To think that baby clothes of the appropriate age OUGHT to fit a baby on the 50th centile - ie plumb average?

[Octaviapink]

My DS is smack bang on the 50th centile curve and has been since birth. He'll be 5 months old on Saturday and has grown out of his 6-9 month items and is well into 9-12 months. Is it just me or is this ridiculous? Surely the 50th centile is the definition of average, so logically clothes for his age should fit him? Are manufacturers being cheap with fabric, knowing that most people will buy a bunch of clothes for various ages before their children are born - ie are they cynically taking parents for an expensive ride?

50th for height anD weight? If so hten YANBU, obviously.

Where are you buying them?

My 9.5 month old, 91st centile DD2 has only recently gone into 9-12 month clothes...

Maybe, despite being average weight, he is especially long or especially chubby? In what way are they too small - are they tight or is the length wrong or is it everything?

I found with ds1, who was on the 75th centile, he always seemed to grow out of everything bang on time - so every three months and then every six months as he got older. I never saw anything tight on him, though, they were always short - including tops. Now he's 4 he's been in the same size over a year.

With ds2, who was on the 91st centile up until about 12 months and has never been weighed since , he grew out of stuff quicker but still has some 9-12 month tops that fit, (he's 21 months now) but 18-24 months stuff looks fine too .

So overall, ime YABU, if anything I find baby clothes quite generous. Where do you shop?

Do you use cloth nappies? Modern baby clothes are cut for disposable nappies - much less bulk. Ds was on 25th centile for weight and 75th for height at that age but always into next size a month or so "early" whilst in nappies.

I have the opposite problem, how odd! DS was 50th centile born and only dropped down slightly but he is only just in 3-6 months clothes at 5 months and still fits in lots of 0-3 sizes. I don't know how long he is though but suspect he will be on the short side.

It's always the arms I notice first, they start not reaching his wrists but everything else seems to fit fine.

I think it might depend on whether he has a long body in proportion to the rest of him. My 5mth old nephew fills 6-9 month bodysuits and needs the trousers becaseu otherwise they'd be sitting low on him, but my sis has to roll the legs up a bit if they're from mothercare.

If she gets the Tesco stuff, then 6-9 month fit him properly, but not for long. it's the same with all clothes, every factory will come up differently.

Dd3 6.5 m 16lb1 (approx 35th pc)is just going into 6-9 months.

It depends where you buy them. I find George and Next come up big, tesco is average and mothercare come up small.

Yes, the more expensive brands/ European brands are smaller. Gap/ Vertbaudet are small. Asda is massive!

DD is just over 50th centile for weight, but is long. She is just heading into 9-12 month clothes, but definitely depends on the make. Next dungarees seem pretty small on her.

Definitely varies from brand to brand. Can't comment on 50th centile as 9mth ds was 11lb 3oz born - I've no idea what he weighs now but he fits in some 9-12mth (just) but also some of his brother's old 18-24 mth clothes.

He's tall and stocky and off the charts for both measurements I would imagine but I have to try things on him in each different store as they all fit differently.

My DS is the opposite - he's 25th centile for height and weight, and at 21 months, is still in 12-18 months for most of his clothes - some tshirts are 9-12. He's in cloth nappies, too, so if he is in disposables, the trousers drown him.

everything varies. dd was 25th born, moved up to 50th and is now 75th. until she was 3 months she was 3 months behind in clothes sizes. after that she has outgrown things on the dot every 3 months since. i find tesco sizing v random, next average and mothercare huge but vertbaudet small. dd is short though and grows out of things widthwise a long time before height/length.
gap clothes are tiny.

I'm suprised a 50th centile baby is racing through the sizes that quick, i have one well over the 90th on both height and weight and he tends to be in his real age of clothes, maybe moving up slightly before but not that much. It must depend on the build of the baby or maybe where you are shopping?
But babies of the same age vary so much in size that whatever size they make them someone is going to find it doesn't suit

I wonder if this has anything to do with the growth charts changing recently.

All growth charts used to be standard for formula-fed babies, meaning breast fed babies seemed underweight. They changed this last year to make all growth charts standard for breast-fed babies.

It may have nothing to do with it but if your baby is on the 50th centile on a breast fed baby chart then he may be small for the average baby in England???

On the other hand it may just be dodgy shops with their silly sizing.

My ds was 50th centile too but was always smaller clothes generally or just into the right size. However mostly depended on brand. NEXT clothes always lasted him a long time and at 5 months old he would have been in 3-6 month sleep suits just but prob still 0-3. However in Tesco, Asda etc, he was in 3-6 months and they fit fine.

I have a 50th percentile baby too -- try John Lewis. They are too big for about a month and then they're just right.

Agree European sizes are smaller.

and mine's BF

Just measured him and although he's 50th for weight he's very L-O-O-O-N-G. So I guess I am being unreasonable!

DD2 is 6 yrs old and still wears a pair of GEORGE white cotton shorts size 9-12 months!

I think it depends more on the proportions of the child than the weight tbh. DS is 17 months, and between 9th and 25th centile and still in 9-12 month clothes mainly. Some 12- 18 tops fit and some 6-9 bottoms fit!

Both mine sped through clothes DS 50 percentile for weight but when born he was the longest baby MW had delivered 59cms and stayed very tall and long (he was and still is difficult to shop for as in order for clothes to fit him lenght wise they flog his waist) he looked really skinny.

DD still long but not as long but 75 for weight didnt go through clothes anywhere near as fast.