoid this.
Shop Charlie Lou Baby’s Bamboo Apparel + Accessories
