Girl Wonder is a tiny little thing, weighing in at just under 5 kg (she was 8 months on Christmas day). To my mind, this has numerous benefits. I love her compact nature, which allows me to lie to myself about the passage of time still cuddle and cradle her like an infant even as she's fast approaching the end to this stage of development. (I can't imagine how my back would be faring if I were carrying one of the larger babies I see everywhere around us!) And while it made locating baby clothes for her tiny 2 kg frame a challenge in those first few months, she has spent longer in some of our favourite little garments - she's now typically in a three month size, depending on the brand - which has allowed us to retain her wardrobe accordingly.
But much as I might wish to stall the ceaseless march of time, she is growing, as babies eventually do, and with this new year we're having a clear out too. That means finding a place, or purpose, for all those beloved items she no longer fits. Initially I thought of repurposing some of the sweet fabrics for a home-made sensory book for Girl Wonder. However I quickly realized that this sentimental mama can't bring herself to cut through those tiny memories ('she wore this when she first smiled'...'this is what she had on when she first met her uncle from Canada'...), while the practical side of me is loathe to discard still very-much-usable baby items.
Their lack of utility for us is not merely a reminder of how quickly Girl Wonder is growing up, but also of the fact that, however much I might will it otherwise, this is it for us; the end of my child-bearing years.
But we're in a small city centre flat, which leaves me with a dilemma. Staying in the moment might present its own challenges, but right now it's the letting go - even of those things which are mere symbols of what was and what will never be - which is wrenching my heart.
Bloggy friends, am I the only one sappy enough to feel a twinge as I discard too-small baby items? What have you done/will you do with the items your children no longer use?
But much as I might wish to stall the ceaseless march of time, she is growing, as babies eventually do, and with this new year we're having a clear out too. That means finding a place, or purpose, for all those beloved items she no longer fits. Initially I thought of repurposing some of the sweet fabrics for a home-made sensory book for Girl Wonder. However I quickly realized that this sentimental mama can't bring herself to cut through those tiny memories ('she wore this when she first smiled'...'this is what she had on when she first met her uncle from Canada'...), while the practical side of me is loathe to discard still very-much-usable baby items.
Their lack of utility for us is not merely a reminder of how quickly Girl Wonder is growing up, but also of the fact that, however much I might will it otherwise, this is it for us; the end of my child-bearing years.
But we're in a small city centre flat, which leaves me with a dilemma. Staying in the moment might present its own challenges, but right now it's the letting go - even of those things which are mere symbols of what was and what will never be - which is wrenching my heart.
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| Momentoes |
Bloggy friends, am I the only one sappy enough to feel a twinge as I discard too-small baby items? What have you done/will you do with the items your children no longer use?
Is is indeed hard to part with memories, or their tangible embodiment, for the matter. Such is life.
ReplyDeleteMost treasured items go into a memory box. The rest I hope to make into a quilt.
ReplyDeleteOr favorites will go a quilt one day, most of the rest passed on to family
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone in these feelings. I had to be emotionally ready before switching Lucy to the next size clothes, because I knew we would never use them again. It was very hard. Jon said I'm allowed to keep a few clothing items in each size, but the rest need to go. We'll likely have a rummage sale this coming spring or summer to start clearing out the sizes that Lucy is done with.
ReplyDeleteI keep most things I feel attached to. Sometimes I'll go through the box again later and find that I'm ready to let go of a few. Next time a few more until eventually I'm just left with the 'keep forever' pile.
ReplyDeleteI had a much harder time getting rid of those first tiny outfits than I do now that she's big. We donate ours to recently arrived Refugee families - it's the only way I feel good about letting go...
ReplyDeleteI am very much like you. We live in a small space, but I can't let those tangible things go. The stuff that feels the most important is in storage. But I've been trying to let go of the older outfits. I take a picture of everything before I give it away.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, hurts my heart a little bit every time we donate... we have kept some things and every time a friend has a baby girl I go through the box and get rid of a few things... It's getting easier. I'm saving the sweetest things for a quilt... Fingers crossed I get there!
ReplyDeleteI'm always the odd woman out... I have no sentimental attachment to V's clothes. I will definitely miss this snugly newborn stage but she is growing like a weed which pleases me for a couple of reasons. One, epigenetics may cause her to be tall, like me. Two, growing up may tug on the ole heartstrings, but that's what you want to happen... I meN, the alternative doesn't bear thinking about. So, yep, decidedly unsentimental!! I confess to keeping two little outfits, the rest I will be so happy to pass on to a frienr family member.
ReplyDeleteUgh, forgive the typos and autocorrect madness...
ReplyDeleteWe have been lucky in that most of Pickles clothes have been passed down to her from close friends so I feel okay about passing on those things further and keep the cycle moving. The pieces I chose for her myself? Much harder to let go of. I have a sensory book on my list of things-to-get-around-to-when-I-have-the time in which I plan to use the pieces I'm most sentimental about. In the meantime I'm storing them carefully in a rapidly filling box in the top of my closet.
ReplyDeleteyeah, I can identify with you and a couple of other commenters. Like Gypsy Mama, I think the tiny outfits are the most wrenching to part with. On the other hand, like Lauren says, growing up is good because the alternative doesn't bear thinking about. I don't know what I'll do with AJ's clothes yet. There's a few items I really want to keep. The outfit she came home in, and the pajamas her daddy picked out for her a couple days before birth (I insisted he pick something out because my mom and I had chosen everything else) go in her "memory collection" (a small-ish bag of items). Everything else goes into a box in the closet that is getting full shockingly fast. I guess at some point I will have to go through them (or have someone else go through them while I watch but don't touch) and assess what I want to do. Can't do it just yet!
ReplyDeleteMost of E's clothes are hand-me-downs from my niece or things I bought at my favorite second hand store. The few bits I feel very attached to, I currently have stashed away in my top dresser drawer. I'm not sure what I'll do with them, but try to be very logical/choosy about what I keep. I have to "retire" at least one piece of clothing a week due to E's growing! I am quite sentimental about seeing her bursting out of a onesie that used to be huge on her. I don't know if she will or won't be my only baby, so that helps in some ways.
ReplyDeleteI love the brightness of Girl Wonder's clothing, from your pic. I just love happy colors on little ones. Makes my heart happy.
Sigh. I find it hard to just put them into another drawer of the dresser (so that the drawer under the changing table only contains clothes that actually fit). The idea of the sensory book sounds wonderful to me - perhaps my thought is, I'd rather cut them up and keep pieces than eventually not have any of the outfit anymore? For now I keep most things for possible future siblings, so I'm delaying actually having to think about what to keep.
ReplyDelete