Clothing- How Do U Estimate Future Size??

I forgot most of that stuff but what I do remember is that they were in 24 mth. clothes FOREVER!!!!! There is no "assuming", they grow at their own pace. Another thing I remember is that they always wore bigger than what they "should"....i.e. at 6 months they wore 12 mth. clothes...
Hope that helped somehow...

I say stick with 12 mo for swim suits. Its the one article thats better too small than too big, plus with use, they stretch out.
My oldest always needed a size up, and my youngest always needed a size down from her age. My first was in the 80th percentile for size until she leveled off to 50th when she was three or so. My youngest has consistently been in the 3rd percentile and wears 18 mo at age 2.5. Look at your childs percentile size status and decide if she runs large small or med. Based on that buy her the size for her age (med), a size up (larger), or a size for her age or smaller for runts.

My daughter was 4 and still wearing her size 12 month bikini. She just got taller and lost the diapers...

I know my granddaughter is in a size 1 shoe now. She tends to grow slowly I the feet so I know if I found a pair of Easter shoes that I loved I'd get her a 1 1/2 or a 2 at the most. If they don't fit her by Easter then she'd wear them during Summer.

If I am buying her clothes for next year, like now, when so much stuff is on clearance from Winter, she's just going into a 7-8. I'd buy her some 10-12 and even some larger because she'll eventually wear them.

For a baby? I'd go with a slightly larger size so she could wear it longer.

I always had to guess at that age. For the most part my children would wear 12 months at 12 months etc... Now that they are older that isn't so much true. My 8 y.o. will only be in a size 7 short this summer and would be in a size 7 jean, but his legs are to long for them. Shirts very from 7 to a 10 depending on the brand. After a few seasons you get a feel of which clothing runs true to size. My 3 y.o. wore an 18 month skirt to church yesterday, but at 18 months there is no way she could have kept it up.

I would go with a 12 month 2 piece suit that way if she has a long torso it won't matter. Also at 12 months old we just did a swim diaper with no swim suit and lots of sun screen.

One thing you could do is size up and figure that you can turn the cuffs. Keep in mind that Gerber runs small and Carter's runs big, so if you want more room, get Carter. If there's a brand that consistently fits her well, buy more of that. And bear in mind that a lot of things can be worn big. Babies grow fast. Better to size up than down. For the swimsuit, bear in mind that 1 yr olds need swim diapers so the butt can be bigger. If you think she'll fit a 12 mo suit, then get one. IMO, get a tankini. 1. easier for changes and 2. will fit her better if she is long.

You can also fill in some of the basics from thrift stores and then only get what she needs when the season starts from someplace like BRU. When she is older, it will be easier to guestimate. I'm buying 5s for DD because she's in 4s now and I bet she'll fit 5s by fall so I'm getting this year's end of season sales. If you have a skinny girl, then look inside pants for the elastic waist adjusters.

Well, you can think of it two ways.

First, if she'll be somewhere between those sizes over the summer, it wouldn't hurt to get a few things in each size -- some for early summer, some for late.

Second, though, if they're putting those things out now, they're probably full price. You can save quite a bit by waiting until closer to the season, when they start to mark things down. And then you'll know her size.

Finally, this is probably the last year you'll have this dilemma. By next year (or definitely a year after) she'll be "a size a year" -- if she's 3, she'll wear a T3, etc. What I do now is buy my son's wardrobe for the following year when things are on markdown. This past summer, he turned 6. Around August, I grabbed what I could in size 7-8 on clearance. Now I have most of his clothes for this coming summer, only I got them at 75% off.

Always go with the bigger size.

How do I estimate future clothing sizes? Badly - that's how. My kids were always the tallest kids in their grades and they always grew out of their clothes quickly. At 3 months they were wearing 6 month size so for a while I thought if I doubled their size I'd do well - and it did work sometimes. Try a swap with yoru firneds. If the clearance items are cheap enough $3 or under? Then buy it and maybe swap it out with another mom if you get to the size before or after the seaon. Once I got a deal at a StrideRite outlet store for extra wide shoes (my son has a high instep) so I bought the next size up too. by the time I realized he had outgrown his sneakers he had also outgrown the next size up since he went through one of those growth spurts. I gave them to another mom who was thrilled to have them (pre-Craigslist days...)

At this point, you have a good idea of how your child grows and what their body type is. My son is tall and slender and has been since 3 months. So I have always had a good idea of what size he will need. The only thing I warn you about is I would buy what looked like a "good deal" up to 2 years in advance and then when I would put it on him, I would wonder why I even bought it. Like a put on a dino t shirt recently and it looks so stupid and babyish on an almost 5 year old. You should be ok buying things a year in advance, especially if it's a coat or a bathing suit. I would wait on a bathing suit for now since they are not on sale but yes, she would probably need a 12 month bathing suit for this summer.

it is hard to predict when they are tiny babies.. my daughter was born in december.. in june she was 6 months old.. I had a bunch of 6 month clothes ready for her to wear..but my daughter was so tiny..she wore 3-6 months all summer...

now she is 7.. she wears size 6 shirts and 7 slim pants.. tall and skinny..with very long legs..

When kids move up a size in clothes.. (size 6 months gets too tight) and you move up to the next size.. the next size is huge.. absolutely crazy big.. it happens all the time... I get tired of too short pants so i get the next size up. an the pants are so long you have to roll them up.. but kids grow.. anything too big today.. will be just right in a week or a month then it will quickly be too smal..

you cant really go by the sizes on the clothes or the chart of what htey should wear.. it all depends on the child.

for example gymboree run super big.. those clothes are huge... but childrens place runs small.

you have to know your child and what size she is and what brands of clothes fit her. it is not unusual for a kid to wear a different size top and pants.. both of mine do...

With my 3 grandchildren it's worked well to buy the size that matches the age. With each one I bought clothes ahead of time in 3 mos, 6 mos, 12, mos, 18 mos, 24 mos. etc. all during the months before birth and continuing. I bought all those sized all along. For example before birth I had a few of most of those sizes. Then when they reached the size of the clothes, no matter what their age, they wore those clothes. Most of the time the age and size were close. But not always. My nearly 2 yo granddaughter is still wearing 18 mos clothes. She wore 12 mos at 18 mos but it's looking like she'll be in 24 mos soon after she's 2. she's having a growth spurt.

So, in shopping now, I buy size 3 for next winter because there isn't a 2 1/2. Last winter I bought size 18 mos for this winter. I look for clothes that will go into the next season. i.e multi season styles. Long sleeves and long pants work into mid summer here. She wasn't ready for the 18 mos size until February but she had a growth spurt and she's started into them this month. She had 12 mos clothes left over from summer to wear.

It's OK to wear clothes a bit tight and also too big. We roll up waistbands and legs often.

What clothes look like in size can be misleading. I've bought clothes that looked too big that weren't and vice versa. I just don't worry too much about the size. She can wear them when they fit. Maybe I can do this because Oregon temperatures are pretty much cool except for a couple of months in the summer and even then there are only a few days that are over 85 or so. We need jackets for evenings even in the summer.

As to the swim suit. She'll most likely be growing in length and so her butt will be close to the same size she is now. And buy a swim suit that has stretch in it to account for growth.

I suggest that you buy an assortment of sizes and then she'll grow into them when she grows into them.

It's definitely tough because you don't know when or if a growth spurt will happen. Also, some brands run big and some run small, which might explain why she is outgrowing some of the 6 month outfits but the 9 month ones seem huge.

If the swim suits look small (or fit her now), then I'd go for the next size up. Or maybe find a suit that is 12-18 months. They tend not to be as big as 18 months but bigger than 12 months.

For swimming, you could just do a swim diaper as suggested and then get a cute swim shirt to help protect from the sun. It won't matter as much if it's big. Plus I tend to go a size up on my kids for swim shirts. It makes them easier to take on and off.

If you do for a swim suit and you are putting it over a diaper, chances are the diaper will help keep it up even if it's a little big.

Bri-

This gets easier as they grow older and its easier yet, when you have a boy. Boy's clotghing is much more mix and match. We stetched garments by layering. the onsie could be worn under a sweater. A t-shirt could be worn over a long sleeved onsie. a long sleeved shirt could be worn over a muscle t. etc.

Just remember, as is the case with infant clothes, toddler clothes also has the listed size as the generally good till size. i.e. if something is marked 3T, you can probably use it anytime after the 2nd birthday till sometime before the third birthday.

I buy some things the next size up when I can find them on discount. I don't bother with returns (can't be bothered). I just pass on my cast offs, whether new, or used. I come into other people's misestimates, so on average, I figure I am doing ok

good luck to you and yours,
F. B.