Lapsaky Cotton-Fleece Romper

The cotton-fleece romper that I recently bought online arrived today. Not hating it, not thrilled.

The good: The inside of the romper is really soft--just like polyester fleece. I went with the "natural" color (no dyes or bleaching), which in the photo on the website looks stark white, but in reality is a nice cream.

The bad: The website describes this as a winter romper, but even though it's not *that* cold where we live, this romper is not thick enough to be worn on its own. For people in truly cold climates, this might not be the best romper for your babies--unless you're the type of people who, say, like to frolic in semi-frozen bodies of water or have your babies nap outdoors in the winter, and probably think I'm a total wimp for classifying my current location as anything less than balmy. Nevertheless, in my wimpy opinion, I'd say the romper would be more suitable for fall/spring. So my first problem with the romper is: What's the point of the snuggly cotton fleece if you have to wear layers underneath it and thus not get to enjoy the snuggliness? Yes, that's right, I am peeved on my baby daughter's behalf.

Then here comes problem number two. There is a zipper that goes all the way from the neck down to the left ankle cuff. Since I've been known to shriek uncreative curses at snap buttons in my head--usually while trying to do up about a trillion snap buttons around a flailing, hysterical baby--you would think I'd be appreciative of this zip. Except that there's this lining along the zipper track on the inside that is stiff and scratchy. Again with the scratchy. Not comfy. Not snuggly, damn it.

I could stop fussing and just leave my baby to suffer with an itchy left leg as she sleeps, but these little things REALLY bug me. I know, it's her leg, not mine. But it STILL BUGS ME.

So here we are, with a nice, cuddly-soft cotton-fleece romper but it looks like R will always have to wear an extra inner layer. Maybe that scratchy wool underwear I recently bought her. Argh.

Searching for Snuggly

Is it just me or do the seasons lately seem to change in the blink of an eye, rather than a gentle transitioning? One day, the sun will be lighting up the green foliage outside my window; the next, like an overnight blizzard, I'll wake up to find everything changed, the trees and ground suddenly cloaked in yellow and pumpkin-orange leaves. And just as suddenly, the temperature nose-dives. This is the worst part. Now more than ever, because like most parents, I think, I'm always stressing about whether the baby is too warm or cold during the long nights.

It's confusing to me because they tell you (don't ask me who "they" are) that baby should always wear one extra layer of clothes than what you've got on. But then I'm always seeing little kids scampering about outdoors in nothing more than a t-shirt and jeans, while I'm bundled up to my nose in my thickest woolens. Kids just seem more warm-blooded than adults, but maybe that doesn't apply to babies, especially sleeping ones?

Anyhow, R has a sleep bag made of wool, which supposedly is good at regulating body temperature. But I'm still obsessing about how to dress her underneath that. I don't know why but in the US, there only seem to be two choices for baby pajamas sold in the mainstream stores: thin cotton or thick polyester fleece. I don't want R in synthetics during the night, and layering on the cotton seems extremely stiff and confining, especially when R likes to roll about A LOT in her sleep.

The past few nights, R has been waking up crying, and when I go to her, her hands and arms are icy. So I broke down and splurged on some versatile woolen underwear from Nuno Organic but couldn't bring myself to spend $60 to $90(!) on the thicker one-piece PJs that she'll surely outgrow before next year.

Yesterday night was FREEZING though and I just knew the wool stuff I'd ordered wouldn't be enough. I briefly considered the Snug Organics cotton sherpa sleeper (warning: maddeningly slow-loading website), which sounds pretty snuggly. But at $48, this was way too pricey. After a lot of searching for warmer baby sleepwear made from natural fibers but that wasn't crazily expensive, I settled on an organic cotton-fleece romper ($35) made by Lapsaky. Will report back when I get it and test it out on R.

Update: my reviews for the wool thermal underwear from Nuno Organic and the Lapsaky cotton-fleece romper.

Wanting Useless Things (Though Not for Myself)

I don't know if many other moms and dads have suffered from a similar insanity, but considering I've never been a shopaholic, it's stunning just how badly *I* want these Baby Bloch ballerina slippers--which cost about $40, by the way--for my baby. Who can't even walk yet. And won't tolerate anything on her feet. It's just stupid, I know it. But look:




Right? All the little details--the little elastic bow at the front and all that. Exactly like real ballet slippers...but mini! I can see how these in toddler sizes wouldn't have the same suck-you-inability. Even before I had R--and wasn't crazy about babies--I always thought baby shoes were cute. But these literally make my insides squelch. I can hear an actual squelching sound.

The strange thing is that Baby Bloch doesn't seem very popular in the US. What little stock I could find--yeah, I searched, just out of curiosity, of course--was not very nice. They seem much more popular in the UK and Australia. No idea why. Just like golden syrup and hot custard sauce, I guess there are some great things that may never catch on over here.

Or maybe it's the first picture that greets you on the Baby Bloch website. I mean, I can see how the impression they were going for was adorable. But does anyone else see an unfortunate resemblance between the two bald and bashful souls below (okay, baby has a bit more hair than the action movie guy)?

Kicky Pants Bamboo Baby Clothes

After finding some very sweet onesies online, I was all ready to make a purchase when a few thoughts stopped my finger from hitting the "checkout" link. Admittedly, the first one was: Am I really about to pay $20 for what is essentially a basic cotton onesie?

I realized with chagrin that I'd been focusing on things with cute or pretty graphics, rather than considering more important factors, like baby girl's comfort. No, I wouldn't dress her up in one of those stiff, scritchy floral numbers--like the ones my mom had recently bought for R with so much enthusiasm, I don't quite know how we're going to get out of that one. But, after one particular hot day recently, when the baby had sweat through her cotton onesie and became so soggy she got plastered to anything she came in contact with, I started wondering about alternate materials.

This wondering led me to bamboo. Although I'm not entirely convinced because I could only find the following info at various retail sites, it seems fabric made from bamboo has all kinds of good qualities: it's insulating, antibaterial, and wicks away moisture from the skin--better than cotton, supposedly. In addition, pesticides aren't necessary when growing bamboo, so you can feel a little better about the material being against your baby's skin or even in her mouth, as the case may be with a sleeve-sucking kid. However, the website SAF (safe alternatives for) Baby wrote:

We’ve heard about the toxic process of bamboo from plant to fiber which can be harmful on the environment. So, we searched for a company that offered a safer, non-toxic processing alternative.

SAF Baby then went on to recommend the company Bamboosa. By the time I found this article, however, I'd already ordered some baby clothes from Kicky Pants. I liked the clean simplicity of its organic Bamboo Basics line.

Although the Mother Earth and Baby site offers the best selection of colors at the lowest prices I could find--e.g., $15.30 for onesies--they only have sizes from 0 to 12 months. Wanting to stretch my dollar a little, I was looking for bigger sizes that would last us longer. Little Speckled Frog is offering 99-cent shipping until the end of May, and the prices aren't too bad, but their sizes and colors are limited. I finally settled on Amazon because they had a free-shipping deal, the size I wanted, as well as a very adorable pink romper that I--yes, I--needed my baby to wear (it's got these three rows of little ruffles on the butt...).

Well, the clothes arrived and I was immediately impressed by the very fine, smooth texture of the fabric. It's deliciously soft. There's also a stretchiness that makes it great for R, who is getting more active these days, rolling across the floor during her exploratory forays--and, today, doing this adorable inchworm-like forward scootch. Now, when I touch R's regular cotton onesies, they feel so rough and stiff in comparison!

As for all the other properties of bamboo cloth, those remain to be seen. But I think there might be several opportunities for Kicky Pants to be field-tested in the near future, as assorted relatives living in Singapore and Japan are demanding that we come and visit this summer. Tokyo in July...hmmm.

Onesies!

Until now, I've scarcely bought any clothing for R because every single baby gift I've received so far has been clothes. The little miss's cabinets are full to bursting. We could start a baby sock shop.

I can only surmise that there must be something universally irresistible about miniature outfits. I know I can't wait to buy things for R myself, and now that the weather is warming up, I've been surfing the Web for some less pajama-looking onesies, particularly ones that are decidedly NOT pink. If anyone reading this is doing some searching of their own because they need to buy a baby gift, can I give you one piece of advice? No one--trust me on this--wants to dress their new baby girl in Pepto-Bismol pink. Baby R's own wardrobe often looks like a flamingo exploded in there, but what can you do?

Here are a few nice onesies that I've found so far:

Brown Swamp Grass by Circular Accessories

The Hunt by Circular Accessories

Fawn Print by Shyness & Bloom

Cherry Blossom by Shyness & Bloom (see adorable "bottom" detail)

Escape by Circles & Squares (see closeup of graphic; picture shows baby tee but it's also available as long- and short-sleeved onesies)

Guinea Pig on organic cotton by Circles & Squares (comes in both infant-onesie and bigger-kid sizes; there are also other onesies printed with less commonly seen creatures like the meerkat, kiwi bird, and anteater)

And although they aren't onesies, I really like the gentle colors and jovial vegetables featured on the organic baby tees by Puddlefoot. My favorites are the beet and celery.


An added bonus is that Puddlefoot offers free shipping to addresses in Canada and the United States.


*The onesie shown at the top of this post is Old School Woodsy, sold at The Retro Baby.