toddler girls and dresses-stupid question

[NicaG]

I have an 18-month-old dd, and I want to buy her some summer play dresses. So here's my stupid question....should she wear leggings or cropped leggings or bike shorts or something underneath? Or is it ok with just a diaper? Too revealing? I feel like an idiot because I don't know how to dress a little girl.....my 5-year-old ds is so much easier!

[limabean]

I've wondered the same thing -- I just don't think her outfit looks finished if you can see her diaper under her dress, and after a certain age the dresses they sell don't come with those little bloomers like they do for infants. I was thinking of buying a few pairs of solid-colored bloomers from someone on Etsy for my DD to wear under her dresses, because I worry that leggings would be too warm most days, and most shorts they sell for girls that age aren't fitted, so they gape open too.

[NicaG]

Originally Posted by limabean

I've wondered the same thing -- I just don't think her outfit looks finished if you can see her diaper under her dress, and after a certain age the dresses they sell don't come with those little bloomers like they do for infants. I was thinking of buying a few pairs of solid-colored bloomers from someone on Etsy for my DD to wear under her dresses, because I worry that leggings would be too warm most days, and most shorts they sell for girls that age aren't fitted, so they gape open too.

Bloomers are a great idea--hadn't thought of that. I'm checking out Etsy now!

[FreeRangeMama]

I generally put leggings or snug fitting shorts under dresses (preferably ones that cover knees). My girls are very active and like to really get out and play so that is mainly to protect little toddler knees from falls and to keep dirt out of the diaper. It works well and looks cute too.

[almadianna]

We CD so we always showed diaper, on purpose!

but maybe I am not the best person to respond since I am lucky if my daughter wears clothes at all....

[eclipse]

Sometimes dd wore leggings, sometimes not. We cloth diapered, though, so diapers showing were cute, and some of her dresses had matching diapers that were meant to show. She was also out of diapers at 20 months, so I didn't have to think too long about it, and I didn't bother to try to hide panties, either. In any case, I certainly don't think a glimpse of diaper is a big deal. In the summer, especially, it gets so hot that I'd rather not add an extra layer.

[LionTigerBear]

When I buy a toddler dress I always buy matching leggings (or cropped leggings) for it. If someone else buys us a dress, same thing, I go to Target and pick up some $4 leggings that match. For fancier dresses though, like for church, we do tights instead.

[rightkindofme]

I do something extra if we are going to have a very rough play day (like leggings because they protect her skin) or if it is cold. I really think that worrying about the modesty of someone seeing a diaper is kind of silly given that I will change her diaper out in the open.

[Peony]

I always put shorts or something underneath not because I care if someone sees their diaper but for their sake. Sliding down slides, rolling in the grass, etc.. is more comfortable for them with something besides a diaper on their butt.

[spmamma]

DD wears a 3T and her dresses often still come with bloomers. The ones that don't - we just swap in another set of bloomers from a different dress or put some leggings underneath.

[sapphire_chan]

Now that she's in undies (she wears the bloomers that came with her old dresses) more, I'm leaning towards using leggings, particularly with the undies that ride up. Also, the first (and so far only) time she scraped her knees in a fall were while wearing tights, and that just doesn't happen with leggings.

Not sure about shorts, they won't protect the knees, but then they'd be cooler.

[Tjej]

On dresses that didn't come with anything we used the covers from OTHER dresses or I had a couple of leggings/shorts around. It depends on how cold/hot it is where you live, what works best.

Oh, and with the cloth diapers I would do just them and maybe some babylegs.

Tjej

[limabean]

Originally Posted by rightkindofme

I do something extra if we are going to have a very rough play day (like leggings because they protect her skin) or if it is cold. I really think that worrying about the modesty of someone seeing a diaper is kind of silly given that I will change her diaper out in the open.

For us it's not about modesty -- it doesn't bother me a bit if she's running around in nothing but a diaper, but for some reason having a dress on with just a plain diaper underneath just doesn't look finished to me. If we had cute cloth diapers I wouldn't mind, but sposies with a big old picture of Elmo on the front just bug me when I see them poking out from under her dress.

A few people mentioned their knees -- I do worry a bit, but she'd just be way too hot wearing pants long enough to cover her knees every day, and DS was in shorts every day by her age, so I figure it's no different. A diaper with a light cotton bloomer over it is perfect for us. I like the idea of reusing bloomers from old dresses, but somehow all the bloomers we ended up with are patterned and don't look good with her current dresses -- hence the idea of just getting (or making) a few simple solid-colored ones that'll go with everything.

[Geez, I sound like someone who primps my DD for hours before we go out! She wears simple play clothes 90% of the time, but on those occasions when she wears a dress, it's usually because we're going somewhere nice, and I do like for her to match. ]

[verde]

Depends on the weather. Leggings or tights when it's cold; capri's or bloomers when it's warm. I have no problem with seeing diapers. For the future be forewarned: once little girls start wearing panties they have no problem lifting their dresses up and flashing their panties for all to see. Once I realized that I started having DD wear the bloomers.

[KristyDi]

DD usually wears at least bloomers, but that's mainly because she takes her diaper off if there's nothing in her way. She can take the bloomers off too, but for some reason she dosen't, well usually.

We usually just borrow bloomers from other dresses or we have one white pair w/ her monogram on the bottom that we got as a gift. I think I'll check etsy for a pattern for making her some bloomers myself since I make a lot of her dresses and skirts.

[Baby_Cakes]

Those little bloomers help distract my DD from pulling her diaper off so we usually throw those on. Either that or jammie shorts, like from the carter's sets. Those are cute.

[lnitti]

my dd scraped her knee through her pants, so I don't think leggings or tights will prevent scrapes.

My kids just don't wear dresses much. They usually only have a couple in each size as they have grown.

[Just1More]

You could probably pick up a bunch of mismatched bloomers from your thrift store super cheap. Ours has a bin full of them.

If mine are in cloth, I don't worry about it, because it IS cute, but if not, I like the finished look, too. And I don't like my kids to run around in t-shirts and sweats, either. So, I watch sales and my kids play in clothes most people consider dress clothes, but I hardly pay more for them. (Seriously, $10 an OUTFIT, would be A LOT for me to spend). My ds wears khaki shorts (or similar) and a button-up shirt most days in the summer.

I dunno. It's worth it to me for them to look decent and respectable. But since I get their clothes cheap, I still don't care if they ruin them.