All Clothes are Not Created Equally.

When it comes to baby clothes, sizes are all over the map for my Monster. Yes, it is overwhelmingly frustrating!

Ok, I get that he is a big boy! Why do the clothing companies have to conspire against us to make me feel like he looks like a toddler at 5 months? Warning: I've gone into dramatic mode.

When Monster was born, he was a little too small for the 0-3 month clothing we had on hand, but he was born far too big to make it worth buying anything in newborn. I was right, as he fit into his 0-3 month clothing by the time he reached about 2 weeks old.

Since then, he hasn't stopped! From what I've found, the infant clothing brands sold at our local big box store (Zellers, HBC); Cherokee and Little Tikes fit generally as the tags say they will. The swim trunks he wore at the beach today were 3-6 months (Little Tikes), fit him perfectly and he is barely 5 months old.

However, if we decide to shop at Walmart for any clothing we have to round up. A lot. Walmart does not have much to chose from in the way of size 6-9 month clothing. Rounding up? Monster is just a little too small for a 12 month outfit from George brand clothing. That is WAY off the charts for clothing sizes.

Please Mum is a higher quality children's clothing store (brand) that thankfully fits Monster dead on! It's obviously a little more expensive then Walmart, but in most cases to do with Walmart, you get what you pay for. I've never actually boughten him anything from Please Mum, except for 4 shirts on major clearance sale. The rest of his Please Mum has been gifts.

The rate of Monster's growth, and the differences in sizing wouldn't be too much trouble if I were a millionaire and could afford to buy him his clothes as he needed it, not having to result in SALE HUNTS! I love a good deal, especially on infant clothing that Monster is going to grow out of in a month or two. Ideally I would like to sale hunt, pre-buy his clothing a season in advance (example: buy out the clearance summer clothes from this year, in a size he can wear next summer) and be set. Who's to say what size he'll be in in a year?

As a parent, how did you live modestly with a growing Monster(s)?

Infant Growth Spurts

When will they end?!

Once Monster turned 4 months we headed out to the Public Health until to celebrate by him receiving his 4 month shots. During each visit it is protocol to weigh and measure your infant to monitor his growth. We did so, as usual and found that his 3 month growth spurt was equivalent to 3lbs 4oz, and 2 inches in length.

Yes, my Monster, is just that, a Monster!

That's fine and great, I thought the growing might slow down for a little while and didn't expect much change until about 6 months. I was definitely wrong. Today, Monster is almost 4 months, 3 weeks (will be tomorrow) and it is very clear to me he is enduring yet another infant growth spurt.

All day my little boy either ate or slept. Even after sleeping 11 hours over night, he insisted on napping every two hours for at least an hour. This is completely out of the norm for him these days. It's been a struggle to get him to nap longer then two 45 minute periods per day because he's sleeping so well at night.

I decided to humor myself and pull out my tape measure to measure his length. He has gained another full inch in 3 weeks. I consulted Kellymom.com about growth spurts and found out that it isn't uncommon for infants to have another one in the 4th month. Sheesh! I am happy I have a healthy growing boy, but we are flying through clothes! I'm finding it hard to keep up!

The next growth spurts are at due for 6 months and 9 months, so we'll see how long his fall/winter wardrobe lasts.

Walking on Sunshine

Every single day my Monster changes, yesterday I discovered that he has become bored with the view inside our house. I have to admit, we do spend a lot of time in our house, playing games, bouncing in the excersaucer, and reading stories.

Of course I started by blaming his fussiness on four month sleep regression (he has been fighting his naps lately), teething pain, and growth spurts without thinking things through. Monster is a contented, happy little man who doesn't usually fuss unless something is genuinely pissing him off.

After trying his Hyland's Teething Tablets, which often works very quickly, he still wasn't a happy camper. I finally made a last ditch effort to help him nap by taking him for a car ride to pick Hubbs up from work. The soothing ride, seriously, works every time! Instead of going straight home we ventured down to our local big box store to check out some teething rings and toys.

Once we parked and left the vehicle Mr. Monster woke up with a huge smile on his face! Could it be? The happy little baby I've been waiting to see all day? We walked around that store for well over an hour enjoying the smiles, laughs and coo's of our little boy. He stopped to talk to everyone he saw, and looking with interested smiles at everything I had to show it.

Then it hit me... A new interesting environment = An interested, happy baby! Of course! The ever expanding brain of my Monster was merely bored with the sights he sees day in and day out.

I guess it's time to put my mommy pants on and think of new and exciting things for us to do together!