Knowing your child’s exact measurements helps ensure that the clothes you buy fit the way you expect them to. While baby size measurements are especially useful for online shopping, they are just as important in physical stores. It is difficult to have young children try on multiple clothing items; therefore, exact measurements make the shopping experience faster and more reliable. Grasping how to measure baby size accurately helps parents shop online with confidence and select the perfect fit for their baby’s age.

Why is Measuring Your Baby’s Size Important?

Familiarizing yourself with baby measurements is important because these measurements help ensure the right fit. Moreover, baby size charts vary significantly between different brands and retailers, resulting in frequent sizing errors for parents. Knowing your baby’s measurements allows you to choose clothes that offer sufficient mobility and breathability to keep your child comfortable.

Additionally, infants and toddlers often struggle to regulate their body temperature effectively. Accurate sizing helps prevent overheating and reduces the risk caused by overly tight or restrictive clothing. Precise baby growth measurements also reduce unnecessary returns and exchanges that not only waste time but may also result in extra expenses.

Tools You’ll Need to Measure Your Baby’s Size

The tools and methods for measuring a baby for clothes differ between infants, toddlers, and older children, mainly due to differences in mobility and their ability to stand still. 

Infants

For newborn measurements and infant size measurements (0-12 months), a measuring mat and soft measuring tape are required.

Toddlers

Toddlers often have difficulty maintaining proper posture or standing still. A second person to assist in the process is always a good idea. A standing or wall-mounted height chart along with a measuring tape works best for taking accurate measurements of toddlers.

Older Kids

In older kids, taking measurements is easier because they can stand on their own and follow instructions.

Steps for Measuring Your Baby’s Size

Understanding the following steps is essential for parents who are unsure how to measure a baby. The parameters for an accurate baby sizing guide are as follows:

Measure Head Circumference

To measure a baby’s head circumference, a soft measuring tape is wrapped around the head, using the eyebrows as a guide. The tape should be snug, neither too tight nor too loose. 

Measure Chest

Using the armpits as a guide, wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of the baby’s chest to get a precise chest measurement. Avoid pulling the measuring tape too tight and ensure that the baby is breathing normally.

Measure Waist

Wrap the tape measure above the baby’s belly button around the natural waistline for a precise waist measurement.

Measure Length

Length is an important parameter in baby clothing measurements. Newborns and infants cannot stand; therefore, length is measured by laying the baby on a flat surface, such as a measuring mat. With the help of a tape measure, the exact length is measured from the top of the head to the heel. 

Arm Length

Use a measuring tape to measure from the shoulder seam to the wrist to determine the baby’s arm length.

Most size charts provide a range of measurements for each size category (e.g., 0–3 months = 20.5–23.5 inches in length). For a comfortable and relaxed fit, compare your baby’s measurements to the larger of the two measurements.

How Often Should You Measure Your Baby’s Size?

As a general rule, babies are frequently measured during the first year of life. At birth, measurements such as head circumference, weight, and length are taken. These parameters are re-measured on every routine pediatric visit thereafter. 

In the context of clothing, parents should measure the baby every 3 months during the first year of life. The measurements of a recent pediatric visit are also relevant for clothes shopping. A good rule of thumb for parents of young babies is to measure every time before buying clothes online to ensure an accurate and comfortable fit.

Lilaxshop Sizing Charts

If you know your baby’s most recent and accurate measurements, shopping on Lilaxshop becomes effortless. Just compare your baby measurement guide to Lilaxshop’s size charts, and you're guaranteed the perfect fit for your little one. All the clothing pieces on the Lilaxshop web store have an easy-to-understand size chart beside them. Apart from that, tops and bottoms for pant suits have photographic directions in the sidebar to help parents with length, inseam, and waist measurements. The baby girl sweater and cardigan collection also has size illustrations in the sidebar to guide parents through accurate measurements.

Looking for the perfect size for your little one? Head over to Lilaxshop to get the perfect fit every time!