I kept buying clothes I loved, only to watch my child choose the same few pieces again and again. Eventually, I started wondering what they knew that I didn't.

I used to think a basic was just a basic. Then I realised the soft layers worn closest to my child's skin were probably the hardest-working clothes in their wardrobe.

I swear these clothes fitted last week. Then another growth spurt arrived and suddenly I was sorting a wardrobe full of clothes my child had somehow outgrown.

I used to save my children's nicest clothes for special occasions. Then I realised they'd sometimes outgrown them before they'd really had the chance to wear them.

Whenever the washing was finished, those same Baby Todd & Co. tops were the first things my children reached for.