Measuring A Baby's Growth From Year to Year

I remember being pregnant with Sophia and buying clothes for when she turned a year because they were on sale at Target (gotta buy stock in Target). And the cashier happened to notice I was buying clothes ahead of time and said to watch out cause it says 12 months but they may be wearing it at 6 or 9 months. Huh? I thought. What the heck is she talking about? If the baby is 12 months obviously she should be wearing size 12 months. WRONG!!!!

Some parents (and family members of those kiddos) have it easy if their child actually fits into those clothes at the monthly markers. Sophia, however, was nothing like that. She was usually a size or 2 ahead. In fact, right now, some of her 3T's are getting tight or riding up. I actually bought a couple of pairs of 4T pj's and they're baggy but they fit and hopefully will fit next winter which was my plan. But then again, this is Sophia.

So my question to all you mom and dad's out there, how do you measure the growth of your child? I'm so glad I thought about this before Sophia's birth (due to my friend Donna). Because I started taking comparison photos early on and boy has she changed.

But I actually have a couple of ways I chart/measure how much she's changed and grown.

One way is making a stepping stone. Around her birth date, we make an impression  of her feet/foot and place them on the side of the house.

The first year we were able to get both feet on (I think she was a size 3).

By her 2nd year, we could only fit one foot comfortably (around a sized 8 1/2).

We might have to get a bigger mold based on the rate of her growth!

Another way we measured her growth was based on a friend of mine, Donna, who I believe got it from Martha Stewart. Basically you buy a 12 month outfit and each month, on their birthday-versary, you put it on them and photograph their progress. I have to say, I think this works best with a 2 piece top/pants set like I have so you can really see their growth lengthwise.

I also used a play mat that came with her tummy time play set to lay her on.

3 months

6 months

9 months (helmet time)

12 months (hanging onto that paci)

Another idea I had was shoes! Save your favorite pairs of their shoes, one from each shoe size, or in Sophia's case, every other shoe size. Line 'em and photograph them. It's important to turn off the flash for this so you might want a tripod.

And finally, we planted a tree for Sophia during her first year. Then on her first birthday, we took a photo of her beside it. The idea is that the tree will grow and so will the child and you can compare the two. However, the dang wind broke our tree in half before her 2nd birthday. And we have yet to replace it. We're waiting for Spring. But the idea was nice, right?

So how do you measure your baby's growth? I'd love to see pics! Please post some if you have them.