Buying and Giving Baby and Toddler Clothes

by Olivia Street

I have two small daughters ages three and five. When my oldest was born I had no experience with babies, especially buying clothes. Looking back to the early days of baby shopping I definitely would have done things differently!

I ended up with a mountain of baby clothes. Sometimes my daughter would wear an outfit one, or not at all. Most outfits from my baby shower were newborn size 0-3 months. That is only three months of her life! Can you imaging replacing your wardrobe every three months? Wow. Spacing out the clothes sizes and limiting the number would have been wise. Buying clothes a little big (except sleepwear) is a good idea. Too big never hurts, but too small is useless. My family still insists on buying clothes to match my daughters’ ages. Well, this hasn’t worked for my five-year-old since she was three and decided to be extremely long. And, let’s just say my three-year-old was 9 pound 7 ounces at birth and has been off the height and weight curve ever since! No newborn clothes for her; she jumped right into 3-6 months.

I received the most beautiful, impractical gifts baby. Sweet outfits with dozens of tiny buttons that I wouldn’t dream of opening and closing eight or so times a day at diaper changing time, and “hand wash only” items! My time consumed by laundry was bad enough without having to hand wash! Those great gifts were quickly listed on EBay. Another good tip would be all cotton, or mostly cotton items. Babies have super sensitive skin and some synthetic fabrics irritate!

An important lessen I learned is that no two toddler body shapes are the same. I assumed I would be able to re-use my older daughter’s clothes. Not so! Even if I was lucky enough to have the seasons and sizes align, their shapes require different clothes. My five-year-old is long and slim and so we enjoyed dressing her in flare jeans and slim fit tops. My three-year-old needs a regular fit jean. I thought regular fit was the standard size until she didn’t fit in any of our clothing stash. Children’s clothes today are often slim cut and have (almost) adult styling, unfortunately. I say, let kids be kids and stop dressing them as little adults! They will be adults long than they will be children, what’s the rush? Selecting the right clothes for your child sometimes means just finding a brand with the right, consistent cut. I love tea Collection for both my daughters. I know they will fit both, every time and the styling is modern but not garish. This is a personal decision that can only be made through trial and error.

One final thought: if you buy clothes in basic, solid colors you can save a lot of money by mixing outfits. Buy a few accent pieces with nice colors, prints, etc. and mix and match. Most brands present their seasonal collections with this idea in mind so it is relatively easy to shop.

Adam's Unique Boutique
Baby Clothes and Childrens Clothes from great Designers! Boutique Baby and Toddler Clothes, Gifts and Accessories for your Little Boys and Girls --FREE shipping to Continental US for purchases over $50! Quality brands such as

Andrea’s Beau - Angel Dear by Funbath – Appaman – Cakewalk - Celeste - Cocoa - Cora - Cucci Bebe - Deux Par Deux – E. Land Kids – Kissy Kissy – Le Pink Dresses - Little Mass – Pamela Hair Accessories – Shoo Shoos – Sophie Dess – Taggies – Tea Collection – Unipak Gifts - Zutano

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