Last week I made a wonderful discovery: Old Navy makes diaper shirts in size 2T. I grabbed four long sleeve varieties, and a pair of pyjamas. De-tagged, and washed, and soft, they snap neatly under Munchkin's bottom without pulling down hard at the neckline; they cover the ends of her wrists and stop neatly just past the last roll of pudge that separates baby arm from baby hand; they curve softly over her belly without leaving impressions of seams on the skin at her ribcage.
In September, at her 15 month well-baby visit, Munchkin was inoculated and weighed and measured. At 29 pounds and 34.5 inches, she fell squarely into the 50th percentile. For two year olds.
Munchkin is big for her age--nine months ahead of the curve!--tall and full, and with a wild load of hair she more or less patiently allows me to pin up in little bobbles, pull back from her face, hold with barrettes, twist into pigtails. She counts, "One! Two!"; points out "Purple [Puh-poh] car!"; hops like a bunny and pats her dolly to sleep; tips her head and looks at me with mischief in her eyes as she reaches for a store display. "Backup! Backup!" she anticipates. People think she's older than she is and, while proud, sometimes I feel I'm losing my baby faster than I'm supposed to: she's only just 17 months old and she's almost too big too carry, and far too alert to coddle.
This year's hand-me-down snowsuit is size 18 mos: the arms are already on the verge of too-short. Long-in-the-torso like her mother, she still fits her 24 month pants, mostly, but the diaper shirts strain buttons and credibility alike. Renewing her wardrobe yet again, it was with shock that, at my local Bonnie Togs, I discovered that, to them, Munchkin is no longer a 'baby' at all. No. Now I shop for her at the front of the store, dismayed and aghast at the Brats-bedecked, sassy-messaged, glittery / spangly / beadazzled overdecorated mess of 'girl' clothing I am not supposed to outfit her in. But she's just a baby, a baby who still crawls and rolls and flails and needs diaper shirts to cover her belly, who needs sturdy and washable clothes. My baby! Wearing size three snowsuits and size three long-sleeved shirts and size 8 winter boots! It took me two trips to actually buy something, I was so unprepared for this shift from infant to child.
How silly to be upset about this! She's healthy and strong and growing and ... she's perfect. Just perfect. But I just wasn't ready to move out of the baby section and into this new girl world. Not yet. Not when she's just 17 short months old. Not yet.
2T, according to Old Navy, fits toddlers 30-33 pounds, 33-36 inches in height. 2T is stocked in the baby section. There are short- and long-sleeved diaper shirts, there are jumpers and cardigans, there are footie-pyjamas, and there are fleece-lined jeans, and corduroy pants with tiny, useless little pockets. With luck, she'll wear these clothes until the Valentine's chocolates hit the shelves. With luck, I'll still be carrying her close to me, her heart against mine, my bigger-than-baby, my not-quite-little-girl, wet boots staining my coat, wet nose burrowed in my scarf, comforted. My baby, my girl. Big, sure, and clever, oh yes, but still so new in this world, still mine.
Monday, November 19, 2007
2T or not 2T?
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27 comments:
Better not blink, or next thing you know Lil' Munchkin is Seventeen with a bullet! Great read! That is what has made Old Navy so successful, the ability to market to everybody of all ages. Dont get so down just enjoy her every little step that she falls and rises into.
Wow - that is some hair! My B had hair like that when she was just past three.
She is such a cutie! We shop at Old Navy every season and in fact, a package from them just arrived today. Always $5 shipping makes it so fun!
They keep getting bigger and we keep saying "almost too big to carry." I'm guessing we'll say that until our backs break or they start jr. high.
Look how grown up she is in that picture and all smiles.
Old Navy fits small. Don't worry she's still a baby.
Oh wow, she sure looks like her Mama! I love clothes that look appropriate and you are right Old Navy makes diaper shirts up to 2T. You should try Children's Place as well because some of their stuff have snaps up until 4T.
She is such a cutie and I know EXACTLY how fleeting those feelings are...I never get used to it.
I cuddled my 32lb 16 month old for a 35 minute nap extension... I consider this to be workout time.
And, I know what you mean
Nice blog.
What a pretty baby.
And she's bigger than MY Baby, who at 2 1/2 weighs 23 pounds. Years of toting MUCH bigger children around have given me arms like a stevedore, so I imagine I'll be able to heft her around for quite a while.
Finding decent clothing for little girls is a BIG problem. I do a lot of careful shopping at The Children's Place, which despite its lurid colours has modest, little girl cuts. But Old Navy starts looking like skanky teenaged clothing at about 6x, so watch out...
arms like a stevedore. heh-heh. good one. me, i sometimes dislocate my shoulder picking munchkin up. i was thinking of your baby, beck, and imagining that if i picked her up i might accidentally just fling her over my shoulder. but i'm jealous that she's still so liftable ...
So cute!
She's beating KayTar at roughly 2 3/4. LOL. She's 26-28 pounds depending on where she is weighed (nutritionist and ped's scale differs slightly). She's tall, though at almost 37 inches, so she is just starting to move into 3's. BubTar was a big boy though. Always several sizes ahead of his age. Kids are all so different!
Don't worry about sizes. My six year old fits easily into four year old clothing.
she is gorgeous.
My dd (now 13 yo) was a big one, too...at 3, people would ask her why she wasn't "in school!" They thought she was 5!!!!
It goes awfully fast, so don't waste any time worrying about it. No point. It won't slow things down a bit. :-)
Your darling looks so much like my dd at that age. *sigh* Doncha just love the silky hair, satiny skin, and dimpled elbows and hands?!
cute girl!!!
I know that feeling,my son who is 5 and a half wears a size 10-12 in boys! It is insane.She is a cutie!
Lovely blog. Thank you. And Munchkin isn't so bad either.
What a cutie!
The Boy is almost 35 lds and STILL wants me to carry him everywhere. It's taxing.
What a cutie and your post brought tears to my eyes. I'm having the same experience with my twin boys that are just 2 and weigh a combined 70 lbs. I still carry them around together until I get cramps in my arms.
Hi,I am coolingstar9 just drop by here, I find Munchkin like to smile, wish all good things come to you.
O is a little shorter but we're also flirting our way into 24 month and even 2T sizes and i look ahead at the camo and NASCAR crapola they seem to expect me to dress my child in, like he's some sort of mini-Homer Simpson, and i shudder.
oh, for plain genderless clothes. dammit. maybe O will have to become a goth baby. erm, boy.
Wow. She's earing the same size snow clothes and boots as mine - at 3.5 years.
and this exactly why Pumpkinpie gets outfitted at Old Navy, Gap, and H&M. They have toddler sections that go up to about 5 years that still look like little kid clothing. Gap has good enough sales that they can be as cheap as the other two, as well, so it's all fairly well-priced.
And I am finding Pumpkinpie, now something like 38 lbs., is getting too heavy to carry for more than a few minutes or a block. Sad, because she still asks soemtimes, and sometimes I'll give her a litttle carry for old times' sake. Mostly, though, it has to be a piggyback if anything.
My little girl (or big girl) has much the same build. She outgrew most of the 18-month stuff by around 14 months.
Diaper shirts, if they are what I think of as "onesies" are nice, but I have a weakness for smooching my daughter on the tummy. She also likes to check out her belly button. But I suppose as the winter sets in, we may need to forfeit these indulgences and cover the midriff (as my grandmother called it) once more.
Alejna -- it's funny to watch Munchkin try to hike up her shirt to see her belly and her belly button: she's self-wedgifying! But she's so long in the middle that most non-onesies mean we see a strip of belly skin at all times ...
They do grow way TOO fast!
i totally understand what you are going through. My friend had a baby a few years ago, and it seemed like she grew before our eyes. When she was a year old, she appeared easily 2; my friend was always having to buy bigger clothes for the little girl, because she grew out of things so fast. It may feel hard to watch your baby grow up, but it'll get easier. :-) -Caitlin
She is just so adorable! My girls are now 14 and 15 and I miss those baby days so much! I had then when I was young so I did not appreciate them as much as I should have, I was too worried about bills and making ends meet. Enjoy this time!
Just came across your blog-love it! I can sympathize with this post-my son was 33 pounds and 33" tall at his 1 year ckup!! He is 7 now and still huge for his age-just under 5' tall and 80 pounds, towering over all the other 2nd graders :)
Your daughter is adorable!! Thanks for sharing :)
Dawn
AWWWW Girl your pics are SO CUTE!!!!
I love what you've been writing. Your hits are probably upped because I've been linking you to all of my stuff! (not on Blogspot,we just started, but elsewhere).
My best friend Teresa and I just started a blog about girls, sex, college life, etc. You might find it interesting? If you have anything to contribute, we'd LOVE IT!
Thanks and keep blogging! LOVING IT!
<3 Lacey
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