There are a lot of questions parents of multiples face. Some of these will be personal, and some will be practical. Here’s one that’s a little bit of both: should you dress the babies the same, or differently?
There are pluses and minuses to each side, and the right decision is the one that works best for your family.
Matching clothes: the pros
There are a couple of solid reasons to match your multiples in solids. Or stripes. Or blue. Or anything else really.
- It will likely save you money: If you see an outfit for your babies that you like or that’s on sale, it might make sense to buy a couple pairs.
- It will definitely save you time: Putting them in the same outfit saves you precious, precious time.
- It might make it easier to recognize the babies: This applies more to the future when your multiples can run around on their own, but even with all their cuteness, babies can be a little nondescript. At the very least, this could help other caregivers recognize them better, even if you need no additional help.
Matching clothes: the cons
A common concern that people have about dressing their multiples alike is that doing so will somehow compromise their children’s unique identities. Another concern is that the children hate it (and some do!). But at this age, should you decide to dress them the same, your little ones are so young that they won’t even notice. By around 3 years of age, they’ll start to enjoy picking out clothes, and then you’ll have to reassess.
The main con to dressing your multiples in matching clothes right now is much simpler: it will be harder to tell them apart! Unless you have a foolproof way of determining who’s who, proceed with caution when dressing your multiples alike, because any parent can be fooled by identical onesies!
While the babies are so young, matching their clothes might save you a lot of time and effort that could otherwise be put towards diaper changing, feeding, or quality ‘you-time’. Then again, you might dread the day that you forget who’s who for a second. In a couple years your multiples might protest, but for now, what works for you is definitely the best choice.
Sources
- “Gender Identity Development in Children.” HealthyChildren. American Academy of Pediatrics, Nov 21 2015. Web.
