Drowning in Baby Clothes

Although I'm still home and in theory have a lot of time on my hands to organize stuff, there are things I just can't seem to get a hold on. Like kids clothes. Not the laundry part. That's relatively easy, if a continuously ongoing task with a poopy three month-old and a messy three year-old. It's all the other stuff.

With Ivan's clothes, I'm never prepared to welcome the next season. Unlike some moms who apparently buy last year's clothes on sale for the upcoming year, I've been reluctant to do that because I can never gage what size Ivan will be when the time to wear those clothes arrive. My strategy is to wait until the weather begins to change and then go shopping. Except I'm never prepared; or alternatively, the weather here changes so abruptly that there are always a few days when I have nothing for Ivan to wear. It happened last fall, when the weather got abruptly cold and it was time to don a coat and long pants. Ivan didn't have either, and the clothes from the previous winter were too small. So one night I had to go on a binge shopping to the usual stores: Old Navy and Target.

The same thing happened again this past weekend, when the temperature climbed to the low 70s. Ivan had neither shorts, nor long non-fleece lined pants. (Luckily he had a T-shirt or two.) I knew that spring was around the corner and that I should've gone clothes shopping sooner, but since it had been so frigid for so long, I lulled myself into thinking that I had more time. So earlier this week, I trekked to Old Navy and Target to stock up on spring-wear.

And I'm not that picky with toddler clothes, but sometimes the stores just don't have what I'm looking for. For example, Old Navy didn't have any long (non-fleeced lined) cotton pants that I wanted, or anything other than jeans. Neither did Target, which had kakhy-type pants with the real buttoned waist as opposed to elastic waist. (I think that elastic waist is more comfortable for Ivan so I prefer to buy pants with those. "Real waist" pants seem to pull down his pull ups and slide of down his legs, which I'm sure isn't as comfortable for running and moving around.) The following night, I went to Kohl's, where, bingo, I found the loot I was after. And I stocked up.

And every time I go to look for boys' clothes, I'm stunned, and pissed off, that even at such young age, there is a dearth of boy clothes, compared to the abundance of girls clothes.

Then there is the issue of ongoing cycle of putting away last season's clothes or those that he's outgrown. Most I'm saving for Allen, while the dud pieces I never wore on Ivan, I try to stash in the ever-growing give-away pile.

Related to this is the issue of clothes received as gifts. Some are too small or I find them hideous and know that I'll never have him wear, so they go in the exchange pile, if there is a receipt, or the give-away pile.

With Allen's clothes, it's even worse. First, I was and continue to be stunned by the generosity of Andy's family and our other random friends, acquitances or colleagues, who have gifted us so much new clothes for Allen. Most of it, unfortunately, we didn't need as Allen can wear a lot of Ivan's clothes since they were born in the same season. So I have piles of new baby clothes (sizes 0 to 12 months) from which I didn't even take the tags off. Some I was able to exchange; most, however, I can't because I have no clue where or when it was purchased.

Even worse, some of the clothes that I do need but don't like the versions we got--like the one-piece suits that zip up down one leg instead of button down both legs-- I'm guilted into using. Since the life-cycle of baby clothes is so short, it's easier to deal with the annoying zippering than go out to buy other suits I'd prefer.

Then there is putting away the clothes that Allen's already outgrown and pulling out next size clothes. Considering that we (probably) won't have another child, there is really no reason to stow away Allen's outgrown clothes; I could give them away. Except that I'm not ready. I'm attached to those newborn suits and onesies that both Ivan and Allen lived in for the first few weeks of their lives.

So all in all, I'm continuously creating piles: clothes to give away, clothes to return, clothes stow away, clothes to wash, etc...