—By Tori Rotter, Creator, Little + Free
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my daughter’s colic did eventually fade. Colic is a funny thing because doctors don’t really know what causes it (or rather they know that it could be a myriad of things). It could be they have food sensitivities, skin sensitivities, or just an overall difficulty adjusting to life outside the womb. While the doctors may not know why some babies are colicky, I eventually figured out what the most likely cause was for my daughter. For one, she has very sensitive skin and we continue to struggle with her eczema and skin irritation to this day. However, I truly believe the major issue is that she is just a very finicky person. She has very strong feelings about EVERYTHING. This became very apparent once she could articulate said feelings. Thankfully her verbal communication is excellent because only once she could speak did we become much more aware of things she wants or does not want. She is very vocal about her feelings on certain foods, toys, things in her hair, music, and the list goes on.
But what led me to create Little + Free is her very unique issues with clothing. I say unique because I’ve not had other parents share similar issues with their kids. But my kid can’t be the only one, right (she asks hopefully)? You see, my daughter HATES anything that is overly tight or uncomfortable around her wrists, ankles, waist, or neck. The popular “cuffed” style of most children’s clothing has become a nightmare in our house. Struggle for even a second to pull a shirt over her head? She’s furious. Put on pants that squeeze her belly? She will let you know she is VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. As these issues became clear I began furiously searching for clothing that was made for sensitive skin, eczema-prone skin, or frankly just picky kids that wanted to be comfortable over “cute.” And I found nothing. It seemed that all of the baby clothing companies out there were more concerned about making clothes that are adorable, photo-worthy, or just made the parents happy, than they were about making clothes kids actually want to wear.
So, I thought to myself, why don’t we think of the kids as we design the clothes? What will make them the most comfortable? How would they dress themselves? What will make them happiest to just be little and explore their new world? Who cares if I’m not able to take a picture in a precious animal print for social media? If my kid is happy, I’m thrilled! So that’s what I set out to do. These clothes are 100% inspired by my undying love and appreciation for my daughter and all of her “opinions.” Because my goal is to make sure she’s happy, healthy and spends the short time she gets to be little, free to be just that.