Baby age and sizes of clothes consistent?

Question

My son is 5 months old and is getting ready to outgrow his 9 month clothes. I have a couple of friends whose babies are also in fairly large sized clothes for their age. Do we just have unusually fast-growing babies or has the same thing been true for others?

Answer 1

I find that baby clothing is just like adult clothing; they have a "standard" that in no way reflects the numerous possibilities for body styles out there.

My son is 18 mo. old and has been in 2T since his first birthday. We are now approaching the time to move into 3T (his little pants are starting to look like high-waters on him!). When he was a newborn, I had some 0-3 mo. outfits that were too small (and he was a week old!). I found that Carter's ran very true to size; at 3 months he was in a 3-6 mo. size, at 6 months we moved into the 6-9 mo. size, etc. I have also discovered that once we got past the 9 month mark, it was a moot point. He would fit into the 9-12 month clothing for about 6 weeks and then had outgrown it. So, I just got him 18 months. He outgrew those in about 2 weeks and I said "Forget this!" and bought him 2T. The pants were a little long, so I cuffed them. No biggie.

Every child is so different and they do so much growing in the first 2 years that it really is difficult to to gauge clothes sizes with respect to their ages. Eventually, they do level off; in the meantime, however, it means that family members will insist on buying 18 month clothing because my nugget is 18 months old. And I will have to take it back because he outgrew those sizes at 9 months! LOL

Answer 2

I have never known a baby to actually wear the size they were grouped into by age. Except when they are first born. I have 2 girls, and six niece's and nephews. They have always been 1 or 2 sizes ahead. At 6 months they wear 9-12. my daughter is 10 months old right now. She fits perfectly into 18 month clothes from all stores!??? I don't why this is. I guess manufacturer's don't realize how babies are bigger than they think.???

Answer 3

It's better to go by the weight of the child when choosing clothes rather than the age of the baby. Most clothes will say 3-6 months or 12-18 lbs (I'm guessing). But if the baby is heavier than that... or just proportioned differently, you obviously have to go with larger sizes. It's not uncommon - I worked in a baby clothing store for a few years and plenty of people bought bigger sizes than the ages of the children. I wouldn't worry about it because once your baby becomes a toddler, the clothes will probably match his size (ie 2yr old= 2T).

Answer 4

Infant clothing runs small.

My son was always in larger clothing, he outgrew newborns in the first 2 weeks. At 25, he is a normal sized guy although a little tall!

My darling daughter on the other hand, is 18 months and in 18-24 months (some 12 mos too) but she is in the less than 25th percentile for average side. That means 75% of the babies/toddlers are larger than her.

Which means that for most babies the sizes have nothing to do with the age!

Answer 5

I doubt it. Babies just grow at different rates. My son started out in premie clothes and then by 6 months was out growing is clothes too fast. For us it's the onesies that we outgrow so fast, he's usually in the next size onesie and the pants are too big, so we have to go a size down. It's most likely just an average size, but I think a lot of babies outgrow them faster.

Answer 6

I know its been bugging me to. My daughter is 2 months and wears mostly 3-6 month and some 6 month clothes. Its not really her weight but her length. Her feet look scrunched in the 0-3. I usually just go by weight. Like I noticed that some clothes use 12-18 for 3 month, and some use 12-18 for 6 months. Its all a guessing game really.

Answer 7

My daughter is just over 2 months now and she fit's into 3-6 month clothing. When she was born she was already fitting into some 3 month old clothing. I think the best way to judge if it will fit (at least for babies, I don't know about toddlers yet) is to pay attention to the recommended weight. The 0-3 month clothes were for 10 lbs, so it makes sense that Shaelyn fit into it when she was born since she was 9lbs 3oz at birth.

Answer 8

I think they make clothing differently depending on the brand you buy, I have a 2 year old, and he can wear anything from 18 months to 24 months, and has a few 2T shirts. My oldest son was always dead on with the sizes, and my daughter was always way ahead. I don't think you can gage a child's growth accurately by the clothing sizes, they are just so different!

Answer 9

I think that's the way it is for most people! When my daughter was born she was in premie sizes then by the time she was 2 month's old she was in 4 month sizes! Now she's 5 year's old and wear size 7 I never pay attention to the sizes anymore they just don't make any since!

Answer 10

None of the children in my family (my sons, nephews, neices, cousins) have ever worn the size that would be considered "age appropriate." And some of them are/were not particulary big babies either. Some brands run small (like OshKosh in my opinion) and some seem to fit forever (Carter's). There seems to be a disconnect between what maker's of children's clothes seem to think are appropriate sizes and what actual babies really fit in!