A Mom Shares A Common Misconception About Baby Clothing Sizes In Viral Video

Kid and baby clothes sizing will forever be a pain the butt. Every single store has different measurements for the same sizes, nothing ever matches up with the age your kid actually is, and one minute something fits and three hours later it doesn’t. The mental work is confusing and frustrating.

My kid is a 4T at H&M, a 5T at Old Navy, and a 6T at Target. If I didn’t have her measurements memorized, I’d be in a world of trouble (and constantly in return line).

I always thought my daughter was big for her age (and honestly, she is!) because she was always a couple sizes bigger than her actual age. However, one mom on TikTok is debunking this thought after her reveal of how baby clothing actually works went viral.

Rachael Woolsey posted on the social media platform, asking moms if they, too, were out of the loop when it came to how baby clothes sizing actually works.

“Moms, seriously, why is babies clothing sizes not talk about more?” she asks. “I always thought I had the biggest babies because they were always in the size up above what they should have been in. No, no, I had the sizing wrong the whole time.”

She then reveals a little-known secret about how baby clothes sizing is supposed to work and most of us are doing it wrong. “If something says ‘6 months,’ it doesn't mean you start putting them in it at six months,” she says.

“It means you have up to six months of them fitting in it. Like, what, how did I not know this?”

She then goes on to say that she always thought her son was bigger than other kids, on track to be some sort of star athlete because he never fit in the “right clothes” for his age.

“I'm over here like, ‘Zang, we got a big boy, we got a future athlete in our hands,” she joked. “No, we got an average boy with a stupid mom.”

Her video soon went viral garnering 4.1 million views and over 500k likes as well as over ten thousand comments from other moms who shared their thoughts on her baby clothes sizing theory.

Some were just as flabbergasted as Woolsey about the revelation. “As a mom of 4...I DIDN’T KNOW THIS 🙃”

“I’m glad I’m watching this being pregnant with my first, thank you for teaching me!” another soon-to-be mom commented.

“I freaking wish I knew this with my first!! LOL,” Woolsey replied.

Others called BS on Woolsey’s claim. “People run with anything anyone says on this app,” one user commented.

“It’s true!!” Woolsey replied.

Woolsey reiterated her theory for those questioning her logic in another video. “For the people still not understanding what I meant, think of baby clothes sizes as an expiration date. So, if you see something for 3 months, it means 0 to 3 months. If you see something for 6 months, it means 3 to 6 months. If you see something for 9 months, it means 6 to 9 months, etcetera,” she says.

According to What To Expect, Woolsey is right. In a medically reviewed article, the outlet broke down the ins and outs of baby clothes sizing and noted that while baby clothes sizes are based on a few different factors, there is one major way to help ensure you’re buying the right size for your kid.

“Many parents will tell you (after experiencing this first-hand) a good rule of thumb is that the size on the label is often the max size. For example, size 3 months often means that it fits babies up to 3 months of age. Most 6-month-old babies wear 9- or 12-month-size clothing,” the outlet explains.

Of course, there will be outliers to this, and every kid is different, so this is just a rule of thumb. What to Expect also advises parents to do their research, look up sizing charts, and take measurements of your kid.

Woolsey also had a theory about toddler clothes sizing. “Now for toddler sizes, it's the opposite,” she said.

“Think of toddler sizes as the starting point. See something for a 2T, they wear it at 2T and they should fit in it from 2 to 3. If you see something for a 3T, they should wear it at 3 and it should fit from 3 to 4, etcetera,” she says.

Several comments noted that their kids do not abide by this particular theory, however, Woolsey says that this is just another rule of thumb like her baby clothes theory.

“Now I get every baby and toddler is different and this is more of just an estimate. My whole purpose of this is because so many times I was so excited for a cute outfit to be worn when they reached that age and they've already outgrown it by the time that age came about,” she said.