# Day 213: First clothes

> Thirty weeks and three days. You don't need a wardrobe yet. Today you put together a small basket: going-home clothes, a few first outfits, a receiving blanket.

- Series: Your seventh month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-7), day 213 of 280, 30 weeks + 3 days
- Your baby this week: about the size of a cabbage; around 39.9 cm from head to heel
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-7/day-213
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 213: First clothes." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-7/day-213

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Thirty weeks and three days. This one is meant to be a pleasant job. Tiny socks, soft vests, the outfit your baby will wear home. The trick is to keep it small.

## Your baby

Around now your baby is around 39.9cm long from head to heel, about the size of a cabbage ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-30/)). Their eyes can now focus ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-30/)), and the NHS says that over these weeks they mature their organs and gain fat ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-29/)). Which is one reason not to buy too much in one size yet.

## Your body

This week's NHS list includes getting a few baby clothes, if you need them ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-30/)). "A few" is the word that matters. The AAP's hospital-bag list includes a receiving blanket and going-home clothes for the baby ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/Pages/Last-Minute-Activities.aspx)). That's the core of it.

Meanwhile, your body is asking for a bit more: the NHS suggests about 200 extra calories a day in the third trimester ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-30/)). Low back pain is common now too, because digestion slows and the extra weight stresses muscles and joints ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000558.htm)). Do the folding sitting down.

## Try today

### The first-clothes basket

- **Time:** 20 minutes

1. Find a basket or a box that will hold no more than a small armful.
2. Put in one going-home outfit and a receiving blanket, the two baby items on the AAP's bag list ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/Pages/Last-Minute-Activities.aspx)).
3. Add a handful of first outfits: soft, easy to wash, easy to open. Gifts and hand-me-downs count.
4. Stop when the basket is full. Anything more can wait until you know your baby's size.

**Make it work:** Keep the basket where you'll both see it, so on the day nobody has to hunt for the going-home outfit.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** a sore lower back by evening ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000558.htm)). **Call your provider** if back pain doesn't get better with rest and heat ([OWH](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts)).
- **Normal:** needing the toilet more often. **Call your provider** for pain when you pee, or a change in the smell or colour of your urine, which may signal a bladder infection ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).
- **Normal:** more discharge in the later months. **Call your provider** if it has a foul smell, a greenish colour, itching or pain; vaginal infections matter in pregnancy because they may cause preterm labour ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).

## For you

People love to give baby clothes, and it's fine to say yes. It's also fine to say which sizes you'd rather have. Newborns grow, and a drawer of tiny outfits can end up worn once, or not at all.

If you have an older child, this is a good job to share. Let them choose one item for the basket and fold it themselves. The AAP's last-minute list includes arranging care for other children during the hospital stay ([AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/Pages/Last-Minute-Activities.aspx)); while you're packing, decide that too.

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 30." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-30/
- NHS. "Week 29." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/3rd-trimester/week-29/
- American Academy of Pediatrics. "Last Minute Activities Before Delivery." HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/prenatal/Pages/Last-Minute-Activities.aspx
- MedlinePlus. "Prenatal care in your third trimester." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000558.htm
- Office on Women's Health. "Body changes and discomforts." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts
- MedlinePlus. "Common symptoms during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm