That 70s Baby

This isn't the first time I've popped Phoebe into this outfit, but it is the first time I took a picture of her in it before she had to be changed out of it (we go through a lot of outfits over here).

I wrote a little bit about this outfit when Zoë last wore it, but my mom shared some more about it so I'll expand on the story a bit. My mom bought the outfit in 1972 in Orem, Utah. She knows this because she bought it where the University Mall stands today and the University Mall opened in 1973. I presume she was in Utah visiting her older sister at college (but it could have been some other reason). She was only fifteen years old, or so, but she was already thinking a lot about having children because she had been told by a doctor that it was likely she would never be able to. So she started buying little outfits to keep in her hope chest in defiance. 

My grandmother had diethylstilbestrol while she was pregnant with my mom, so my mom was considered a DES baby. 

When I told my girls this their minds immediately jumped to thalidomide and the resulting phocomelia. 

DES is completely different, though. It was used to prevent preterm labour complications and the impact on fetuses was less obvious than thalidomide because the issues DES caused were internal—largely in the reproductive system, thus the reason my mother was told she wasn't likely to be able to conceive. 

But, clearly, the doctor was incorrect. 

My mother wouldn't have a baby girl to put in that outfit for another 13 years (which is quite alright because she was only 15 when she purchased it), but she did eventually have a baby to put in this outfit. That baby was me! 

She had my brother a few years before me (but she didn't put him in this outfit). And, of course, she had a couple of babies after me, and had the pleasure of being a mom to my older sisters as well.

So, anyway, that's how Phoebe ended up wearing a pantsuit from 1972. Hard to believe it's 50 years old!

She's been working at holding her head up...but she's still not very good at it:

She's a good sport to keep practicing, though!

For comparison's sake, here's Zoë wearing the same outfit on July 15, 2015 (nearly 8 weeks old): 

And here's Rachel wearing it on August 2, 2007 (just two weeks old, pictured with Naanii, my mom):

There's no picture of Miriam in this outfit because although I had Grandma/Karen bring out a box of baby clothes (I'd set one aside with our stored stuff for "just in case") when she flew out to help when Miriam was born, I didn't include this one. I'm not sure why. 

Our little Phoebe sure isn't very chubby compared to her sisters! You can see both Rachel and Zoë had squishy, round cheeks. Phoebe is working on her cheeks but she's just not quite there yet. She's also a little less social than they were at this age—both Rachel and Zoë were already smiling at this age (and Miriam probably was as well). But Phoebe will get there! She's very often scared into sleeping because she's surrounded by so much constant chaos. 

Here she is all ready (in a different outfit) for a stroll around the block:

I like to put her in the front wrap on walks because then I get to snuggle her more, but she gets a little too comfortable and falls fast asleep when we do that...which isn't bad if you want your baby to always sleep. But we are trying to increase our awake time over here. Rides in the stroller seem to keep Phoebe a little more alert, so she often gets pushed in her little pram...by so many pushers.

The older girls have begun to enjoy packing her up and taking her for little walks. I think Phoebe enjoys it because she gets to leave the loud siblings behind when she's in the stroller!