We live in the age of great baby clothing choices – today’s parents are lucky enough to be able to have a ton of fun choosing from a huge variety of fantastic and often hilarious outfits for their new baby. If you’re a parent, family member, or friend of someone who’s had a baby, there’s a real sense of fun and excitement when it comes to choosing newborn baby clothes and gear. It can almost seem like a bit of a competitive activity, seeing who can find the most unusual, outrageous, hilarious or adorable baby outfit, costume or accessory for a newborn.
Chances are, if you’re old enough to read this article, your own baby photos will involve you wearing a variety of outfits, from beige to blue if you’re a man, and probably cream to pink if you’re a woman. Stamped on the front of it could have been a boat, a flower, or perhaps one of the few characters on children’s television at the time. Almost certainly the words that don’t come to mind when you think back to your previous outfits were memorable, eye-catching, and remarkable. Frankly, if they were noticeable, it was more than likely for the wrong reasons, in which case most of said photos were probably thrown out or hidden long before.
A brief look at baby clothing items available at malls, mail order catalogs, or online sources reveals a plethora of options, and often with outfits, costumes, and slogans that make you stop, laugh, and reminisce. Why should our newest family members dress up in neutral colors, with simple outfits, helping them blend in with the background? A proud new parent, relative or friend will want her child to be noticed, remembered and appreciated as an individual part of the family unit. In many ways, baby clothing gifts help give your little one the chance to do anything except fade into the background amidst a gala of creams and beiges.
There are relatively few times in a child’s life when they can get away with wearing the most outrageous outfits and costumes, adorned with absurd, even bawdy slogans, and yet get away with it completely. They are completely innocent, and that innocence is their gift, as well as their escape from any guilt due to the slogans that adorn their little bodies. Little boys wearing slogans like “I’m a tit man” will elicit screams of hilarity and adoration from almost everyone who sees it.
‘Party at my crib’ is another catchphrase that seems in a sense taken directly from the adult world, but with a twist that appeals directly to anyone who has seen the smallest member of the family in the smallest hours of the morning. Sometimes laughing at the situation is the only route through the first few weeks and months that gives a new parent any chance to hold on to a few shreds of sanity.
For many new parents, the smallest addition to the family can have a disconcerting effect. Suddenly, it feels like their previous identities have been folded up, packed in a suitcase, and slid under the bed, ready for an indeterminate date sometime in the next decade or two. It would certainly be true to say that baby clothes gifts can help cement who you are, your beliefs and weaknesses as a family by actively involving the new baby in some way. For example, a couple heavily into rock music, now not so much banging their heads under the stars, but nodding their heads to the tune of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,’ might start to feel like their identity is fading. with each regurgitated mouthful of baby. food. It’s amazing what a difference having your precious cargo in a romper suit with ‘Daddy Rocks’ or ‘Mommy Rocks’ spelled out in heavy goth letters with a guitar running through the slogan can make.
Many aspects of raising a baby need to be laughed at in order to stay sane. When you’ve changed your thousandth diaper, you start to feel not only like an expert, but like you’ve been doing it since you were born. Stopping and thinking about what you’re actually spending so much of your time on can be a bit nerve-wracking, especially in the first few days when everything is new and more of a shock. Having your bundle of joy lightly powdered wearing a sleep suit with ‘If you can read this, you’re close enough to change my diaper’ can help you and those around you laugh at the situation.
Buying baby clothes gifts for new parents who come with a smile is more than just helping to dress their children: it’s mental health insurance.
