When you are a stay-at-home mom like me, long weekends have no meaning really. I feel only the added stress of keeping up social appearances and finishing off long pending odd jobs around the house. This long weekend I did exactly that, I got my husband to mind #babyT while I took on the Herculean task of cleaning and organizing the baby wardrobe.
#BabyT is now 16 months old and his clothes have taken over almost an entire side of the wardrobe we have in the master bedroom. It started off with one shelf and now it stands at four, all full of his clothes – Tshirts, shorts, trousers, night suits, onesies, traditional Indian attire, and then some related accessories. He has over 30 pairs of socks. (Why?? Because he refuses to wear them when we are going out and I always forget to pack socks and then the mall/ restaurant is cold and we need to run and buy a bunch!)
Also I am not even counting the stuff he got as gifts which will probably fit him nicely on his fifth birthday. Lol. People really do underestimate how small babies are. And I have also added to this kitty by buying clothes online and with no standard sizing they are just waiting for him to grow up, I often look into the kids fashion just so I’m certain I’m buying the right clothes.
But the harsh reality hit when we were getting ready to go meet some of our friends and their new baby for an early dinner, and I realized that “#BabyT had nothing to wear.” (Yes he does take on after his mommy doesn’t he?) He did not have “nice, new” clothes. So I sat down to reorganize and actually separate the junk from the useful stuff. What I did get at the end of this exercise was constant muttering under my breath “This boy has way too many clothes for a baby and I am never buying anything else for him.” and the emergence of 2 sets of clothes – stuff that doesn’t fit anymore (yes this whole big bag of stuff pic below.) and stuff that fits but cannot be worn for outings because of food stains, stubborn marks leached from other clothing or fading and generally not nice.
A bag like this emerges every 3 months.
This got me thinking as to how much we actually spend on babyT’s clothes and how it is still never enough. The only solution was to actually buy more clothes. Yes, as ironic as it may sound, the fact that he had way too many clothes but not suitable ones meant we had to go buy some more. It ached my heart to know that I would be buying something worth Rs. 500 to Rs.1000+ a piece and he would only be wearing it for a short period, some maybe not even more than 2 – 3 times (Indian traditional attire.) I really wish there was someone out there who understood What Mothers Want – affordable quality clothing, so that we could really splurge and buy tons of clothes without feeling the pinch of the pocket and without the need to strip babies before they sit down to eat anything which is like 10 times in a day.
How do you mommies handle this? I am sure your babies too outgrew clothes really quickly. Leave aside the donating to other babies, how did you ensure baby always had a steady stream of affordable quality baby clothes? And how did you make sure you saved money at the same time? Where do you shop? Looking for ideas!
This is the exact situation we are facing currently … But I have come to terms I find Max has some affordable collection and Cherokee too has affordable collections like tshirts at rs150 baby N is one size bigger than his own age and ends up getting smaller sizes as gift ??? so all gets packed to be passed on
And you are so right they wear a tee once and we don’t feel like making them wearing again
Seriously. I am imagining how it will be by the time T is 5
Ok ever since her birth. She has been wearing wore clothes. And I have no shame in accepting that. I do buy a lot , a lot! of clothes because I am from fashion background. But like you said . It is never enough. So I use the used one. Trigger down clothing. She is presently dress is her cousin sister dress while I am typing. I wanted to do a story on Instagram about this. I ll share the picture and tag you.
Also when she was born, I borrowed stuff and now tht she is big I have returned them. That includes clothes as well .
Having elder siblings is such a blessing. T’s elder sister is 16 years old. ??
At any given time I have two bags – one of clothes that do fit and one of those that don’t. For now I am vacuum packing away all the ones I want to keep for Baby #2 so there’s not too much guilt but I can see this happening by the time M is 16 months
Awww how sweet is that. No scope for baby2 here which is why I feel all the more guilty
Affordable shorts for boys : pantaloon/ fbb/ max
I have actually gone to the extent of altering his clothes because I had a pile that was too big n I didn’t have the patience to wait 5 yrs for him to grow into them.
Buying pack of 3s also helped .
Having said that my son has a cupboard all to himself. Thx to shopoholic parents
Nice going out clothes : Zara; next
Traditional wear : fab India
First cry is great for the early years as they have lot of brands in budget.
Even export surplus stores for home clothes that are going to get soiled easily.
Lots of bibs ?
Wow those are some great tips. I’m seriously thinking of hitting stores like fbb. And stocking up.
Yup. Got some really great stuff from fbb the other day.
I like their sleepwear section for ladies too.
N yes the clothes do get passed on to maids n other employees kids. In fact they keep asking for it saying aapke kapde acche hotel he. ?
Hahahhahaa omg!!! This was like looking into a mirror!
And their toys and book shelves is a whole other story. I shope in 3 categories
1.(500-1000 bucks) 1 or 2 for really good events
2. (250-500) a lot. For all other outings. I buy from Jen, my favourite monpreneur who brings in brandeds at affordable prices
3. 100-200 all the socks, ganjis, accessories come in this.
As organised as this may sound, im as lost as u are. ?
Oh my god!!! I am sure many relate to this just like me. So recently this is what I’ve started doing, I make him wear all the clothes (like some are meant for outside right ?) in rotation even at home so that I know they’ve been used to some extent before they no longer fit him ??
Very nice blog ?????
Great Tips
Yes I agree….we all should start doing …no unnecessary expenses
Hand me downs! I love the idea of not bothering to buy too many clothes and instead using some great stuff from older friends and my sisters baby!
They are most times in a great condition and atleast work for regular daily wear.
Plus of course, it saves money, is better for environment overall, and saves me from shopping (not a big fan of retail therapy ?)
That’s really great. But of little help to me when the nearest sibling T has is 16 years old and a girl. ???
#longreply
I buy major clothes for regular wear from Dmart and big bazars. They hardly cost Rs 39 onwards. You know the best part? I always buy 2 size bigger. So when he was like 6 months old, we got clothes of size 12m . And he has been wearing them from the last six months. A friend of mine laughs at me coz i make him wear such loose clothes, but i intend not to just save money but to use the clothes in a long run and utilise them utmost (sindhis have this in their blood, believe it or not) 😀
These regular wear clothes are then passed to my maid’s baby. And them to her native neighbors’ babies too. Imagine how much they are reused!
For parties, i accept i buy expensive stuffs but i sell them off on preloved groups coz we hardly wear them and he outgrows it.
That is a good idea Dimple. I do like the fbb range is pretty decent for adults too. I have to go check the kids wear section soon. <3
I agree buying too many clothes is a waste of money as kids outgrow them fast. It is better not go on buying clothes unless you really need and only after the old ones are discarded or given away. Except of course if you need them for any special occasion.
Yes but most clothes get worn at home and get soiled and stained. Then when going for outings you have no neat spotless clothes. Then you have to buy new ones. Its a vicious cycle.
I can understand the dilemma of buying too many clothes for the baby and baby still not having enough . We bought too many from Mothercare when Vanya was born and all her expensive clothes became small just after 1-2 wear . Now my h Band and my mom has stated keeping check on me for buying too many for her . I always keep a separate pile for to be wear on a daily basis and for outing purpose . And whenever I feel that the particular cloth is getting small , I start making her wear it more often . I love Westside for casual clothing and for something nice , well there are too many brands out there
I’ve started buying N’s clothes from Hill Road. Surprisingly good quality stuff you get there, dirt cheap. Max has some reasonable stuff too. And of course FB groups are great for shopping.
I’m really happy that my sister had a baby boy so every month I pass off a big bag of N’s clothes to her of stuff that is in decent condition. My maid has a granddaughter so some unisex stuff goes to her. The rest I donate whenever I get an opportunity.
This is the best site I’ve seen! Seriously thank you for all this awesomeness! you have no idea how much hope you gave me !! Really it such an informative post. I’ve read so many amazing things about your article! I like the baby wearing. Baby clothes are always so nice and adorable. Thanks for sharing such a valuable post and Keep Posting!
Thank you Annete. Thanks for stopping by and reading. Its nice to receive comments like this. ❤
You are welcome and thanks for your reply. ❤
Hi, been following you for a while. So here is how I do it. I start by planning my sons clothes next size up..example I was buying 12 month old clothes since he was 6-7 months..that way I can organize all clothes for future reference according to size in our drawers.
Yes, clothes get soiled very easily that is why it is best to buy cheaper export surplus clothes for home and out and about and more branded ones for special outings and occasions.
I always keep a pair of socks in my diaper bag for emergency situations outside home.
We have managed to save and have a good collection because of such a mix.
I also find building a capsule wardrobe useful as you can mix and match clothes very easily with less stress especially when u go out and don’t want to spend time thinking what exactly should baby wear.
If you are interested do check a blog post I wrote recently on “how I built my sons capsule wardrobe” I think it would help.
https://easymommylife.com/toddler-capsule-wardrobe/
To sum it up..the struggles are real and as moms we will always have to stay on top of it.