If these Clothes Could Talk

In my last post I laid out a list of areas of improvement for Hannah. Well, I left one of them out. It doesn’t fit into the resolution category and there is little I can do about it, because, trust me, I have tried.

You see this sweet outfit?

I want to burn it.

Why, you might ask? Any mom would love to see their daughter in this Sierra Julien sample sale steal top and Gap polka dot skirt, right? Of course! And the first time Hannah put it on I thought she looked adorable. Same for the second time. But on the 20^th day in a row I had had enough.

Yes, Hannah has chosen to enforce her control and decision making capabilities in her closet. Once known as the most stylish baby on the block with people flocking for her hand-me downs, she has been wearing this very same outfit (switching between purple and pink nylons) for about two months.

It first started as one of four outfits in her weekly rotation when I thought she may be a sensory sensitive child. She kept going for clothes that were soft, tag-free and had elastic waists. Jeans and sweaters have become a foreign concept in her world. But as Christmas vacation approached she became fixated on this ensemble. So much so that we had to invent the getting dressed fairy who left a small gift in her car seat if she got dressed in the morning with little fuss. The morning routine got drawn out and it was a constant yelling match if I hadn’t done laundry the night before.

So over the past two weeks I have given her exactly what she wants. Every night I wash the ensemble and in the morning she is overjoyed to wear it once again. A small victory for her, and the disappearance of a headache for me. But with school starting in just a few days, I’m wondering when exactly this is going to end?! At this point, I’m over the fact that she is far from the best-dressed girl in her class but more concerned about her warmth in the cold winter months and the unworn clothes slowly getting too small in her closet.

I’m actually thinking of “accidentally” leaving the outfit in the country when we go home this weekend but cannot quite imagine the recourse that may result. Or maybe I should take a pair of scissors to the beloved ensemble? Put it in the dryer on an insanely high heat level to shrink it? The options are endless but at the end of the day the only way she’ll get over this phase is on her own (I hope, fingers crossed!)