Yes, because I’m a delicate flower and I assume my children have inherited my skin issues. Matthew had to go to the ER on his eighth birthday because he was covered in hives neck to ankles, from wearing new pajamas that hadn’t been washed. The little rotter had snuck them out of the laundry basket.
More importantly, Larry - WHY? Will there be a mudling soon?
Well, since nobody has yet come out for the “anti-wash” crowd, I guess I’d better do it.
Nope, can’t be stuffed with it, never have, never will, for any article of clothing. Admittedly most of my kids’ clothes were cousinly hand-me-downs, but there were some new items in the mix. Nobody in my family gets rashes or anything so it’s never been a problem.
We are not delicate flowers 
Thanks for your replies, folks. Personally, I think it’s worthwhile to wash 'em first – I’m no delicate flower, but I find unlaundered clothes irritate me (not enough to be arsed to wash 'em first) and it stands to reason babies are more likely to be sensitive. My SO figures that baby stuff (being baby stuff) is sold “ready to wear.”
I get that an unlaundered onesie seems less likely on the face of it to irritate than a stiff collar on a new shirt, but I think it’s worth the small effort to make sure it’s clean. Ounce of prevention, all that.
Ginger - yup! In February. Joy!
Yep. I do dry clean stuff before I wear it for the first time. I used to work in a women’s clothing store, and you would be AMAZED (or possibly you wouldn’t, if you’ve ever worked in retail) at how many people will buy something, wear it, and then return it. This is especially true for fancy garments (cocktail and evening wear) that they don’t think they’ll want to wear again. We finally had to institute a “no returns on fancy wear” policy. We also had to tell one woman that she was not allowed to return anything, ever, because she had made a habit of buying skirt suits, wearing them to church or church functions, and returning them…complete with BO. She stormed off, vowing never to darken our doors again, and we all sighed in relief.
POSSIBLY I would wear a coat or something of that nature before I dry cleaned it. Mostly, though, I simply don’t buy stuff that needs to be dry cleaned. I do occasionally get dry clean only items as gifts, and that’s the only reason I have them.
Baby clothes, like all other clothes, have sizing on them. One of my nieces had a severe allergy to the stuff, and it took them quite awhile to figure out what was causing all her rashes/irritations. We’re not a delicate flower family at all, none of the rest of us are affected by it. So yeah, washing new baby clothes/bedding is the ‘better safe than sorry’ way to go.
Before anything else, congratulations!
I wash absolutely everything before use. Not because of who touched it before or anything of the sort, I just find new clothes stiff and smelly. Plus they have all the ugly crease marks from where it was folded for months under a ton of pressure.
YAY Team February! (we’re due on the 14th)
I’m all for launderin’ kidlet clothes before they get worn. I have skin that reacts to nasty chemicals, too. So into the laundry with some woolite or dreft everything will go before this wee one is born.
Heck, I might even toss lno in there (gentle cycle), then toss him into the dryer (perma press?)
Congratulations! Left Hand of Dorkness and I are expecting in January. I’m on the side of “wash the clothes.” I don’t know if this has happened to Mrs. Mudd yet, but in the past month, I’ve found myself with a powerful desire to scrub every inch of the house. Washing baby clothes is actually a nice outlet for that. It satisfies the cleaning urge without involving a preggo lady standing on the ladder washing the walls. 
Yes. I used to unload trucks at one of the main Gap distribution centers and all imported clothing (which 99% of 'em are today) have to be fumigated to kill any nasty hitchhikers of the insect variety that might be onboard. Said fumigation is not done just in the USA, but the country of origin, where health and safety standards aren’t exactly known for their rigorousness.
Yes. The flodmother used to be department manager in a clothing store. I have washed all my clothes and my children’s clothes before wearing ever since. Nearly all new clothes are sprayed with sizing to make them look better, and many are sprayed with insecticide to prevent bugs from taking up residence in the packages during shipping. Not to mention how many people have handled the clothes, possibly sneezed on them, and so on while the clothes were in the store. Wash, wash, wash.
If you really like the look of sized clothes, you can buy sizing in a spray can at fabric stores and most grocery stores in the laundry aisle. The most popular brand is called, appropriately enough, Magic Sizing. There’s really nothing wrong with sizing, unless you’re in the minority of people who are sensitive to one of the chemicals in it. Your grandmother probably used sizing, and your great-grandmother surely used its predecessor, fabric starch.
Yes, I wash the baby stuff first. Dreft was expensive so I soon switched to Baby All, and then just to any unscented, ‘free and clear’ kind. Newborns can have sensitive skin. Now that my youngest is 10 months, and has no apparent allergies, I am not as picky about detergent anymore.
You don’t need to dry-clean any garment just because the label says so (handwash works, too). And yes, I wash all stuff I buy - not because people didn’t wash their hands, but because of all the chemicals during the process that can cause serious problems. Although I try to buy organic clothes as much as I can afford. Even these still smell from storage. Sometimes, excess dye will also come out during the first wash (instead of onto the skin.
Oh another thing, it’s good idea to wash the clothes when they put those size stickers on. There’s been a few times where the little one went out and I’m thinking ‘what is that long stripe on her shirt?’ Oops forgot to wash the new shirt.
And lessons learned the hardway, if someone handmakes a fancy little dress for your daughter - hand wash it, otherwise all those cute little ribbons and such fray and you have to hide the dress or hope that she grows out of it quickly never to be seen again! 
- Still feel bad
Yeah, but you do have to dry clean, say, a suit jacket. And you should be washing the jacket with the pants so they fade evenly, so my suits always go to the dry cleaner.