Review: Carter’s Children Clothes.

When I had my older two children in the early 90’s, you had to wait until you heard a smack and a “Waaaah!” to find out whether you had a son or a daughter.

There wasn’t a lot of shopping you could do in advance. Mostly plain onesies and drawstring sleepers in white or gender-neutral yellows and greens.

Still, when my mother and I went shopping in the Carter’s store in my hometown, we saw something I just had to have for my expected baby.

It was a red corduroy overall with a royal blue shirt. I loved the softness of the cotton, the adorable print of ponies, and the primary colors that were in at the time. My mom bought it and it was one of my future son’s first outfits. If I’d had a girl, I would have still used it since it wasn’t insanely boyish.

I wish I had a picture of my sweet baby in that outfit. Along with his tiny Army jumpsuit and a pair of soft flannel overalls a friend made, they were the clothes important enough for me to store away for the last twenty years.

I tried to get a picture of him now (college student, barista, great young man) holding up his old outfit, but this was the best I could get.

Carter’s commercials used to feature the jingle, “If they could just stay little ’til their Carter’s wear out.”

If only. But now I have an amazing grown son and some outfits in perfect shape for eventual grandbabies. I said “eventual”.

I’m so grateful Mom got this special outfit for my baby. When I was pregnant before the Internet I had to rely on my Mom and a copy of the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting to answer my pregnancy questions. I’m so glad I had two good sources of information available to me. It prevented a lot of late-night phone calls to my doctor about why I had a dark stripe on my belly. Carter’s clothing is featured in the new movie version of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, hitting the theaters May 18.

In celebration, Carter’s is hosting "A Closet Full of Carter’s Sweepstakes" on Facebook and giving away over $12,000 in prizes. You can improve your chance of winning the $5,000 Carter’s gift card grand prize or one of the many other giveaways by entering every day on Facebook at http://www.carters.com/fbsweeps or on your mobile device at http://www.carters.com/mfbsweeps from April 16 until May 18.

Even if you don’t personally have a child under size 7 who can wear Carter’s clothes , I bet you can thing or a person or a group you could bless with a ton of amazing Carter’s outfits. Check out the Carter’s site to see how cute their clothes still are.

Very Important Legal Stuff! No Purchase Necessary to Enter or Win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Void where prohibited by law. Participants must be 18 years of age or older as of the date of entry. Promotion begins April 16, 2012 at 12:00:01 a.m. ET and ends May 18, 2012 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET. Limit one (1) entry per person, per day. Complete Official Rules available at www.facebook.com/carters. Sponsor: The William Carter Company (the "Sponsor"), 1170 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 900, Atlanta, GA 30309. Facebook is not a Sponsor of this Sweepstakes.

Carter’s partnered with bloggers like me to promote their upcoming feature in the movie “What to Expect When You’re Expecting.”  As part of the program, I received product or gift cards. Carter’s believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words, and therefore did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products I used.  Carter’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

I would love to hear about your favorite outfit for your baby. Leave me a comment below so we can hold each other and cry. I’ll bring the tissue.