flea

So I bought a smallish bottle of this, for about $9. I've used it three times now: did a patch test for reaction (none) and have done my legs right after shaving, about 10 days apart.

It has all the problematic aspects of self-tanners that I remembered from my one previous experience with them, about 10 years ago: a little smelly (not as bad as it used to be), a little orange-ish (not horrible), prone to blotchiness and staining ankles and knees extra-dark and weird edge issues. It also tends to stain the hair follices, so very close up I look a little spotted in areas.

That said, it's not terrible. (This is why I used it the third time.) One application is enough to take the edge off my blinding whiteness (which is perhaps more noticeable now that I live in the Land of Tanning-Bed-Using Sorority Girls). Two applications on successive days would probably make me as tan as I've ever been in my life. It comes up much darker on just-shaved (=exfoliated) calves than on washed but with babyfine hairs thighs.

I wish they'd make this product in, say, a lotion that went on purple and dried clear, then let the tan come up (as it does) over 4-8 hours. That way you could see where you were applying it and strive for more even coverage. Like those purple glue sticks, you know?

This is a personal take, based on my 3 years and 1 month of being a parent and dressing my kids. My biases are in favor of simple, bright-colored, gender-neutral, striped, made of natural fibers and well-engineered clothing, and opposed to the hoochie-mama, camo and/or football-themed, polyester, frothy lacey, itchy, uncomfortable, designed by people who have never attempted to actually put the outfit on a baby clothes that proliferate out there.

For an infant, you can't beat Carter's. Their stuff is widely available, including at discount stores like Baby Depot and TJ Maxx, and they have outlets. It's mostly natural fibers - lots of all-cotton. It's generally pretty cute, and they've done stuff like Eric Carle theme, though you have to watch out for extreme sports-orientation on boy stuff and extreme pink on girl stuff. It wears well. The real reason I love Carter's for infants, though, is that almost all of their clothes are designed for the way real babies are. Snaps down the crotch, snaps or envelope sleeves at the shoulder, all-in-ones whenever possible - these are clothes that it's relatively easy to get on a wiggly 3 month old, and that stay on and are comfortable. They are cut with tiny little legs and arms and big long wide bodies, the way babies' bodies are made. The Dillo mostly wears onesies and knit pants right now, and sometimes he wears footie pajamas all day. I mean, if you can't wear pajamas all day when you are 3 months old, when can you? My devotion to the Carter's terrycloth sleep-n-play has been mentioned in this space before. We have a super-adorable blue one with a red lion on it in rotation right now.

Baby socks: Go Trumpette, Choose Trumpette! Seriously, the only baby socks I have found that stay on an infant, and CUTE designs (monkeys (http://www.trumpette.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=20), Mary Janes (http://www.trumpette.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=34)). Down sides: expensive (get your hipster childless friends to buy you a six-pack), my children have enormous feet and outgrow the 0-1 year size by about 3 months. (They do have a 1-2 year size, which I have not tried).

Baby shoes: IMO baby shoes are more silly than cute on babies under about 6 months, but before they can walk, you gotta go with Robeez. The gecko shoes (http://www.robeez.com/product.aspx?ProductID=28&deptid=3&PriceCat=2&Lang=EN-US&RefID=5015)! They're expensive, too; several people, including Carter's, are now making similar knock-offs. Or get Grandma to commit to shoeing your child, which is what we have done.

Hipster onesies: There are tons of sites that have cute and ironic baby onesies and t-shirts (www.glarkware.com, http://www.ferdinandhomestore.com/, http://www.bumperboy.net/shop/index.html, http://www.oliebollen.com/searchResult.aspx?CategoryID=618). They tend to be very pricey (you can get 5 new Carter's onesies in cute designs for $14, or lots of onesies for $1 each or less on ebay, while you can easily pay $20 for a hipster onesie) and the sizes may be odd - in my experience they run small rather than large.

If you are buying baby clothes as a gift for a friend, I strongly suggest you ask what size the baby is wearing now. If the baby is not yet born, of course, this makes it hard. In general, buy big. My kids (8lbs, 8lbs 10 oz) fit in "newborn" size for about 10 minutes, and some things never fit them. Obviously other babies are smaller. Also, people get lots of gifts of newborn and 0-3 month clothes and then the baby grows (in the case of my babies, very quickly) and they suddenly have no clothes by the time the baby's fitting a 6 or 9 month suit.

Okay, this is way long already. I'd better make it part 1; more on toddler clothes later.