This winter we experienced some of the coldest we have seen, with the lowest we saw being -8C. It seems that this was finally enough to make our fae concede that there is a place in the world for jumpers. Up to this point in her life she point blank refused to wear more than one layer, and no thicker than a T-Shirt.
This winter she has finally accepted that being cold is not fun, and whilst wrapping up in a blanket does work, it makes playing rather cumbersome. So, she accepted wearing sweaters under certain conditions 1. It must be cotton and 2. It must have a rainbow on the front. This presented us with a couple of problems: 1. She only had jumpers with paw patrol on them and 2. They were mostly a polycotton blend.
With the assistance of her grandparents (for which I will be eternally grateful) acceptable apparel was acquired, and she happily took to wearing them. Constantly. Including to sleep in. Causing me to despair as she is – as I believe all small children are – a dirt magnet. She has two “acceptable” jumpers. Each lasts (if we’re lucky) a day before needing to be washed to prevent spontaneous evolution.
Out of desperation, I turned to an online retailer (originally a book supplier but now a repository of anything, and named after a long South American river) and found a unicorn onesie, 100% polyester and looked like a leprechaun vomited skittles over it. It met none of her stringent criteria. Needless to say, she loved it and with a cry of “SuperRainbow!” a hero* was born.
She won’t voluntarily take the sodding thing off, and will merrily wear it to social gatherings: admittedly this has the benefit of always being able to find her in a crowd; and the cooing from her admirers is really something to hear. The moment she comes home from school, she insists on putting it on over her clothing. She would wear it to bed given half a chance, but as she wears it to dinner, it is always well fed by that point and I refuse to let her. It gets smuggled away whilst she is distracted by her bath toys.
The fae father has found her a 100% cotton, equally lurid, onesie that also looks like it’s had an unfortunate accident in a paint factory, which she can wear to bed and does meet her criteria for clothing, so undoubtedly will be rejected out of hand.
So the moral of the story – when you find something your child will wear, buy at least two before they go out of stock – your washing machine will thank you. And be prepared, if you allow your Fae to wear a onesie, they will transform into a superhero (whether they know what one is or not)
*I have been informed that SuperRainbow can run very fast, spin in circles and give big hugs – I am unsure how these superpowers vary from the behaviour of our standard fae. But the hugs are very warm.
Raising the Modern Fae 