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The Truth About Baby Clothing Sizing From A Baby Clothing Maker Like most new parents, an important part of getting ready for baby is organizing all those teeny tiny, super cute new outfits! You’ve washed and folded them and arranged them in size order, so you’ll have just what she needs as new baby grows... Fast forward… you bring baby home and that gown you didn’t use right away because it says 3M doesn’t cover his feet! That gorgeous and super expensive outfit that Aunt Agnes gave you at your shower that says NB–3M, and that you’ve been saving for that perfect occasion, is too small and baby is only 6 weeks old! Sound familiar?
What are new parents to do? Don’t panic… Here’s everything you need to know about baby clothing! •
First, this may be obvious, but it must be stated. Just like you, babies come in all shapes and sizes. Just like you, a baby may be one size in one brand and another size in another brand. Just like there are no universal sizing standards for men’s and women’s clothing, there are no universal size standards for baby clothing.
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To make it complicated, baby boys & baby girls are on totally different growth charts, but baby clothing is cut for the average of both sexes. So a footie, for example, for a 6M girl or boy is cut the same size, even though a 6 month old girl that weighs 15.5 pounds is in the 50th percentile and a boy the same age that weighs 17.5 pounds is also in the 50th percentile.
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To make it even more complicated, baby clothing companies are often multinational. Your favorite French brand maybe designed for French–sized babies. Often times, that does not translate well to their American customers.
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Sizing parameters – Why will one brand have sizing that says 6–9M when another brand says just 9M? Great question. There should be no difference. An outfit sized “9M” is designed to fit a baby up to 9M – it’s the top of the size range for that garment.
To sum it all up – using age as a size indicator is a terrible way of buying clothing! Could you imagine going to the store and asking where’s the 21–25 year old section? Where do the 35 year olds shop? Makes no sense at all but this is the standard.