I cannot clothe this child. Nearly 2 years old, only 23 pounds, size 12 month waist but 24 month length

[ChristusG]

My youngest DD is about to turn 2. Clothing her for the summer was easy. I could put 12 month skirts and shorts on her with no problem. They may have been a little shorter than normal, but they fit. Winter is a different thing altogether. She's very slim and tall for her age. 12 month waists fit her fine. Most 18 month and 24 month fall down. However, she needs that 24 month length. 12 and 18 month lengths look like capris on her.

 

How in the world do I find pants for her???? I guess I could do mostly skirts/dresses with tights or leggings (since those fit a little snugger than actual pants), but I would like to have her some pants as well. I do realize that some toddler pants have the adjustable waists, but that's a lot of adjusting! It bunches up so much on the sides.

[Luanne]

This is why my daughter lived in overalls and dresses with tights under them for years.  She couldn't keep her pants up or they just weren't long enough.  I was very thankful for Oshkosh back then.  :D

[happi duck]

This is why my daughter lived in overalls and dresses with tights under them for years.  She couldn't keep her pants up or they just weren't long enough.  I was very thankful for Oshkosh back then.  :D

 

:iagree: As soon as I read the title I thought "Ah!  The overall years!"

[ChristusG]

Ahh, overalls! Why hadn't I thought of those??? LOL!

[bolt.]

Some stores sell pants with button-hole elastic at the waist, for adjustment -- the better stores have this well beyond the toddler sizes. I never buy without it. My *8* year old was wearing a pair of size 2-waisted shorts this summer (OK, it was for pajamas, and they are sort of mis-sized, but, still!) All her pants look quite bunched up. You get used to it.

 

Skirts are great, with warm leggings, and dresses fit forever.

[Jackie]

The downside to overalls is that they make potty training very difficult. We did a lot of dresses with Baby Legs at that age, and a lot of leggings. And once she was out of bulky diapers and into underwear partway through the winter, I even had to put a few stitches in the waistbands of all her leggings to keep them up!

[Miss Tick]

I thought this was going to be about naked babies. My dd spent that age wearing as little as possible. We still refer to it as "The Naked Christmas". Must have been a short-term sensory thing.

 

Sorry I can't give any words of wisdom for your actual problem.

[Luanne]

The downside to overalls is that they make potty training very difficult. We did a lot of dresses with Baby Legs at that age, and a lot of leggings. And once she was out of bulky diapers and into underwear partway through the winter, I even had to put a few stitches in the waistbands of all her leggings to keep them up!

 

Fortunately my daughter potty trained in the summer.  I didn't even think about that part.  As soon as she was somewhat reliable in that department, it was back to the overalls again.

[Amira]

We did one-piece rompers until my son was nearly 3. They're hard to find in larger sizes, but we got some at Gymboree for both summer and winter.

[Um_2_4]

Sears! Seriously their brand of clothes fit the long and skinny. That way the "bunch factor" would be less.

Our nephew (same age as DS9) was sooooo tall (both parents 6'4"+) and super skinny due to a medical condition(like weight of a 6 mo old). I got his measurements and sent him a gift when he was 12mos and sears was the only place I found clothes that would fit.

His mom was so happy with them she asked me to send her more (they are in Europe).

 

Also for girls I would totally do the dress/leggings route. I do lots of that for dd7 because she is skinny and doesn't like the stiff waist on jeans.

[....]

My 6 yro weighs 37 pounds (she's Asian) but is in the 50th percentile for height. Her waist is very small. She wears mostly dresses with leggings from Children's Place or she actually wears leggings AS pants. Sometimes she can wear yoga pants and I fold the side of the waist band to tighten it and then I safety pin it. I have to do that for the 8 yro, too (who is also very petite).

 

Not sure if that helps at all. I even thought about just making their clothes. I did threaten to fly them to Korea so they could all go clothes shopping. But, yeah, dresses, leggings, leggings as pants...

[dbmamaz]

My daughter mostly wore leggings until close to puberty, yes even with regular shirts.  Do the slim sizes at lands end start that young?  I dont think so . . . 

[Veritaserum]

My skinny Minnies wear a lot of dresses with leggings, one piece outfits, or adjustable waist pants. Overalls are a great idea! I buy slims with adjustable waists when I find them.

[Ravin]

2t, adjustable waistband. Tights with skirts/skorts that fit. I would have had this issue with DD at that age, if not for the bulk of cloth diapers.

[itsheresomewhere]

If you can sew, I highly recommend the easy fits pattern by CarlaC.  Sears brand is still too large in the waist for DS.  I still end up taking in waists for him.

 

Just a odd thought but what about buying the capri length leggings in the 2t/3t size right now.  They are blowing those out very cheap and that would be the correct length for her and not too bunchy in the waist.

[SKL]

Leggings.  My eldest is slim, has no butt and was out of diapers at 1.5.  I gave up on buying her pants, and to this day, I still don't bother.  Now her sister has also slimmed down and we just don't have pants, period.

 

I tried finding some overalls, but at least when my kids were tots, overalls (without diaper snaps between the legs) were very hard to find.  I found one pair on ebay and that was it.  I hope you have better luck.  :)

[Veritaserum]

Oh, I also bought a spool of button-hole elastic and turned knit (or other) pants into adjustable pants. I didn't bother finishing the edge of the "button-holes" I created in the waistband. I suppose you could use Liquid Stitch if you are worried about fraying. Sew on a button at each hip or sew the elastic at one end and just one button at the other.

[Susan C.]

Would boots cover the too short pants?

[Wabi Sabi]

I also have two very skinny kids. My dd pretty much lived in skirts/dresses and Baby Legs. You might also try the leggings from Gymboree. They always fit in the waist when all other brands fell off of her.

 

ETA: Old Navy's and Children's Place leggings are also good choices for skinny kids.

[lanabug]

Sigh...I feel your pain!  My 8 year old hasn't hit 40 pounds yet.  We found Children's Place to fit narrowest.  Carter's also seemed to run slimmer.  Now that she's in a size 6, it's easier to find Slim sizes.  When she was in toddler sizes, she spent at least one or two winters wearing leggings and knit pants that I pinned at the waist.

 

Lana

[Mergath]

Could you try boys jeans?  The only slim pants I ever see in 2T are for boys, whereas the ones for girls don't seem to start until they get up to size four.  

 

Ooh, Land's End appears to have a slim option for some pairs of girls 2T jeans.  They're a bit spendy, but you could try there.

 

My dd had (and still has) the same problem.  She has some 24m leggings she can still wear.  They're actually the only leggings that don't hang on her legs.

 

ETA: Here's one pair that comes in slim:

 

http://www.landsend.com/products/girls-5-pocket-straight-leg-denim-jeans/id_256427_5

 

Or maybe that's just the legs?  Hmm. 

[Lolly]

My girls all wore leggings as pants at that age. Some of them even looked like pull on pants...When you are ultra-thin, leggings aren't tight!

 

[Laura Corin]

I feel your pain.  Calvin was in the slimmest jeans with the button elastic pulled to the tightest notch.  These days, I almost always have to run elastic through the back of trousers.  He has a 28" waist and 34" leg.

 

L

[Joyofsixreboot]

I had this with my oldest and now youngest.  We just go with really warm knit tights and dresses.  She hates overalls. I did use overalls for naked boy.  I had to pin his shirts to the straps to keep clothes on the kid.

[strange_girl]

I feel your pain. My 4 year old just hit 30 pounds. He is so skinny!

 

My daughter was also very slim as a toddler (well, still is), and it was always leggings or overalls for her as well. If she wore regular pants, the elastic in the waist was always pulled to its tightest.

 

But I am not very fussy about kid clothes (or my own, for that matter), so we always end up using whatever we have.

[beaners]

We just did the button pants bunched up because they were on the tightest setting.  Sometimes it looked a bit silly, but I figured it looked less silly than pants falling down around their ankles or being embarrassingly short.

[City Mouse]

Another idea for clothes for really skinny kids is Dollar General or other similar stores. Their clothes are not good quality or long lasting, but they are usually cut skinnier than better quality clothes. When my DS was in his super skinny phase, that was one of the few places I could get pants that would stay up.

[blondeviolin]

Would boots cover the too short pants?

This is what we do for my oldest (7 length, 4 waist). We buy the smaller jeans and then she wears boots on top so it's not noticeable that her jeans are too short.

 

My 4yo lives in dresses so it doesn't matter for her.

[VeganCupcake]

My DD is 5 and still has this problem. Leggings are the answer for her.

 

Now, for my skinny boy, who is 2.5, thankfully :huh: he is still in cloth diapers, because the options for boys seem fewer. Without the fluffy bottom, he'd never keep any pants over 12 months' size up.

[KungFuPanda]

My daughter wouldn't wear overalls :-/ That kid was average height, but 5% weight. I just bought her stretch pants and put a stitch in the back to hold the up. She lived in Hanna dresses from ages 5-8.

[Donna]

My dd was 22lb at 2yo and 24lb at 3. She always wore dresses with leggings in the cold months and just dresses when warm.

[Jann in TX]

I bought leggings then put darts in them to take up the excess...

 

When oldest dd was big enough for 'slim jeans'  (skinny jeans woud be even better) --I would buy the ones that did not have elastic in the back-- and then I would add elastic in the back to prevent gaping.  To do this I would just use a simple zig zag stitch and sew the elastic directly on the back waistband starting and ending at a side seam.  I would stretch the elastic as much as possible as I stitched.  I had to do this for YEARS....

 

Leggings under a dress with boots was oldest dd's most common winter outfit.

[torikei]

When my daughter was 4 years old, DH sent her to school in crop pants. Thing is the crop pants were her brother's size 12 month full length jeans. :) Looking back, we bought a lot of Osh Kosh and sometimes we just had to embrace the high water style. :) Once she hit 4T, it wasn't too bad because we could find slims.

[alef]

Hm, can't say I know what this is like, my babies seem to hit 23 lbs around the 4 month mark...

 

That said, overalls sound like a great idea.

[ChristusG]

Thanks so much to everyone!!! Looks like leggings are the consensus if I want pants. And thanks to the children's place suggestions. I stopped in there tonight and their clothing does seem to run slimmer. And I discovered jeggings lol! What a horrid name, but they were the answer! The fit tighter like leggings but look like pants. I was even able to get a size 24 months for a good length. The waist is still a bit big but doesn't fall down. Yay!!!

[ChristusG]

I never had this problem with my first DD's when they were this age. But I do have this problem with DD9 now. But now I can buy 10 slims for length when she's only an 8 in waist. Thankfully my middle DD is just average height and weight lol.

[mommymonster]

My DS was 19 pounds when he turned 2... I feel your pain. We went the suspender route with his pants. It was pretty adorable. Maybe consider suspenders for a break from leggings?

[Mom in High Heels]

I have this problem, but unfortunately, I can put dresses and tights on Han Solo.  ;)  He's in the 10% for weight and 90% for height.  He needs 2T for length, but 12 months for waist.  It's such a pain.  I buy the ones with the adjustable waist, but he just ends up with a ton of fabric bunched up around his waist.  I miss clothing in Europe, which is long and skinny.  I've found that I can buy 18mos with the adjustable waist (12 month are way too short), and then sew a small cuff of fabric to make them long enough.  I have to use a plaid or something, since he's a boy, but you could do all kinds of fun things with girl clothes.  You could use cute fabrics, make ruffled layers, etc.

 

Also, I'm terribly jealous that she's potty trained all ready.  Han Solo has taken an interest (YAY!) and even used the potty once, but it's not an every day kind of interest.  Boys are so hard!  Indy was scared to death of the toilet in general, and wasn't fully potty trained until he was 4.5 (and it included many, many tears-his and mine).  I'm hoping Han Solo will be a little easier.

[MistyMountain]

Both my girls are skinny. My oldest refuses to wear jeans so she wears leggings and fleece pants. Some of the fleece pants brands can fit skinny kids. For my youngest I just look for pants that are not big in the waist. I try everything on before buying. 

[mermo]

dappersnappers.com

[Susan in TN]

For my dd (now 10yo) I ended up putting a few stitches in the waistbands of her pants, mostly leggings.

[GSOchristie]

I was going to suggest jeggings or skinny jeans from Gap. They don't fit like skinny jeans, but they also stay put, at least better than other brands. CP is the worst for us, they seem to be wider in the hips, of which my dd has none. It is a joke in my family that "the Piper" is a dance move where you hitch up your pants :). She also potty trained at 19 months so we have long moved out of needing diaper space in pants. She is 2 and 7 months and still wearing 18-24 month clothes for both length and girth.

[GSOchristie]

These are our favorites: http://www.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=6427&scrollto=skinny&mlink=6427,6840877,DP_EBB_TG_Fit_2&clink=6840877.

[J-rap]

Big diaper pins held my daughter's pants up til she was about five years old.  :)  She didn't care at all then, but it's funny to see pictures of her with that big lump under her shirt due to the diaper pin gathering and holding together all the extra fabric!  She was 21 pounds at two.

[PeacefulChaos]

Pink's on the littler side - Link is, too, but when he was younger he was pretty average.  It didn't become noticeable how SKINNY he was until he hit 5-6 (and then when he didn't gain any weight between 7-8! :) ).  Both the boys hit 20 lbs when they were like, 9 months old, etc.  Pink, on the other hand, didn't hit 20 lbs til 18 months old. 

I'd say now, at almost 4.5, she probably weighs in the low 30s.  34-35 maybe?

Anyway, the winter she was 2 she went through a dresses/leggings phase anyway.  She literally had pants in her drawer that she refused to wear.  :lol:  I don't know if you have Belk where you are, but I absolutely LOVE the J.Khaki brand leggings they sell there.  They always have a lot of tunics and tops, too, to go with them, as well as dresses, in fun prints and colors so it doesn't get boring.  Well, they always have in the past... haven't looked much this year.  (I went and looked just for kicks)  The stuff was always really cute for her age and stuff at the time, too - and the leggings fit her well. 

This year she picked out some pants at H&M that are like leggings with a little more thickness and substance.  The pair that fits perfect is a size 2-3, I believe... I also accidentally picked up a 4-5 (or 5-6?? Can't remember off the top of my head.) and those work, too - they're just a little bigger around and longer, but they still stay up ok.

Other than that, we just always stick with adjustable waists.  It's harder in the colder weather, since with summer stuff it's easy to pull off stuff that is a size smaller with length and such.  (Link always has to have adjustable waists, too, at age 9 - he can still wear a 7-8 easily, and even THEN it's still cinched!  Unfortunately, I've gotten used to the bunched up look - but on a boy, it's not as noticeable since everything is made to be a little more relaxed fit anyway.)