Clothes in varying sizes

[fidgiegirl]

I have never been a person to keep clothes that don't fit me. Usually I get rid of them. But clearly a pregnancy is a different story. I kind of want to put away the clothes I can't wear right now so I don't keep feeling like I have so many clothes but really I have very few I'm using at this time. Also, I want to try to use them again someday, God willing!

Ideas for how to organize this? I feel like I want to purge as it pains me to leave unused clothes just sitting there for months, but not a good idea! I would have to buy a whole new wardrobe in just a few months!

[Tussiemussies]

Maybe you can box up your clothes that you are not using right now and put them in the attic. Think it is a good idea to keep them for future use so you won't have to spend money buying new clothing later on. Maybe with those clothes out of closet you will feel better and see more clearly what you need right now? Don't feel badly about it, you are doing the right thing....chris

[Rosemary]

You can't anticipate how your body will or won't change in the coming 2 years or so, between pregnancy and nursing. When I was pregnant I got rid of a bunch of clothes that had been a size too small before I got pregnant. Well, I could have used those about 6 weeks after DD was born. So I suggest just putting them in bins or boxes for the time being... but not too far out of reach because once you have an infant on your hands, going into the attic or crawlspace might not be an easy task. You might think I'm exaggerating, but seriously, it was sometimes difficult for me to take a shower in those days.

[Miss Cellane]

If you live where there are four distinct seasons, do you put your winter clothes away during the summer, and tuck the summer clothes out of sight somewhere in the winter?

Think of this as basically the same thing. Your body is now in the "season" of growing a child. There will be clothes that aren't appropriate to wear (i.e. won't fit around the baby) during this season. So store them away for now. Get a few clothes that will accommodate the baby.

Then, when your "baby-growing" season is over, you can pull out those clothes and decide if they still work for you.

If you are planning on having more than one baby, you will probably want to store your maternity clothes as well, instead of buying all new wardrobes with each pregnancy.

Think of this as a trial run for baby clothes. If you have family like I have family, you will be inundated with baby clothes of all sizes. You'll need to work out a system for sorting them by size and maybe boy/girl clothes and storing them until your child grows into them.

[mtnlaurel]

Congrats Fidgiegirl!!!! I am so happy for you!

When I was preggers with Numero Dos I discovered several key things that helped me out: (I had late winter/early spring babies)
1) white, navy, black LONG tank tops (and I think 2 bright colors) from Old Navy (maybe $5 ea. on sale) in big sizes that helped me extend the life of my regular shirts for a long while - like a layered shirt look
2) Single button at top cardigans that worked great that I could wear with said tanks or maternity tee shirts to dress it up a bit
I can't find the exact one but this gives the idea http://www.dillards.com/product/Nurture-One-Button-Cardigan-Sweater_301_-1_301_503088771
3) a pair of Merrell day hiker shoes that laced up from the toe and could get wider - my feet really changed during each pregnancy
kind of like these http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/30930W/78779/Womens/Siren-Sport-2-Waterproof?dimensions=0

I found when I was pregnant it was toughest at the first - I was really exhausted a lot and with Kid2 crazy all-day sick. I felt kind of lonely then, because we didn't want to tell a lot of people until second trimester.
Then there was this strange phase of where you don't really 'qualify' for maternity clothes, but you're not your old size either.
One thing that really struck me after having babies. For me, it was not like I just snapped back into shape! There was plenty of me to love when I left hospital with both babies -- so those sort of ambiguous middle sized clothes came in handy.
One thing that I did differently with #2, I made sure I had an outfit that made me feel good (yet stretchy/forgiving) to come home from hospital in.


Think of this as a trial run for baby clothes. If you have family like I have family, you will be inundated with baby clothes of all sizes. You'll need to work out a system for sorting them by size and maybe boy/girl clothes and storing them until your child grows into them. Yes, being preggers is like a part to full-time job in and of itself! If you have any retail experience it will really come in handy as far as 'rotating the stock' goes :)


So I suggest just putting them in bins or boxes for the time being... but not too far out of reach because once you have an infant on your hands, going into the attic or crawlspace might not be an easy task. You might think I'm exaggerating, but seriously, it was sometimes difficult for me to take a shower in those days.
Seriously once I got home those little guys & gals eat like every 3 hours... some days I would look up and not even have a shirt on and not really even know it!

Here's one other thing I never understood until I had kids.
My first trip out apres-bebe was to a Target and I FINALLY understood the beauty of the one-stop shop.
Getting underwear, toilet paper & milk all at the same place all made sense to me all of a sudden.
I had never understood why you would buy groceries (for a higher price) from a discount department store until that moment.