4-Year-Old in Onesie: A Glimpse of Time Flying by

It was a reminder of how small she still is, and a measuring stick for much she's grown; my daughter came downstairs last night wearing a purple onesie handed down to her from her older cousin.

There she stood in front of me; covered head to toe, resembling a little grape. The garment was pulling on her shoulders and plucking at her toes, like violet flannel shrink-wrap.
Due to its cramped sizing, we were prepared to make a donation of the footed pyjama; but the moment she saw it, my daughter protested. There is still that infant inside her, which either consciously, or through some emotional muscle memory, yearns to be seen as the helpless infant she once was.

Seeing her with those snaps, climbing from crotch to clavicle, and her feet wrapped in treaded cotton, made me realize how many years have passed since rubber stitching on her soles represented little more than a wink of humour, and hinted at the day when she might crawl, let alone walk.
Now, though she is only four and running still brings with it the uncoordinated risk of a tumble, the pencil measurements on the kitchen wall climb quickly, the pyjamas grow larger and larger, and her vocabulary resembles more so the protestations of a teenager rather than the babbles of a newborn.

I'm not sure if there is a ceiling for onesie sizing. I believe they exist to accommodate adult measurements; I remember girls adorning them on cool nights at summer camp, perhaps seeking that same perception of childhood, and the need to be cared for. As for more practical needs for adults sizes: the onesie did appear more than a century ago as a pure provider of warmth - disguised as what we now refer to as long underwear - complete with the convenient trap door.

As for my son - two years my daughter's senior - he abandoned onesies years ago in favour of Spider-Man sleepwear. But, even those bottoms are reaching above the ankle, and the top not quite making the journey to the wrist bone.

Imagine, seven year-old, and already outgrowing a super-hero costume.

When did that happen?

 

 

 

Comments

[Carla Karam]

Kenny... wait until your 7 and 4 y/os are 24 and 21 and are still wearing feetsy-pjs! How the years go by... good thing I was blessed with a little girl who is now 5... and yet it seems that the growth bug got her too!! Blessings to you and yours!

[ThaiHoa Burroughs]

It goes by way too fast!