Three Easy Rules When Gifting Baby Clothes

is quite possibly one of the most "wonderful" places for anyone with time and change to spare. And, on , I stood in line at 4 a.m. to get into said wonderful place to purchase a few gifts for friends' kids.

As I perused aisles at an ungodly hour, I realized there needed to be rules or at least guidelines for people clothes shopping for babies. There are three easy recommendations to consider when dressing kids who don't belong to you:

1. Babies grow at record rates—buy ahead of schedule.

One of the things most people without kids don't understand about is they could teach weeds a thing or two. What may be an 18-inch baby one day morphs into a 2-foot toddler the next.

When my husband, Derek, and I were without child, I remember visiting our friends, Danny and Shelley, to see their baby, Alex. Well, we thought he was a baby.

Instead we found a toddler casually walking around his dad. "They walk before 2?!" Derek asked. "Amazing!" Danny laughed and explained that children often walk before age 1.

We had no idea.

Now that we have our daughter, Quinn, we know how quickly phases pass. Sometimes it feels like I'm watching her through one of those Fisher Price View-Masters; that's how fast she's growing. Click. She's a fragile newborn. Click. She's standing without assistance. Click. She's an adventurous toddler with the common sense of those guys from MTV's Jackass.

Knowing the rate kids grow helps when buying clothes as gifts. When I received several 18-month-old outfits at Quinn's first birthday party, I admit being a little bummed. I wanted clothes I could dress her in right away.

Within a few short months, however, the girl who fit 6-month-old pants at 12 months suddenly required several new outfits. Remembering those 18-month-old clothes cheered me as I sought to pull them out from their hiding places, which brings me to a second tip.

2. Keep their hometown weather in mind when purchasing clothes for kids.

Most of Quinn's clothes were adequate for San Diego weather, but a few of them were more appropriate for a warmer climate. This became especially apparent as we said an early goodbye to summer and hello to 60-something degrees.

"No problem," I thought as I put a summer dress on Quinn, who responded with chattering teeth and "Cold! Cold!" Although tights and a heavy sweater made the dress useful on that cooler day, there were many more summer outfits I couldn't fix. Shorts, sleeveless onesies and cute one-pieces stumped me.

I'm probably the guiltiest of all when it comes to buying weather-inappropriate clothing. Purchasing a sweet short dress from on sale is good idea; getting that dress in whatever size Quinn was at the time isn't. As such, I have several adorable never-worn summer sets to pass on to friends or donate to the Salvation Army, which really bums me out because they would've looked great on . I've been blessed with family and friends with great taste. On the other hand, bad taste can also lead to non-use, which reminds me …

3. Veer away from buying into wacky trends.

I'm speaking for myself when I say a skull-and-crossbones pattern may seem rebel cool on a teen but a little creepy on a 4-month-old. The same goes for too-short skirts, tight jeans—I don't know how you pull them on over bulgy diapers—and T-shirts with sassy sayings such as "I'm the baby—that's why!" If I wanted a Bratz doll, it would have been easier to buy one versus nine months of discomfort and a day's worth of labor.

Speaking of sayings with sass, it's probably not a great idea to gift new parents with baby clothes emblazoned with gems like "What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's" or "That's it! I'm calling Grandma!" It's a better idea to promote unity within a family rather than dissent. It's bad enough grandmothers sometimes know better than moms—making a kid into a walking ad for it is just rubbing it in.

If you're like me and you find yourself throwing up your hands in exasperation, there's always the gift card route. Yeah, yeah, gift cards are impersonal, yadda yadda yadda. I can tell you this: When it comes to babies and toddlers, nothing says "perfect fit" like a gift card, which can be used toward obtaining the millions of necessary diapers and wipes. And if nothing else, buying parents time to choose what they want their kids to wear just may be the ideal gift.