A 6 months, is not a 6 months, is not a 6 months

When I found out I was pregnant with a girl I went buck wild buying clothing for her, and so did my mother. We bought an array of sizes, by different brands, as we didn't know what size she would be when born. I even went as far to buy clothes for her when she was older, guesstimating the size she would be during the summer months, or even larger winter clothes she would wear when she was around 12 months.  Little did I know that a 3 month size in one brand is not the same size in another brand...by a longshot.

Right now, baby M is approximately 17 pounds and 27 inches long. So she is a pretty slender baby, but definitely has some chubster legs (like her mother), and broad shoulders (again like her mother). We just went shopping for some new pajamas at Carter's and she ended up in a size 12 months...12 months!! Here is what I have found about different brands and their sizes (Note: I realize that babies are different sizes, this is just our experience with these brands):

- Baby Gap - right now M is in size 6-12, but she has been since about 5 months. She fits their clothes really well, as they are made a little longer than other brands, which works for her long torso and legs (she gets that from her giant daddy). I find that Baby Gap runs pretty true to size, but she definitely won't be in this size after a month or so from now. What baby is the same size at 6 months that they are at 12 months? Where is the 9 month size?

- Little Me - This is a brand of clothing sold at Lord & Taylor. Believe it or not, we still have a little kimono top and pant set that is a size 3 months that she can still fit into! Granted it doesn't have feet, but we still fit the pants in the waist, and the top fits just fine.

- Carters - As I mentioned before, we are now in a size 12 months. I find that these run a little on the small side, and have since she was born. I am a huge fan of Carter's though because they are very affordable and always have pretty cute graphic prints. My only complaint is that the sleep n play's we bought would shrink a bunch in the wash - I always ended up having to pull them to stretch them out before I put them on M.

- Ralph Lauren - At 5 months, we were in size 9 months in Ralph Lauren. These definitely run on the small side. My mom is a Bloomingdale's frequent buyer so we have a lot of Ralph clothes. You can also get them pretty cheap at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. We have a couple of adorable pieces from Ralph, but they aren't every day clothes.

- Janie & Jack - Speaking of not everyday clothes...I could spend a fortune in this store. This is where the fancy grandmas shop! We have a few things (gifts) from here, and we wear them on special occasions. They are made extremely well, and I think are the best looking baby clothes out there - if you like the preppy look like I do. We are now in the 6-12 months size, but again, where is the 9 months?

- Hannah Andersen - My mother, being of Danish descent, fell in love with this Scandinavian store. They have really cute, simple clothes, but not at a simple price. They are also made for shorter and chubbier babies. They run in weird sizes (50, 60, etc.) too. What are supposed to be long leggings end up being capri on baby M, and they are always too big in the waist. Their clothes are very boxy too, but some things are too cute to pass up. And if you are that mom, you can buy matching clothes for yourself!
 
- Circo - To my dismay we can no longer buy the 3 packs of Circo PJs that they sell at Target. These were our absolute favorite. They were lightweight, just had a few snaps at the crotch and came in the cutest patterns and colors. We outgrew the 6-9 month size recently, and can't seem to find anything comparable for that great of a price...boo hoo. These also shrunk with every wash, but with a quick tug on the legs we were able to fit into them. We wore each size until M was unable to straighten her leg they were so tight!

Like I said before, all kids are different shapes and sizes, this is just what we have found with each of these brands of baby clothes. What have to found to be true about the sizing of baby clothes?