# how do you keep the pants up on a skinny toddler?



## chicagosarah (Jun 21, 2006)

i know, i know. it must sound like such a stupid question, but i'm serious.

my daughter is turning 2 the end of this month, and she is at the 77th% for height but only the 24th% for weight. this was fine for the summer, as i let her wear last year's pants as capris, but now the cooler months are approaching and i don't know how i'm going to keep her pant from falling down.

we use a belt with some of her pants, but it seems to cause her some discomfort. and if we bought pants that were long enough for her, i don't think even the belt would make it tight enough to keep the pants up.

i wish i knew how to sew, but i am a decidedly uncrafty person.

does anyone know if there are stores that sell TALL sizes for toddlers? or is there a way of shrinking the waist of a pair of pants without diminishing its length? am i asking for the impossible here??


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## True Blue (May 9, 2003)

Carter's are slim, as are Gap. Also, Gap has the adjustable waist. Children's Place seems to run wider than others. I have a skinny DS and a tiny DD who just potty learned but needs to wear 12 or 18 months for the waist to fit, but more for length. Those are the brands I have had luck with in the past. I've also heard of people sewing an elastic into the back of the pants to help cinch it up some, but still be easy to pull on and off.


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## Lazyhead (Mar 27, 2006)

I pin the pants at the waistband. Also a cute winter look is to wear tights under the "capri" pants.


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## zmom (Jun 29, 2005)

I have the same problem with my DD but I haven't found a solution yet. We have one pair of jeans from the Gap that has the adjustable waistband which is really nice. Then we have lots of stretchy pants from Gymboree - those seem to fit her waist really well and are long enough so you might try those. Other than that I'm planning on skirts and stripey tights for the winter!

BTW, where did you find a toddler sized belt?


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## ani'smommy (Nov 29, 2005)

I have the same problem. DD is 20 months, skinny, tall and potty learned. So she's wearing 18 mo clothes which are a too short and too big around the waist. I think it will be better in a couple of months when she can move up to 2T clothes.


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## bu's mama (Mar 25, 2004)

all good suggestions so far but wanted to add...

Quote:


Originally Posted by *zmom*
...BTW, where did you find a toddler sized belt?

H&M and Gap both have toddler belts. In a pinch I've used a folded up bandana.


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## rere (Apr 21, 2005)

Overalls.I know...I know...you can't put her in overalls all the time but....


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## AmyC (Jul 3, 2005)

Overalls definitely are a good way. And we're hitting "overall weather," too. (My girl is in some corduroy overalls, today!) And I wanted to mention using cloth diapers! Ha!

In fact, I realized that my daughter's good-fitting clothes (pants) don't really fit all that well once I substituted some disposable diapers while we were traveling. It has made me cool with holding off on getting her into undies or training pants, just because her pants will slide down when she's wearing them, versus when she's wearing cloth dipes. (So, she uses the potty most of the time, but still wears cloth diapers.)

Most of my girl's cloth diapers and covers are relatively trim, but they're still a bit bulkier than a 7th Generation disposable, and the wool covers also seem to hold up the pants (grab them a bit, maybe?) better than the more slick disposables. So it's not like she's got a huge bubble butt, but still it's enough of a difference that I had to make sure to have her in last year's pants if she wasn't in a diaper.

The adjustable waistbands are supposed to be good (I don't have any, but I've heard.) Also, some pants do have drawstrings built-in. Usually, they are comfy knit pants. I got some last year from Old Navy, and we have some this year from the Hanna Andersson catalog and from Lands End. (The Lands End ones with the drawstring were shorts, but I bet they've got an option in their fall/winter line, too.) Having that adjustability (the drawstring) is nice.


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## Apryl Srissa (Oct 1, 2005)

Well, around here that's an extreme problem. My two year old spent his summer in 12/18 month shorts. With his cloth diapers on, he can wear 2T just fine, but if he is in undies, nope (and he is really working on this so that's a problem lol). Overalls are out, he is not that good yet at giving that much potty warning







So we just buy sweats and strech pants a lot. Plus as others said, Gap fits much better. The baby has similar issues, but seems to be the closest to 'normal' of our kiddos, he is actually in the right sizes so far, but we'll see now that long pants weather is coming. The worst though is my 10 year old. He is just barely to tall for size 8s, but they are barely staying on his butt, and he HATES belts. So no real ideas for you, but LOTS of sympathy


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## LEAW (Aug 5, 2004)

Gymboree leggings for girls, they are really slim (and stretchy for diapers) and seem to run a bit longer than other brands, the 2T we have are WAY too long for dd right now. You can find them on ebay new for $2-3 a pair from last season.

Also any elastic pants can be pulled in with a little cut in the waistband you can pull the elastic out and cut/sew it smaller or tie a knot in it, and slip it back in the band...

theecstore.com sells clothing for babies who don't wear diapers too!


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## chicagosarah (Jun 21, 2006)

thanks, y'all! i'm going to try to find some used gap pants. i like their idea of an adjustable waist.

i also found some toddler belts here:

http://www.swankybaby.com/belts.htm

http://www.myselfbelts.com/index.cfm

http://www.cuddlebee.com/products.ph...oddler%20belts

http://toddlerbelts.com/

again, if i were craftily inclined, i would try to make one myself.


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## pianojazzgirl (Apr 6, 2006)

I am all about the adjustable waist bands. I've been seeing them at more and more places lately. Most of dd's pants come from Old Navy.


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## Emma's_Mommy (Apr 28, 2006)

my DD is the same way but luckly not as bad as your DD (she is just overall small for her age but has super long legs like her mama) i got her a belt at children's place on clearance that seems to be doing the job for now!

a friend of mine made a "belt" using the straps on her changing pad (ya know the clip things) she cut them off her changing pad b/c she dosn't use it anymoreand sewed them together.....and it works great because you can make it as small or as big as you need!


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## afishwithabike (Jun 8, 2005)

If she's not potty trained yet the one thing that works for us is a bulkier CD. That has saved us a ton.


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## slacker_mom (Mar 30, 2005)

My DD is in the 95th percentile for height, and the 5th percentile for weight, so you can imagine how much of a string bean she is!

I stick with pants with stretchy waistbands. They are especially good for us, since DD is learning to dress and to use the potty on her own.

She's worn knit capris from Old Navy all summer. I was so happy with them that when they went on sale (3for $12) I bought a bunch in size 3T and 4T for future summers. I've also had some luck with the Gap.

I got DD some elastisized pants with belts from Target, but they didn't work for us at all.

I am dreading finding heavier pants for the winter that are also long enough to reach her ankle. I'm going to check out Old Navy this afternoon for fall or winter pants, and I'll come back here and tell you how they fit.


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## celia (Apr 22, 2005)

... how about how to keep them on once they figure out how much fun it is to take them off??


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## afishwithabike (Jun 8, 2005)

You could make some of those cute fashionable tie belts.


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## Cloth4Colin (Dec 12, 2004)

Thanks for posting this thread, mama! I was just about to ask the same thing. Since DS potty learned, ALL of his pants are too big and we aren't going to be able to buy more. I'm just pinning them in the back with a diaper pin...and pulling them up several, several times a day!


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## KatWrangler (Mar 21, 2005)

One word, Overalls! I am serious. I have a terrible time finding pants and shorts that fit my sons waist. The shorts he has on now say for a 6 month old! Uh, my son is 30 months old. Sigh...alot of his bottoms are in the 12-18 month range. Then I run into the problem, they are too short on him. GRRRR


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## faythe (Oct 2, 2003)

when my dd's got out of diapers (they were a little older) was about the time we switched to dresses all the time. Before that the diaper held their pants up.

Another way to deal with too big knit waistbands is to fold them over once or twice. It also helps with the rise being too big for your small panty wearing girl, now that it's no longer going over a diaper.


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## sedalbj (Mar 17, 2004)

My DD is 27 mths and 23 lbs. she has no waist and no butt. i was really happy when she was potty trained at 24 mths, but those diapers were the only thing holding her pants up!

we have resigned ourselves to jumpers and tights this fall and winter. as far as pants children's place seem to be tighter, sometimes gymboree, i don't bother with gap, old navy or carters anymore. jeans never fit, i have to get the elastic waist knit pants. overalls do fit fine but she can't get them off when she has to pee so we don't buy them. i wish there was a better answer! i did buy a pair of tights and she liked them, i was worried she might not wear them this winter. it was a relief.

i am really thinking suspenders! also, fleece doesn't fray, so if you found fleece pants you could cut open the back and tighten the elastic w/o worrying about the material fraying in the wash. i will probably do that for dec/jan/feb.


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## hjohnson (Mar 2, 2004)

I am a momma to two skinny boys so I understand. Wal-Mart and Target both carry Levi jeans for toddlers that have adjustable waists. Old Nay is carrying jeans now with adjustable waists. Gymboree carries pants with adjustable waist in size 2T and higher. I HTH!


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## Ceili (Nov 21, 2001)

Target's pants are cut pretty slim and as the pp said they have adjustable waists in them now. ds's diaper is the only thing that holds his pants up most days.


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## Flor (Nov 19, 2003)

Ds wears the elastic waist pants from Sears. Sometimes I roll the waist down and that helps.


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## Hatteras Gal (Jun 1, 2004)

The adustable waistband has been wonderful for my dd. If they don't have the adjustable waistband, sometimes I will pinch a piece of the waistband and sew it. Does that make sense? It's the only way for her to wear them, so many of the pairs of pants don't have belt loops. And since she's 4 and potty trained, it would be hard for her to do a belt on her own.


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## 3timesamama (Mar 30, 2005)

My son has the same problem!
I went to Burlington the other day and found Guess jeans and Hurley jeans with the adjustable bands inside them, for a really great price too!


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## erikaa (Apr 11, 2005)

Just wanted to second or third the rec for gymboree leggings. They are having a "baby sale" now and you can get them for 10$ a pair. it's no great bargain, but their stuff does usually last and hold up well.

My DD is in the 10th for weight and 20th for height and her heiny must be tiny!

The leggings seem like they will be snug enough to stay up.

I've been told that Children's Place pants/jeans run slim and I think I saw them advertise the adjustable waist too.

my mom told me she used to just place a stitch or two to tighten the waist bands on my pants and then if I grew it was easy to let out. I may try that too.


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## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

Ds wore suspenders. On shorts, sweatpants, you name it.


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## ~member~ (May 23, 2002)

Duct tape? j/k I would try out suspenders or else different brand of pants.


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## True Blue (May 9, 2003)

You know what stinks? Is that I have a whole wardrobe of hand me downs and a few things I bought on sale for DD last year...and I'm not sure she'll fit in ANY of the pants!!!! I'd go for dresses like Hanna if I didn't already have so much stuff!!! I was going through her stuff and now I'm not sure what I'll do. She had on a pair of Carter's 18mos capris (and I usually have luck with them for DS) and they are too loose!! The 24's from Children's Place look so ridiculous that a belt won't help. I may be in some serious trouble.


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## DebHibb (Mar 31, 2006)

We have the same problem, and I have 2 skinny boys, so I've been searching for the answer for 5 years with only mild success.







:

We can't do capris or dresses (although, capri pants are all the rage for men/boys in Europe, so it's only a matter of time







), and I don't like overalls - they come unsnapped in the crotch, and/or the buttons are uncomfortable during DS' naps. Also, I have long torso'd boys, so they generally don't fit right even on the tallest setting.

So, my only advice is drawstring/elastic waists (although, then you end up with clown pants), Gap, and Old Navy have slim sizes, but only in the older kids stuff. Old Navy tends to run slimmer than anyone else I've found, and wearing cloth diapers helps (for those still in dipes of course). Levis come in slims too. More companies are carrying a better selection of slim stuff it seems. For my babe, we have quite a few one piece long sleeve/leg outfits for this winter. But because of his torso length, there is a small window in which they will fit him both in pants length.

My latest attempt at curing this problem is to fatten them up.







I've started trying to get more fat in their diet (without increasing their sugar intake). I doubt I'll succeed, since I have picky eaters, but it's worth a try.


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## slacker_mom (Mar 30, 2005)

I'm back to report - I got a bunch of fall pants at Old Navy yesterday, and these adjustable waist jeans are my favorite of the bunch so far:








http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/produc...799&pid=398600

I've never tried this type of waistband with her before, but I must say I am impressed already. I pulled out about 6 inches of elastic on each side (making the waist significantly smaller), and they are staying up just fine! They don't look too bunched. They have plenty of length too. In fact, they're long enough that I rolled the jeans up a little bit. The jeans have belt loops too, but I didn't put a belt on her today.

I think these will be good for fall, but they aren't heavy weight denim. I will have to see if they have them in a heavier cloth.

Bonus: Old Navy is having a 25% off baby sale right now.


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## sedalbj (Mar 17, 2004)

I will try Old Navy! I just had to come back and say, my DD who is 27 mths, is wearing a pair of 24 mth cords today from Children's Place. I used needle/thread this morning to take them in 4 INCHES and now they fit (below the belly). ugh!


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## bigbellydreams (Feb 15, 2003)

This summer I bought all 18M clothes since that was the size she wore all winter. Well the shorts would fall right down. So I had to pinch an inch on both sides and sew them all! What a pain in the butt but luckily MIL helped me out.

For fall I have bought a couple pair of adjustable waist jeans, 1 from Gap, they are called 'long and lean' and I LOVE them! The 18M size is perfect in length and pulling in the waist doesn't bunch them too much, but they were super expensive IMO. Then I bought 2 pair from Childrens Place, the 24 size was right in the length but when I adjust the waist it gets SUPER bunchy on her, I don't like them so much, but the price was less than half of the Gap price. Then I just bought jumpers and tights for her. She is having a little difficulty pulling her dress up to pull her pants down to go potty but I'm confident if we keep working on it she will be good real soon.


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## Apryl Srissa (Oct 1, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DebHibb*
My latest attempt at curing this problem is to fatten them up.







I've started trying to get more fat in their diet (without increasing their sugar intake). I doubt I'll succeed, since I have picky eaters, but it's worth a try.

I've been trying this too, but the more they eat, the more they 'go' so I think the older two at least have actually gotten skinnier







I've been waiting for my two year old to hit 30lbs for almost a year, I know he's grown, but still, no where close lol


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## Yo Becca (Apr 17, 2005)

Shorts are the worst - we roll the waist but they still fall down! She's potty trained and I'm not reverting to diapers to keep pants on - even though it's tempting!

I've been using 12 month bottoms (getting way too short though) and Gymboree bike shorts are the perfet fit - I bet the long leggings are fantastic! We mostly just wear dresses - but she has tons of cute skirts I can't keep up either...

Our trick in a pinch - take yarn, twine, whatever you have and loop it between any 2 belt loops, then tie it tight. It's the perfect makeshift belt and can be used through more loops to make it tighter. It makes the waistband tighter, but doesn't go all the way around the waist like a belt. You could ger matching yarn/twine to coordinate with outfits if it were visible. DH actually gre up doing this to his own pants - he's the source of the tall and skinny genes.


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## aprons_and_acorns (Sep 28, 2004)

Have you seen this product? *tiny bigs*

I think she had a banner ad at MDC recently. They look adorable.


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## baby beltz (Dec 31, 2007)

I like the adjustable waist bands for my son. But there's something about a belt that completes the look. Also, he still gets so many regular belt loop pants as gifts they can't go to waist so I still use belts for him all the time.

I started a high-quality toddler belt company due to the limited styles in both plain and patterns toddler belts. And many of the existing belts were still too big even though they tout they will fit a tiny waist like my son's. He has a small 18" waist and is 17 months old.

Take a look at my site:
http://www.babybeltz.com/

A great selection of sizes and colors. And not to mention very comfortable for an active little one!

Katie


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## Momma_Camille (Jan 11, 2007)

I don't have time to read all the response but we have that issue here too! Drives me crazy! DD is 25.5 months - can still wear her 12 month skirts. They just keep getting shorter!

oldnavy.com, target, walmart boy's jeans (I don't know why I haven't ever found them in girls), children's place - all of them have adjustable waist jeans/pants

Most of DDs are oldnavy.com because they have some great sales if you keep watch









HTH


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## latinmom (Nov 20, 2001)

Have any of you tried Sears? The slims in their CRB brand are very slim. My DS#1 is in the 50% for height and the 5th% for weight, and they fit him well. I don't know if this works as well with the girls, but for those of you with skinny boys, its way cheaper than the Gap. Old Navy has never had anything skinny enough for ds#1!


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## Momma_Camille (Jan 11, 2007)

I got to read the thread now









Thanks for the tip about sears from above!

Just another note about oldnavy.com - not ALL their pants have adjustable waists so be careful which ones you get!


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