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jfischer1115
member
Hand-me-down clothes from 28 years ago?
jfischer1115
member
I'd like to preface this by saying my entire IL family is incredibly giving and sweet, but also incredibly socially awkward. I fully appreciate their generosity, but don't quite know how to handle this situation.
We announced our pregnancy to the family, and I have heard from several family members that I will not have to buy nearly any clothing no matter the gender because all of the clothes from my husband and his cousins are still around and being stored for this exact reason. Now, it's awesome that someone took the time and space to keep all of those clothes; however, I do not feel comfortable dressing my child in 28-year-old clothes that have been kept for the last 10 of those years in a box in a basement.
There's never been an addendum at the end saying, "You don't have to use them if you don't want to," so it will come off as rude if I decline up-front. I know the polite thing to do would be to dress the baby up in one of the outfits now and again and take him/her to a party or take a picture and post it on facebook. But really, the thought of that even grosses me out!
Am I overreacting? Should I dress my baby in the blue velour sailor suits my husband wore, and be grateful I don't have to spend money on clothes myself? Am I being silly by imagining the bugs and cobwebs on the clothes that were made in 1984?
If I'm not being a whiny weiner, how do I go about not dressing my baby in this mildew-fest without offending his family?
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Re: Hand-me-down clothes from 28 years ago?
oh lord. My MIL is coming on vaca with us next week and flies in Fri. they are also extremely giving and kind, but I am waiting to see what gems she has to fofer when she gets here. she is a nurse, and she LOVES to give med advice, so I am sure she will chime in on dos and donts etc etc.
I would go ahead and take the clothes...dig through them and pull out one or two outfits that are not horrendously old and ugly, and just take them and put your baby in them one time while they are their. With the amount of things you will receive for presents for the baby, you won;t even get to use all that stuff, so it won't seem odd that they don';t see everything on the baby.
Luckily my husband is out of town, so I have some time on my hands... here is a preview of what our son would look like.
Not sure what that fabric is, but it looks nice and stiff. Just what every toddler loves to go with their starched collar.
Suspenders? Why not! Zooming in, it looks like there might be a perfectly matching ascot connected to that shirt, too!
I can take the over-sized sport coat and bell bottom corduroys off the registry.
I LOVE IT!!! And I would also use one of those camera apps that make it look like your pictures are really old. Classic!
Eewww! lol
Yeah, 28 yr old clothes gives me the creeps. I don't know how I would handle the situation but that clothes wouldn't go on my kid.
Oh, don't worry, he has a sister! Lucky for you guys I'm not comfortable posting her baby pictures online.
"I can take the over-sized sport coat and bell bottom corduroys off the registry."
YES!
28 YEARS AGO!!! Were people even alive back then??
You can wash the clothes. I'm mean we're talking 1986 not 986 B.C.
I've got a bag of 36 year old baby clothes from my MIL. You stick one on him every once in a while and take a picture. Believe me, this will not be the grossest thing you find on your child in the first year.
You're in-laws may not get you any clothes other than this, but everyone else will. Don't worry, you're kid won't be stuck in baby jams and scrunchie socks, although if they have a hypercolor onsie I will totally buy it from you
Just wash them. It's really not a big deal. They're not even hand-me-downs anymore, they're vintage at this point, which is pretty cool actually.
I mean, if it were a vintage Chanel dress worn by Audrey Hepburn 50 years ago, would you be grossed out by that?
Ha! How much for some L.A. Gear?
I am in TEARS here. That was awesome. Seriously, the clothes will be fine, but todays standards of flame retardant did not apply back then... just sayin...
GL.
I know you probably feel like you have to accept all the clothes, but maybe you could tell them you'd like to go through them and pick a few items since you'll most likely receive a ton of clothes as gifts. I mean, what if other people in the family have little ones and want some of the old clothes, too?!
I'd hate to store tons and tons of old clothes just for the sake of keeping the ILs happy.
This being said, my mom actually kept quite a bit of mine and my sister's clothes from when we were little. I went through and picked out some sentimental outfits for my daughter. There were actually some cool clothes in the stacks, too! One of my favorites is a pearl snap long sleeved shirt that I used to wear with my jeans and cowboy boots when I was about 4. There's a great picture of me with that shirt on, and I'd love to have a pic of my daughter in the same shirt (which, like I said, is probably back in style and is actually "vintage" looking).
Good luck!
Its really not gross, just wash it all, use whatever you want... bag up what you don't. Then maybe try and sell Vintage Baby Clothes on ebay, it may be profitable.
Omg...I am cracking up the for the laugh!!
Omg...I am cracking up thx for the laugh!!