Photo by yoshimov, used under Creative Commons license. My son Felix has always been a big baby. He never lost any of his birth weight, and was double his weight at 2 months. Now he is a very happy and healthy 33 lb one-year-old.
I have always had a hard time finding clothes to fit him right. He has always been in double the age size at least for his age. He’s got amazingly chunky legs and the poor boy has been in sweat pants for such a long time. I long to have him in some dress pants or jeans. Sleepers are hard to find with wide legs and onesies seem to only go up to 24 months. I am also on the hunt for some wide running shoes too.
Can anyone suggest some clothing that I can possibly try for bigger babies or toddlers? — Karen
Does anyone have any tips other than getting clothes in larger sizes and/or rolling up the cuffs?
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Comments on Where can I find nice clothes for my big baby?
Unfortunately I have no advice for the clothing, my Squirt will be 2 in 2 weeks and is a tall and skinny 24lbs. The only pants I can find for him either fit the waist and flood, or fit the length and I have to safety pin them smaller! Thank the gods its almost summer and time for shorts! BUT, check out Stride Rite for the shoes. I know when I was a baby I had wide feet and my mom used to get my shoes from there. Squirt got some shoes from there recently and they actually measure the kids’ feet, and they do carry wides. You might pay like $30-40 for a pair, but buy them a half size or a size big to make them worth it. Good luck!
My boy was a big baby too. (9 lbs at birth, 21 pounds by his 6 month check up!?!!)
The only thing I ever found was to buy him bigger sizes that were usually far too long and either roll it up, or try my best to hem it, and keep my eye out for baggier clothing brands in smaller sizes.
When I say he was a big boy, I mean He couldn’t wear a diaper shirt after 11 months because they only went up to size 24 months and he outgrew that size, and long before he was ready to potty train he was in pull-ups because diapers didn’t fit anymore.
Now he is average weight, but still tall for an 11 year old.
omg im having the same problem my son is 8 months old and 25 pounds and 31 inches tall i am even more concerned thinking about his crib we have it on the lowest setting and he still tries to climb it so these things make me worry but clothes are also soooo difficult so im thinking i might just have to make his clothes….sigh. its all his dad lol his dad is 6’8 and 320 lbs so i should have known..
Instead of pants, what about toddler shorts, or even some neutral toddler capris? Something that affords the room in the waist and legs without being crazy long. Old navy worked for me cause they had khaki that looked dressy enough. For really fancy dress pants, you’ll probably need to buy toddler-sized and have them hemmed.
I had ONE pair of Rabbit Moon brand pants that I got at a thrift store and they fit my son for, like, ever. They were jersey and super stretchy. I can’t afford to regularly shop there, but maybe you can!
Also, maybe the folks at Widdlebee can help? They’re sort of like baby stylists and they specialize in affordable stuff. Even if they don’t have what you’re looking for they might be able to point you to a company who makes what you need.
I wish I had more info on the onesie situation, especially cause onesies were vital when he was your son’s age. My only guess would be to find someone locally who sews and hash out a price for making some custom-sized onesies for you.
I remember having the same problem. I did end up doing a lot of one-stitch hemming on pants. My kids still don’t like wearing pants with buttons, even though they now can. Anyway, advice:
You can buy onsie extenders, which can help a bit. Gerber also makes a 3T onsie which you can sometimes get at target, although they’re all boring white (tie-dye, perhaps?). If you have to switch to shirts, just go a little big. I found when my kids wore the “right” sized shirt they pulled up when I picked up and I was constantly tugging down, but one size up gave me a little leeway.
As for pants, try amazon.com-ing karate pants. They’re not quite so sweatpanty, although not that different. You might not be able to do jeans for a while.
For PJs, carters makes great pjs and you can often get them on sale. Buy the shorts ones and they’ll just be long like pants (but who cares, he’s sleeping!)
My kids both loved the little leather robeez. Sure, they’re not running shoes, but he’s not marathoning yet, right? I just couldn’t bring myself to spring for stride rite when they could barely walk.
Hope this helps. Remember too that even though you want him to be adorable in his clothes, he just wants to be comfy. And when you look back at the pictures, you’ll just see the adorable ball of chubby cuteness, not the sweatpants (I know, I was just looking back on my boy who, at 9 months was almost as wide as he was tall. Now he’s a skinny almost 5 year old and I wish I could just grab those thighs again!).
Thanks for the great advice! Definitely think the karate pants are an awesome idea! Also 3T onsesies I look forward to finding from gerber.
Most shorts are hard to squeeze his thighs in and Carter’s pj’s are too slim too.
You are right- comfort is the most important for him. We have had a few jeans/khaki’s we’ve gotten him into but ultimately a few hours later I’d take them off him because I knew if I were him I’d rather play in sweats too. At least sweats come in tonnes of fun colours.
oh man did I have this problem. He was in 2T before a year old. He was just a huge kid, I think he got all the skin and chub he’d need as a 2 year old at birth. We just went with the bigger sizes and roll them up. It crushed me that at 9 mos old he was already in “big kid” clothes but oh well. Good news is that now that he’s thinned out he can wear his chubby baby clothes as a tall and skinny toddler!
“Good news is that now that he’s thinned out he can wear his chubby baby clothes as a tall and skinny toddler!”
I’m so glad to hear this happens! I keep telling myself that I can invest in clothes for my 22 lb 6 month old because her body should stay about the same size for a while 🙂
It’s what happened for us. Suddenly just after a year old I looked at my son when getting him dressed and he had visible ribs! I hadn’t seen those since his gender sonogram! At 2.5 he just out grew the 2t shorts he’d been wearing since before he was 1. He went from being my super pudge to my super cute tall and skinny big boy.
My son is also Jumbotron. He’s 19 mo and 37lbs and 36″. Sweat-pants were the way to go. I never minded dressing him so sloppy because he was still a rolly poly. His legs are starting to slim out and I have good luck with girl’s pants a size smaller than his boy’s size. He is currently in 4T or 5T depending on the shirt and 3T pants. I gaze longingly at the cute toddler clothes because we’ve started the foray into kid sizes.
Shoes have been really hard for us. My son’s feet are still so chubby that they don’t slide into shoes with much structure. So we did the soft shoes for a long time and now I look for ones that are velcro and a really short toe space and long tongue. So I can pull them all the way open when getting them on. So Converse (and knock offs) have worked well for us and recently we got some skater type shoes. He has some gladiator man sandals that magically work too.
Mostly I try to not roll my eyes when people exclaim over and over “He’s so big!” Now it feels easy that he’s so large, I am really going to need Offbeat Mama for help when he’s a 7′ hulking teenager!
With the onesies, if it’s the length (and not the girth) that is too small, you can get extenders. It’s a piece of fabric with snaps on either end that makes the onesie longer. There are different sized snaps that seems to fit just about every onesie I’ve tried them on. They aren’t in EVERY colour, but it’s under pants anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
There are some brands with adjustable waistbands. My older girl is always a year ahead of her age in height so that is a life saver. My younger child is chunkier (and freaking adorable). I have had amazing luck at thrift stores. Most of the clothing I have found that is thicker has Chinese or Korean tags, I don’t know why, but it is great. I also found a small size t-shirt that someone turned into a “shorts” oncsie with some snaps. It is great too!
30lb ten month old here! I put him in girls leggings, because even if they are too long they scrunch up around his ankles and don’t fall over his feet. It’s hard to find them without fucking lace trim and bows though.
My 17 month old is 30lbs and three feet tall. He wears a size 3T top and 18-24month bottoms. I don’t buy any “out fits” everything is one piece that I put together. He’s legs are really short so I just roll up the legs. For PJs I just started putting him in sweat pants and a tshirt. Onesie sleepers don’t fit him properly whatsoever.
I don’t know if this would work, not having tried it, but I wonder about toddler sized shorts. Would they have both the right length and width? Also, it’s hard to think straight with that picture of edible-looking baby thighs. Nom, nom, nom!
My guy was 36 lbs. and 36″ tall when he turned 1. Hanna Andersson was a life saver! Their baby clothes run bigger than most and the design of their clothes just seemed to work for my very big guy, who is now almost 8 and only 7 inches shorter than me!
I have a similar problem – my 2 month old daughter is 8lbs at 24 inches (she takes after her father, who is 6’5 and will probably never find 30/40 pants). Either her onesies fit her lengthwise and are baggy or we can’t button them. There should be a big and tall baby store, lol.
Good opportunity for a manufacturer to make large size clothes. Mt Great grandson has been in age 3-4 years for some time and he’s only just coming up to 1 year
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Unfortunately I have no advice for the clothing, my Squirt will be 2 in 2 weeks and is a tall and skinny 24lbs. The only pants I can find for him either fit the waist and flood, or fit the length and I have to safety pin them smaller! Thank the gods its almost summer and time for shorts! BUT, check out Stride Rite for the shoes. I know when I was a baby I had wide feet and my mom used to get my shoes from there. Squirt got some shoes from there recently and they actually measure the kids’ feet, and they do carry wides. You might pay like $30-40 for a pair, but buy them a half size or a size big to make them worth it. Good luck!
Payless has wide baby shoes.
Check etsy. You could probably find someone who could make custom fit clothes.
My boy was a big baby too. (9 lbs at birth, 21 pounds by his 6 month check up!?!!)
The only thing I ever found was to buy him bigger sizes that were usually far too long and either roll it up, or try my best to hem it, and keep my eye out for baggier clothing brands in smaller sizes.
When I say he was a big boy, I mean He couldn’t wear a diaper shirt after 11 months because they only went up to size 24 months and he outgrew that size, and long before he was ready to potty train he was in pull-ups because diapers didn’t fit anymore.
Now he is average weight, but still tall for an 11 year old.
omg im having the same problem my son is 8 months old and 25 pounds and 31 inches tall i am even more concerned thinking about his crib we have it on the lowest setting and he still tries to climb it so these things make me worry but clothes are also soooo difficult so im thinking i might just have to make his clothes….sigh. its all his dad lol his dad is 6’8 and 320 lbs so i should have known..
Instead of pants, what about toddler shorts, or even some neutral toddler capris? Something that affords the room in the waist and legs without being crazy long. Old navy worked for me cause they had khaki that looked dressy enough. For really fancy dress pants, you’ll probably need to buy toddler-sized and have them hemmed.
I had ONE pair of Rabbit Moon brand pants that I got at a thrift store and they fit my son for, like, ever. They were jersey and super stretchy. I can’t afford to regularly shop there, but maybe you can!
Also, maybe the folks at Widdlebee can help? They’re sort of like baby stylists and they specialize in affordable stuff. Even if they don’t have what you’re looking for they might be able to point you to a company who makes what you need.
I wish I had more info on the onesie situation, especially cause onesies were vital when he was your son’s age. My only guess would be to find someone locally who sews and hash out a price for making some custom-sized onesies for you.
I remember having the same problem. I did end up doing a lot of one-stitch hemming on pants. My kids still don’t like wearing pants with buttons, even though they now can. Anyway, advice:
You can buy onsie extenders, which can help a bit. Gerber also makes a 3T onsie which you can sometimes get at target, although they’re all boring white (tie-dye, perhaps?). If you have to switch to shirts, just go a little big. I found when my kids wore the “right” sized shirt they pulled up when I picked up and I was constantly tugging down, but one size up gave me a little leeway.
As for pants, try amazon.com-ing karate pants. They’re not quite so sweatpanty, although not that different. You might not be able to do jeans for a while.
For PJs, carters makes great pjs and you can often get them on sale. Buy the shorts ones and they’ll just be long like pants (but who cares, he’s sleeping!)
My kids both loved the little leather robeez. Sure, they’re not running shoes, but he’s not marathoning yet, right? I just couldn’t bring myself to spring for stride rite when they could barely walk.
Hope this helps. Remember too that even though you want him to be adorable in his clothes, he just wants to be comfy. And when you look back at the pictures, you’ll just see the adorable ball of chubby cuteness, not the sweatpants (I know, I was just looking back on my boy who, at 9 months was almost as wide as he was tall. Now he’s a skinny almost 5 year old and I wish I could just grab those thighs again!).
Thanks for the great advice! Definitely think the karate pants are an awesome idea! Also 3T onsesies I look forward to finding from gerber.
Most shorts are hard to squeeze his thighs in and Carter’s pj’s are too slim too.
You are right- comfort is the most important for him. We have had a few jeans/khaki’s we’ve gotten him into but ultimately a few hours later I’d take them off him because I knew if I were him I’d rather play in sweats too. At least sweats come in tonnes of fun colours.
oh man did I have this problem. He was in 2T before a year old. He was just a huge kid, I think he got all the skin and chub he’d need as a 2 year old at birth. We just went with the bigger sizes and roll them up. It crushed me that at 9 mos old he was already in “big kid” clothes but oh well. Good news is that now that he’s thinned out he can wear his chubby baby clothes as a tall and skinny toddler!
“Good news is that now that he’s thinned out he can wear his chubby baby clothes as a tall and skinny toddler!”
I’m so glad to hear this happens! I keep telling myself that I can invest in clothes for my 22 lb 6 month old because her body should stay about the same size for a while 🙂
It’s what happened for us. Suddenly just after a year old I looked at my son when getting him dressed and he had visible ribs! I hadn’t seen those since his gender sonogram! At 2.5 he just out grew the 2t shorts he’d been wearing since before he was 1. He went from being my super pudge to my super cute tall and skinny big boy.
My son is also Jumbotron. He’s 19 mo and 37lbs and 36″. Sweat-pants were the way to go. I never minded dressing him so sloppy because he was still a rolly poly. His legs are starting to slim out and I have good luck with girl’s pants a size smaller than his boy’s size. He is currently in 4T or 5T depending on the shirt and 3T pants. I gaze longingly at the cute toddler clothes because we’ve started the foray into kid sizes.
Shoes have been really hard for us. My son’s feet are still so chubby that they don’t slide into shoes with much structure. So we did the soft shoes for a long time and now I look for ones that are velcro and a really short toe space and long tongue. So I can pull them all the way open when getting them on. So Converse (and knock offs) have worked well for us and recently we got some skater type shoes. He has some gladiator man sandals that magically work too.
Mostly I try to not roll my eyes when people exclaim over and over “He’s so big!” Now it feels easy that he’s so large, I am really going to need Offbeat Mama for help when he’s a 7′ hulking teenager!
With the onesies, if it’s the length (and not the girth) that is too small, you can get extenders. It’s a piece of fabric with snaps on either end that makes the onesie longer. There are different sized snaps that seems to fit just about every onesie I’ve tried them on. They aren’t in EVERY colour, but it’s under pants anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
There are some brands with adjustable waistbands. My older girl is always a year ahead of her age in height so that is a life saver. My younger child is chunkier (and freaking adorable). I have had amazing luck at thrift stores. Most of the clothing I have found that is thicker has Chinese or Korean tags, I don’t know why, but it is great. I also found a small size t-shirt that someone turned into a “shorts” oncsie with some snaps. It is great too!
30lb ten month old here! I put him in girls leggings, because even if they are too long they scrunch up around his ankles and don’t fall over his feet. It’s hard to find them without fucking lace trim and bows though.
My 17 month old is 30lbs and three feet tall. He wears a size 3T top and 18-24month bottoms. I don’t buy any “out fits” everything is one piece that I put together. He’s legs are really short so I just roll up the legs. For PJs I just started putting him in sweat pants and a tshirt. Onesie sleepers don’t fit him properly whatsoever.
I don’t know if this would work, not having tried it, but I wonder about toddler sized shorts. Would they have both the right length and width? Also, it’s hard to think straight with that picture of edible-looking baby thighs. Nom, nom, nom!
My guy was 36 lbs. and 36″ tall when he turned 1. Hanna Andersson was a life saver! Their baby clothes run bigger than most and the design of their clothes just seemed to work for my very big guy, who is now almost 8 and only 7 inches shorter than me!
I have a similar problem – my 2 month old daughter is 8lbs at 24 inches (she takes after her father, who is 6’5 and will probably never find 30/40 pants). Either her onesies fit her lengthwise and are baggy or we can’t button them. There should be a big and tall baby store, lol.
Good opportunity for a manufacturer to make large size clothes. Mt Great grandson has been in age 3-4 years for some time and he’s only just coming up to 1 year