Hi! It’s me, Karen. It’s been awhile. My apologies for ghosting you. I am sure you have been missing my parenting insights (and flops). Well, I am back. If you celebrate, my hope is that you had a wonderful holiday season. After talking to my sister-in-law for a while the other day on clothing sizes for our toddlers (her little gal is just a couple months older than Ellie), I thought a little rant about baby and toddler clothing would be prudent as you sort through the clothes your kid(s) received as gifts.
When was the first time you wandered through a baby clothing section at your favorite store? Was it for your little one? Maybe a niece or a nephew? Do you remember the black hole you fell in and the existential crisis that ensued while trying to figure what the hell “6 months” or “2T” actually means? For those new to this, if a baby garment does not have an age range on it (e.g., 3-6 months, 12-18 months, etc.), the garment will simply have a certain month or size on it (e.g., 3 months, 24 months, 2T, etc.). TYPICALLY, said size refers to the end of the age range. So, if you buy something that has a size of “6 months” on it for your 6 month old angel, it is likely going to be too small as it is standard in size for a 3-6 month old. As if this parenting thing isn’t hard enough to figure out, there is also a secret code for clothing.
This is all coming to a head for me as my kid is in the 18-24 month range. Baby clothes cap out at 24 months, then you move into the toddler sizes (i.e., 2T, 3T, and so on). I know, I know, before you ask… I have not a damn clue what the difference is between 24 month and 2T clothing sizes. My sister-in-law sent me this great article on this matter, which mentions that 24 months are meant for crawling, diaper-wearing babies while 2T is meant for your walking toddler who is potty trained. Still not super helpful seeing as that my kid (as many/most are at this age) is a diaper-wearing walking toddler. I searched around a little bit to try to understand the 24month/2T conundrum a little better and found this helpful image posted on the Magical Mama Blog.
My solution to this? Meh, I am just going to throw her in clothes that fit. The 2Ts sometimes are a bit tight in the butt area and the 24 months sometimes are a little short. There are many days she decides what to wear and ends up at daycare in Halloween pants and a “I give Bear Hugs” sweatshirt from her cousin.
Thanks for reading and if you figure out the TRUE mystery of life (children clothing sizes), let me know. I’ll make sure to talk to the pope about your future canonization to sainthood.
XOXO,
Karen
Where's My Epidural? 