Shortly before Aili was born a colleague of her father's invited us over to give us an unfathomably excellent amount of loot. She has a son and a daughter, and was done with having babies. She had unloaded some gear on other friends but had an entire wardrobe (plus other must-haves like a baby carrier, an activity mat, a breastfeeding pillow, a chair, etc.) to offer us. She lovingly walked us through all of the clothing, smiling when we got to her favorites, telling us stories about certain outfits, and then left us alone for a bit with the haul to allow us to take some stuff, and leave whatever we didn't think we'd want or use. Aili's Wardrobe Fairy (as we've taken to referring to her) has exquisite taste. We were more than happy to take all of it. We were so appreciative we were stunned to silence. I must have gone through it all six times before Aili was born, imagining what she'd look like in this or that. And I dip into reserves every few weeks now as Aili grows.

I'm writing this on Aili's first birthday(!). I'm shocked at how fast and slow this year has gone. But recently the pile of things that are too small on her grew bigger than the pile she has yet to grow into. So last week we invited a friend of ours over. She's due in March. And we lovingly walked her through all of the clothing, smiling when we got to our favorites, and telling stories about certain outfits. The next day she said she was so appreciative she was stunned to silence. I understood her perfectly.

What I didn't understand as well was the emotion I was feeling. It was strange to see Aili's first year loot all piled up ready to be passed along. I'm not sad -- she's too excellent a 1 year old to be nostalgic -- but I'm something else. I can't put my finger on it exactly. Yet.

Recycling baby clothes between friends is an organic/environmentally friendly thing to do. Babies grow so fast they often don't wear a sweater more than once. It makes sense not to go out and buy it all new. It's also a friendly friendly thing to do. I loved emailing pictures of Aili in the Wardrobe Fairy's favorites to her as she grew into them. I can't wait to get similar emails starting next month.

I had planned on passing Aili's gear to Deirdre when Saoirse was born, but she already had several friends eager to hand-me-down their things. If you don't know someone directly who has a baby older than yours, put out a few feelers. Chances are someone you know knows someone with an unused goldmine. Most people are thrilled to know their baby's stuff is being given a second wind and will eagerly bequeath it to you. Secondhand baby clothing stores are also a good option. I know a few friends who have scored well (and inexpensively) by buying children's clothing exclusively on Ebay (ebay.com). If you happen to live near Westchester, Deirdre's mom says Affordables in Dobbs Ferry, New York has great stuff. I just did a quick search online and found a few internet resale stores:

• babyoutfitter.com
• stylishstork.com
• rascalsresale.com
• baby-place.com

I've never bought from any of these places but they all look pretty good.

Now that Aili's a big girl, we just have to drop a hint to Wardrobe Fairy that we're ready for the next batch!

-Lexy