personally I'd go for option a, as wiht a you might not have to spend more money, but with option b, you certainly will.

How irksome for you. Everything seems to take just that little extra effort - it's a wonder you aren't completely burnt out.

If you are going to end up spending a lot of money anyway, have you considered getting someone to custom-make them locally?

Chris, I have, I'm just not sure what I'd be looking for--a seamstress? Are there any still around?

I guess I could search the yellow pages.

Heck I'd be willing to do it for you!!

Try some of the local dance schools and see if they have a seemstress that they can recommend. I used to do synchronized swimming and we had to get all our bathing suits custom made. Dance, swimwear, underwear, all seem to be in the same basic category to me. Just an idea, hope it helps.

I was going to suggest the same thing as Jenn. A seamstress who is skilled at dance and swim costumes will likely be able to work with the detail and size of underwear. Frances could even pick out her own details and trimming, and have the fanciest underwears ever!

The other option is to take one of the pairs you got, and take it apart. Use it as a pattern, just get a cotton knit and some elastic - not that you've got loads of time, though. :)

Is it odd that I was wondering about this the other day? I was in Target, perusing the underwear section and Frances popped into my head (yeah, yeah, I'm weird, I know this). And I wondered, "Hmm, I wonder if they make underwear in her size." I was looking for underwear for The Boo and they don't make it in [b]her[/b] size and I think she's bigger than Frances.

Can you sew? Do you even have time for that? I second the dance academy's seamstress suggestion. That's a great idea and it has to be cheaper than buying undies from Australia! Even if you could say that you got her unders from down under....

There is a small company in Los Angeles run by a Mom called "Blue Penguin" that makes cloth diapers and related accessories. The seamstresses sew on site.

Perhaps you could ask them? (888) 422 2945.

www.bluepengin.biz

FIrst of all, I'd dig further on the Elimination Communication sites -- did you look at the EC store? There are a lot of folks putting their kids in underwear-like pants at under 12 months when they're doing EC.
Are these the ones you found?
http://www.theecstore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=198

Decent Exposures (www.decentexposures.com) does underwear for grown women,and does kids clothes. They might do you a special order of kids underwear? They make stuff in the USA, as needed to fill orders, so it might be worth a call to see what they could do for you.

It seems like every dress for little girls comes with a "diaper cover" that is underpant-shaped... maybe there's a source to buy plain ones someplace?

Sara, no, I hadn't seen that one--that's great, thanks!

The thing is, I want to avoid bloomery kinds b/c I want Frances to be able to wear them comfortably under blue jeans.

Julia, I can sew, but I wouldn't want to try making anything like undies. Pants and skirts are about the limits of my abilities, and both are more forgiving. And unders from down under made me laugh.

Jenn, that is a great idea! Thanks.

Undies are tricky since the material will be stretchy, but if you order just a couple, I think you could try Rachel's suggestion. It's expensive, to be sure, but now might be the time to experiment with having some made locally.

My mom has a computerized embroidery shop, and we always get asked if we can sew for real. We can't. She eventually hired someone who can sew anything, if she can take one apart first as a sample. She needed a person who could do patches, make repairs, etc. So, look at the other places for a seamstress first, but don't rule out looking at places like custom embroidery shops or shoe repair shops. Even if they don't employ one, they probably know one.

Hey, my mom sews - a lot. I could ask her to see what she comes up with. Do you think you could email me Frances measurements (hip/waist)? It would be fun project for trying out the new serger she just bought. And it would be free for you too...

If she got a good pattern going we could do a bunch in a few sizes to tide Frances over until the store bought kind fit her better.

BTW, my parents will be visiting in Nov (first 2-3 weeks). I'll ask her to bring the serger with her and we'll do some pairs while she's here. It sounds like a fun challenge!

I think this is the time to break out the contacts you got from the little people organizations. There's got to be someplace closer than England to order from.

You guys are so awesome. I can't believe you're offering to sew for me.

Elizabeth, I thought so too--but when I thought about it, it's not that strange. There are about 8 million people age 0-18 in Canada. I divided it by 18 to give a number Frances's age--444,444. Approximately 1 in 10,000 people is affected by a dwarfism condition. That's about 45 kids in Canada Frances's age who are under the 1st centile.

Here's the thing: the vast majority of conditions resulting in dwarfism are not proportional; that is, the limbs and torso are affected differently. In most cases, the torso is a typical size and the limbs are small--and for them, regular underwear is fine. It'll fit. Out of the 45 kids in Canada Frances's age who also are affected by dwarfism, half of them will have achondroplasia, and most of the rest will have hypochondroplasia, SED, and other forms where the torso is an average or near-average size. Frances may actually be the only child in Canada her age with such a tiny torso; but even if she's not, there are nowhere near enough to support a market in tiny underwear.

Even if we looked south of the border, we may very well be talking a total population of a hundred or less.

Yet another reason to think of her as one in a million. ;)

not looking forward to this dilemma. just another reason to delay pottying

some ec'ers shrink down those gerber training 'pants'. you know the thick quilty ones? they shrink well supposedly.

hey andrea
i have a friend who lives in austraila who is from here. Do you want me to get her to check into it.
email me if you want on this. i know she wouldnt mind.

My sister is a seamstress and she lives in Ontario. I could ask her if she'd be willing to design something for the Beanie if you'd like. Email me if you want to follow-up.

If you don't accept any of the sewing offers, I agree that your first Down Under plan may be cheaper than the second one. It's also a good idea in case they stop making the size you need. If you don't like the quality but don't want to return, fabric expert LauraJ could turn it into something useful.

Decent Exposures (as mentioned above) might be a really good resource. I get bras from them and they custom fit everything. When you get an item, you can send it back to be adjusted or reworked for free. I believe they then keep those adjustments on file for your next order. Talk to them, I think they'd work with you.