Miss Manners Nightmare or Just Plain Practical?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the baby shower that the ladies at Ajay's work threw for us. I received an enormous amount of the most thoughtful gifts...lots and lots of clothes, as well as toys, blankets, and whatever else you can think of that a new baby might need or want. Here's a shot of the loot that I came home with that day......and this photo doesn't include the little red wagon we received packed full of everything a little girl could ever need for a day at the beach!



I also have several girlfriends who had babies somewhere around two years ago...and let's just say that these little girls are very well dressed little cuties. So the last time I got together with the girls, I came home with a whole bag of baby girl clothes....



We're talking overalls, onesies, little dresses with matching little ruffled bottoms...tons of cute little things that look like they've never been worn. When I was telling my friend Tamra about all these great hand-me-downs I received from our mutual friend, she said the clothes look unworn because they weren't ever worn...and the reason why is that for most baby showers, people love to buy the itty bitty sized stuff, and you end up with too much of the smallest size. After reflecting about the motherload of things I received at my shower, I had to agree. I had enough stuff to warrant changing Alia three times a day for the first three months. And that's where my friend let me in on her little secret...

She said before her baby was born, she gathered up all the 0-3 month stuff that she received as a gift (that came with a gift receipt) and carte blanche exchanged it for 12-18 month sized stuff---the same exact clothing item, only a year later in size. She said that way she stretched out the usefulness of all the thoughtful gifts she received, and nothing went to waste. (However, Tamra also said when she let her sister in on this strategy, her sister was less than impressed and told her it was rude to return or exchange the gifts.) To me, though, it made sense...all the teeny tiny little summer clothe styles that I received for Alia will work just as great next summer, when she's wearing the larger sizes.

I don't know what Miss Manners would say, but for this girl, I'd much rather get good use out of these generous gifts than let them go to waste (or rub Alia's poor baby skin raw by countless outfit changes per day in an attempt to use them all.)

So today, that's how I spent my day...I gathered up many of the things that people were kind enough to give me and thoughtful enough to include a gift receipt with and exchanged them for the exact same outfit, only bigger.

So for any of you out there who are not afraid to offend the Miss Manners of the world, there's my secret...I exchanged some clothes for bigger sizes. Because for me, I'd much rather think that a gift I've given gets used regardless of the receiver exchanging it for a different size.