Cake and Muffins
You know you're old when instead of going out to party for your birthday you elect to stay home all weekend eating cake out of the pan and doing chores. Of all the chores to do, though, sorting through baby clothes isn't the worst, especially when you unearth treasures like this and this and this.
As we've acquired baby clothes (an impressive collection of hand-me-downs, gifts, consignment finds, amazing homemade creations, and very little new purchases), I've been pretty good about keeping everything organized (by size, in labeled boxes, shoved neatly into the crawlspace), but even then it takes constant maintenance to stay on top of things what with all the growing and fattening babies tend to do against your strict orders that they stop it!, stop it at once!, or at least slow down.
And if you think adult sizing is jacked up these days, take my word for it that baby clothes are even worse. We have onesies marked 6-9 months that are barely snapping together, and sleepers marked 0-3 with plenty of room for a four-month-old and a few of his favorite toys. Wombat turned twenty weeks old yesterday (but he's not officially five months old for another ten days; confusing) and right now he's sporting a set of stripey basketball jammies marked 12 months. Twelve months!! Do you think Carter's is trying to give me a heart attack or something?
In other clothing-size-related musings, I also went through some boxes of pre-preg clothes yesterday--a task not for the faint of heart or flabby of thigh--and I was blown away to find that I fit (albeit BARELY) into a pair of jeans I'd all but given up on. I'm not about to wear them in public anytime soon (they're skin tight and there's some, ah...spillage*), but nevertheless it was A Moment, particularly because I haven't done a damn thing to change the shape of my body lately except eat cake out of the pan. I was so motivated about 30-Day Shred and then, well, I hit Day Six and didn't care so much anymore. I tell ya, there's nothing like the opportunity to work out that will kill the urge to do so. I remember being pregnant and paralyzed with sciatica and wishing I could just go on a nice walk without feeling like I was being cut in half with a laser saw. Times like that always seem to give birth to visions of training for an Ironman, or maybe just a 5K fun run, but then the second I'm able to put some sort of action plan into effect, I, you know, say it with me, EAT CAKE OUT OF THE PAN.
Yesterday I was complaining to Simon about the squish that was squeezing out between my waistband and shirt hem and he asked if I was having body issues. "Not really," I said, acknowledging again that when it comes to bouncing back, I've been very lucky. (The amazing Chris Jordan even name-dropped me in the lastest episode of BlogHer Backtalk. Dear Chris: MWAH!) I think what I'm going through now is the just realization that I'm no longer dealing with "baby fat" anymore and that any changes from here on out will have to be earned. I'm hovering within five pounds of my starting weight, and although most of my regular clothes fit well enough, they definitely fit differently. There's probably no going back to the old body, just figuring out what to do with the new one (which may involve trashing a closetful of T-shirts that aren't as generous in length as my new shape requires), and that's kind of a bummer since I don't exactly have the budget to spend on a new wardrobe.
Besides, it's hard to let go of a good excuse, particularly the BESTone: "I just had a baby. Cut me some slack." In this, as in many ways for me, Wombat's newbornhood was the easy part--all the excuses, few of the challenges. Now, I'm afraid, it's all up to me, for better or for worse.
(I guess there's always vanity sizing to make a girl feel good, though. Maybe I can dig up that skirt that says Size 1 and feel like a supermodel? I mean, check out the kid who thinks that wearing 12-month p.j.s means he can walk!)
Yes! What is the deal with infant sizing? It's all cotton, and yet they all shrink differently after you wash them.
Arg, baby clothes sizing is *the worst*. And don't even get me started on 24 months vs. 2T - huh?? Last time I checked, clothing company, 2 years old IS 24 months. I am also the lucky recipient of many bags of second hand clothing and instead of looking at tags, I just put stuff in piles based on the similarity of the sizes of the clothes and keep the stuff out that is the same size as the current stuff he fits in. Labels are useless.
My daughter was born just a couple of days before Wombat (on Dec 6) and reading your blog is so fun just so I can see another little one the same age as mine! However, reading your blog today makes me think that I've given birth to a shrimp. My husband and I may not be the tallest people on the planet, but I think my daughter is about half the height as Wombat. He's absolutely adorable by the way.
What?!? Who is that half grown CHILD in the picture?? What did you do with the baby Wombat?? And are those monkeys on those 12 month jammies?? UBER cute.
Flip! He is just the cutest!
Happy Birthday! Wombat is getting so big! I'm riding the wave of 'nine months up, nine months down,' for as long as I can. Although the weight has basically all disappeared,(at 6 months post-partum) my body just looks different than it used to, making shirts the biggest hassle. Too much muffin top paired with gigantic boobs means I have about three tops to rotate through.
Love the picture of Wombat. I have to tell you as a mother of two, Carters has gret clothes, but sized about 6 months ahead of where your kid really is. And they shrink beyond belief. If I had to recommend, I'd say BABY GAP and GYMBOREE, then Children's Place. I read your blog regularly and I love it! Thanks for charing your life. Take Care!
Elaine: "It's not 'Top o' the Muffin TO YOU!'"
Mr. Lippman: "Yes, yes it is!"
Heh.
What's with all the helping-him-stand-up I see in these pictures? Isn't he standing on his own yet? You know, he's never going to learn to do it himself if you're holding him up all the time.
Where did the pjs come from? Our friends have a baby just a couple of weeks older than Wombat who would look smashing in those.
Karen--Wombat is in the 96th percentile for height, so he is indeed huge for his age.
Melissa--Those p.j.s came from my cousin, who may have bought them as long ago as five years. (And while they're definitely cute, they're a pain to deal with. The arm and leg holes are so narrow it took forever to get them on. He actually only wore them for about a half hour before we switched him into something more early-morning-diaper-changing friendly.
Noooo...why is he getting so big already!?! Tell him to stop that!
And happy birthday!
He is precious and growing up so fast! The cool thing about most baby clothes that unless you get hand-me-downs from a serial spewer (or cereal spewer), you get some really nice, gently used clothing for a song.
Happy belated birthday, btw!
Your Wombat makes me want to have a baby...he is so adorable!! Happy Belated Birthday by the way!!
He's getting so big! So adorable!
Beautiful baby! It's a good thing baby's are so cute, otherwise the bodily changes wouldn't worthwhile.
I was within five pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight within six weeks but still couldn't pull my pants up (redistribution, I guess). I hung out in maternity clothes for three months, barely pulled up my biggest jeans at 12 weeks, and didn't really get my old body back till six months (when I finally lost that last five pounds and then some and could comfortably fit into my "skinny" jeans). Then I started weaning (albeit slowly--she didn't completely wean till 18 months) and got back on birth control, and whoa, those damn five pounds came back and have not gone away since (my kid is 19 months old). Granted, I have not done a THING about it.
Anyway, moral: You've still got time! You will probably get still closer to your original shape at some point (I remember being like, "Oh, hello waist! I'd quite forgotten you!"). But some things are forever changed: the women in my playgroup and I were musing that we can all fit into our old pants but not shirts, and hey, did shirts used to be a lot shorter or something?
I HEAR YOU about the pre-pregnancy t-shirts. I can already tell that my postpartum body is not going to cooperate with 90% of my pre-pregnancy shirts. When did they all get so damn short & tight? GRR.
But hey, looking at the (BIG!) beautiful baby of yours certainly makes up for it, no?
I don't think the sizing gets any better. I have a niece who is simultaneously wearing 2T and 5T. That blows my mind.