Pre-buying clothes - what size to buy?

[hannah]

Hopefully some experience mommies can give me a clue as to what size to buy for next winter. My DD is a big girl. She is 3 1/2 months old and I am guessing she is over 14 pounds (she was 13 lbs 4 oz at 11 weeks). She is 25 inches long. When I was shopping today I got conflicting advice from other moms in the stores. Some said buy 12 month clothes for next winter while others said buy 18 month. What does everyone think? Right now she is in 3-6 month and is fast outgrowing them. She is in a size 60 Hanna which is getting to be a litle short. TIA!

[jvorhis]

My DD was born 9-10-03 and she is a big girl also. Off the charts with height and 95% with weight. She was in 12-18 in summer clothes and I thought by this winter that she would be 18-24 and I was wrong. She is still in 12-18 in most brands. They slow down a lot after the first year. Hope that helps you out a bit.

[macassi]

My daughter was born 9-5 and is on the small side. She's average for height, but really low on weight. She still fits 18 month clothes with room. I thought, based on her brothers, that she'd be in 24 months, but there is no way she's anywhere near 24 months. I think you're pretty safe buying 18 month size.

On the other hand, I don't think my 24 month purchases were a waste -- she will wear them next winter. It'll just take longer for her to grow into them than I imagined. The great thing about 24 month/2T sizing is that most kids wear it for a full year, so you don't really ever mess up seasonally by pre-buying it.

[Momof3Labs]

Check the growth charts at www.cdc.gov to estimate how tall and heavy she'll be next winter. If she is breastfed, keep in mind that she may drop weight percentiles between now and her first birthday, or she may not.

[CiderLogan]

My DD was born about the same time of year as yours (except of course a year earlier) and was very big in her first few months. Now, at 16 months, she wears some 12-18 mo sizes and some 18-24 - so there's really no telling what yours might be at this stage! Personally, I've decided not to shop ahead unless I find an amazingly good deal (like $5 for an outfit or something) because it's so hard to know what size she'll be in the future. I also have found that my tastes are changing in terms of types of clothes (onesies vs. shirts and that sort of thing), so it's hard to know what exactly I'll want for her in the future. On the other hand, if I find something basic like pants that are pretty much year-round options, I do pick those up.

Jenny
Mom of Julia, 8/03