The other day I took the cutest picture of my baby girl and I. We’re laying on my bed together and she’s staring up at me, her tiny little hands exploring my face. It was the perfect depiction of the phase she’s in right now where everything is wondrous— even my nostrils— and I was just about to share this adorableness on Instagram when I realized there was an embarrassingly huge mountain of baby clothing clearly visible in the background of the pic. Ugh.

I was that mom-to-be that swore I wouldn’t go overboard buying baby clothing. So much of it is overpriced, they grow out of it so fast, and a tiny person that doesn’t get out of the house often really doesn’t need a lot of different wardrobe choices (obviously I was in denial).

Then I found out I was having a little girl. So of course I just had to pick up a few things. Frilly, purple, glittery things. Trendy, pricy, super impractical and gorgeous things.

My credit card balance and the already sparse amount of storage space in my apartment began to suffer, but somewhere along the way I started to tell myself that all this shopping was actually a positive. Having way too much stuff would keep me from having to do laundry all the time!

Fast forward a few months and baby girl’s dresser and closet are overflowing with clothing, about half of which no longer even fits (I’m not going to comment on the percentage of it that didn’t get worn, or that still has tags on it, because it’s shameful).

I now realize that my plan backfired, because though I might have had to do laundry slightly less frequently, I probably had more to wash overall because I may or may not have felt compelled to change her outfits a little more frequently than strictly necessary just to be able to tell myself that she did wear something once.

Plus, going through all those little bodysuits, sleepers, and dresses to store them away now that she’s outgrown them (which is what lead to the aforementioned mountains) is a huge job. It’s one that I’ve been procrastinating on for a while now, but I need to get it done before someone calls the producers of “Hoarders”.

Sifting through all that clothing is going to be bittersweet. Nothing makes you realize just how fast your baby is growing than seeing all the things that are now too small for her. She’s just a couple of weeks away from turning 6 months, which is insane. When I look at her now, it’s hard to believe she ever even fit into some of those little outfits. They look like they belong on dolls. I could cry when i think about how big she’s getting, and it’s terrifying to realize that before I know it, my baby won’t really be a baby anymore. Babies just don’t keep. But when I get sad about how quickly this is all going by, you know what always makes me feel better? A little retail therapy. I think I’ll go shop for some baby clothes.