Question for those with two+ kids

[friedmana1]

I am thinking about weeding through Leah's clothes (we have way too much!), and I started having some questions. So, for those of you with more than one kid...

Did you save your first's shoes? Or sell them/give them away?

What about the rest of the clothes? Only save special ones, or all of it? And did you find that you REALLY used them for the second one?

TIA!
Aimee
Mother to Leah 10/26/02

[vikivoly]

I don't have 2 yet, so I'm not the best person to respond, but I saved all of DD's clothes and shoes. Since our 2nd one is supposed to be a girl and will only be about 2 months ahead of DD#1's birth month, I'm glad I did. They'll only be 22 months apart. If you're planning on waiting a while until having a second one, I don't think it would be worth it. If you're on this board, you'll want up to date styles and won't want to wear the hand me downs on #2. :)

As for the shoes, I've saved all of DD's shoes, but probably will only wear the crib shoes on #2 and some dress/occassion shoes. I think it's important for walkers to break the shoes in to fit their own feet.

[Samraelanelevi]

My girls are 2 years apart and I only save some of the oldest clothes and shoes. I save all dress shoes b/c they are hardly worn-usually only church and special occassions. I also save the Bear Feet shoes.

As for clothes I only save items that are special to me or that I think my younger daughter will wear. They are very different in size. My oldest loves gymboree skorts and jeans but my youngest is so thin and currently cannot wear their skorts or jeans b/c they are huge in the waist. So I never save the jean outfits or skort outfits. My youngest also dislikes leggings so I don't save many of those outfits b/c the resale value is higher while the lines are newer, kwim? From summer clothes I save lots so that my younger will have plenty of play clothes. And I tend to save all the summer dresses b/c I love them all! I never save the Christmas or Easter outifts b/c I know i will not reuse them. At Christmas and Easter we take family pix and I don't want the girls to be repeating outfits. Also I like the kids to coordinate so new outfits are usually needed to do that.

Out of all my oldest clothes I'd say I save the most from the summer things and then about 1/4 of her winter things. And I save all pajamas and winter gear.

I say save only what is special and what you really love. You will want to get some new and also get many gifts so I am sure the youngest will have plenty.

[vikivoly]

Brenda,

How old are you're kids? It sounds as if they are older, so I can understand the hand-me-down issue. But what about when they were smaller?

[khakismom]

I will echo Brenda... Save only what you truly love.

With Kathleen, I packed away everything, and I mean everything--shoes, socks, jammies, coats, hat, clothes, all of it. Ellen comes along and I pull out Kathleen's tubs and find that most of it works great and I still love. But some stuff, I never liked in the first place, so I'm certainly not going to put it on the second kid.

So I went thru all her tubs and purged what I was so-so on. I chucked the play clothes, anything stained, and anything that didn't goose me. I still have a TON left for Ellen and, so far, she has worn almost all of her sister's clothes. So, yes for me, it was worthwhile to save them, and I have really used them for the second. On days where Ellen is wearing the HMDs, I love telling Kathleen that she used to wear Ellen's outfit. She thinks it's a riot that she used to be that small.

I really didn't start buying new stuff for Ellen until she was around 3 months, basically when I started hanging around this board. :)

I saved all the shoes, but I don't expect to re-use the walkers and first shoes. Other shoes that were worn ocassionally or for a specific outfit will be, and have been, re-used.

I have yet to buy any jammies for Ellen because she is wearing all of Kathleen's old ones. Same thing with socks, unless it's for a specific Gymbo line.

Ellen's current wardrobe is probably made up of 75% of Kathleen's stuff, and 25% new items.

So now when I sort and save the girls' clothes for the next one, I am much pickier. I save what I love, what I simply can't part with, and what I would put on another child.

[lotsofjoy]

I don't put used shoes on my kids. Each foot is formed differently and mistreating feet can lead to back problems later. I want my kids shoes to be right for their feet.... not trying to get shoes that have been worn and formed for other feet.

That may be a bit neurotic, but Shoes are one thing that I will spare no expense. I sell used shoes on ebay or give them away.

-Renee

[Samraelanelevi]

Rachel is 5.5y and Delaney is 3.5y.

Even when they were smaller I did not save everything. Maybe half. They were both born in December, but were very different in size even as babies. My oldest was tall and thin at birth and hasn't changed. My youngest is even thinner (at 3.5y she weighs 27lbs) and short. The size difference made it very hard. At the newborn stage I did have a lot of the oldest clothes b/c it was mostly sleepers and onsies, but once summer hit and the oldest had been wearing 9-12 month things and they were huge on the younger who wore 3-6, maybe some 6-9 I ended up buying almost all new things. That is when I figured out that it was much more fun to buy the second girl all new-well almost all new things.

At the age they are now I am glad I haven't been keeping it. Here's why: they each have their own style-Rachel is more of a t-shirts and jeans kind of girl while Delaney is into frilly dresses-she loves dressing up. Also the styles really do change even in two years-take a look back at the gymbo lines and you'll see what I mean. Of course the size issue is another huge issue for me. Many of the things Rachel wore at a young age will not work until Laney is at a much older age-right now Delaney wears what Rachel wore at 2-2.5, so some of the clothes are too babyish for a 3.5y and of course there are always the one piece outfits that I cannot use on a girl how's pottty trained, kwim?

Here's what I'd do in your case (knowing what I know now). I would keep almost all the newborn things and sell a lot of the oterh stuff-keeping your favs, dh's favs and maybe some special things that Grandmas bought. Then take that money from the sale and buy new outfits for the baby-make them a gift from the older daughter. Of course keep all the pajamas, onsies, socks, tights, coats, hats, swimsuits and baby shoes-this will end up saving you a lot of money.

I know you said your girls will born in similar times of the year, but you just never know. My friend just had her second son in March and her older boy was born 2 years ago in April. Well the baby is much bigger and she's ended up buying a ton of new things-lucky for her my son was bron last year in April and was on the bigger side so I sold her lots of his baby items.

Sorry to write a book.

HTH

[parkersmama]

Like others have said, I saved everything that Parker wore and drug it back out for Wesley. I found that there were lots of items that I thought were in great condition when I put them away that really weren't that great when I pulled them out 2 1/2 years later. I guess I was seeing them through new eyes after a break! :)

I really think saving things that were hand-me-downs from another family didn't turn out well. They often look really worn when I get them back out later. Also, lots of things are completely out of style a few years later.

My boys were born at 6 month opposite seasons (Sept & March) but Wesley was still able to wear a lot of Parker's baby clothing. He would wear them at the beginning of each season as a bridge to the next size. He did have to get quite a few new things himself to fill in the gaps. They grew at very similar rates.

I did not reuse first shoes and most every day shoes. If the shoes were still in great condition (especially church shoes), they get worn again. As a matter of fact, Wesley is currently wearing Parker's church shoes from last summer. :) Most other shoes aren't in good enough condition to wear again.

Pajamas hand down especially well. Baby clothes obviously hand down better than older clothing. Now that they are older, items that can be handed down well are most shirts, dress pants, sweaters, sweatshirts, pjs, bathing suits, shorts, underwear, jackets and dress shoes. Items that are practically shredded after a season of wearing are jeans, socks, and sweatpants. My boys are particularly hard on jeans. :)

[macassi]

Ditto for everything that Denise said.

I would also caution you about only saving your "favorite" outfits. The way I dressed my boys was completely opposite. First, I favored cute outfits that weren't necessarily comfortable with DS#1, while DS#2 got only comfortable clothes. Second, DS#1 was skinny and wore overalls exclusively, as he couldn't keep pants up until he hit sizes that came in slender. DS#2 was and is a tank. He looked ridiculous in overalls since he completely filled them out. Items that were rarely worn on DS#1 were abused by DS#2. Dare I even admit that I received a Hanna Andersson short outfit for DS#1 that he only wore once -- I could never figure out what a 70 meant. By the time DS#2 came around, I was hooked and he wore it all the time.

[Phoebe]

I saved everything I loved. I had a girl, then a boy, and I did use some gender nuetral stuff of Susan's for David. I will use some of Susan's sandals for David - the navy and brown saltwaters and stride-rites. It's nice to have shoes that are already beat up for those days at the park or water play.

[vikivoly]

Thanks for the tips Brenda! I agree with much of what you said. I was thinking for the infant stages it would work, but I guess you never know about sizes. I am glad that I haven't parted with any of DD's clothes though, because she still fits in most of her summer stuff from last year and it looks like fall will probably be the same!

[pamela mom of 3]

First shoes, yes i save those as a keepsake however i do not re-use shoes through kids if that is what you were meaning ;)


Clothing wise, yes i do save eldest dd's items for #2 their are some pieces that get too worn out or are too stained and i toss them..but again i do re-use things, doesn't mean of coarse i don't add too with new items for dd#2 i tend to mix n match things.

My #3 is a boy so nothing gets passed onto him LOL...a pink dress just isn't his style :D


~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blobflower.gif

[friedmana1]

Thanks so much for all your help! My BIL just had a baby girl, and they are quite poor (and don't take care of their clothes so I don't want the clothes back!), so I am trying to send them as much of Leah's stuff as possible. So, I started weeding out her clothes yesterday, and it got me thinking about this question. What I am going to do, based on everything you just said, is just keep my favorite things. Everything else is going to them. I am even sending them socks/onsies and pjs. The way I look at it, is that we can afford Hanna/gymboree now, so I hopefully we will be able to afford a whole new wardrobe when a new one comes. Thanks so much everyone!!

Aimee
Mother to Leah 10/26/02

[steph2003]

I don't have two yet - just one little guy so far but as he grows I find myself asking this question - what do I hold onto & what do I get rid of (or try to sell?). I think this is a harder question for girl moms to answer because IMO girls clothes are cuter & they are always coming out with cuter styles. Boy styles IMO get recycled again & again (overalls, one piece playsuits, etc) so if I do have another boy I could possibly see myself re-using a lot of DS clothes (assuming the seasons & sizes match up). I think for now I'm holding onto to everything but I think some of that is from being a new & still very sentimental mommy! I'm sure there will come a day when there is no more room to store stuff & I'll have to weed out items (although I'm trying to convince my DH to have a storage loft built in the garage!)

[urbanmama]

I'm having problems deciding what to do with my two girls' clothing right now.

With DD#1, I saved almost all of her clothes and when I pulled it out for DD#2, (1) I didn't like a lot of it much anymore, and (2) DD#2 turned out to be a peanut and only a few items fit her in the right season. So, I would definitely advise to only keep what you love.

Now I'm trying to decide what to do because DH and I are trying to decide if we want to have third or not. I have several things that I know that I would love to have if I have a third, but since we're not sure I'm thinking I might just get rid of everything.

Marie

[starrynight]

First shoes I saved with the other baby mementoes, like coming home outfit and a few special things. I saved them in a rubbermaid tub because those are water proof and IME bug proof if they have to be stored outside or in a basement.

Clothing I saved anything that I would have considered using again. Anything I hated the fit of, stained worn out I gave away or tossed. Everything else I saved in rubbermaid tubs in the shed until it came time for the next baby. When I was pregnant with my last and since we knew she was a girl I had a big yard sale the week before she was born and got rid of all my ds's old things that I had been saving for all that time until I was sure I was done having kids! And now I put D's old stuff in E's room until she outgrows it and then it goes to goodwill, yard sale or trash.