My Borrowed Son

ABCs and Wearable Things

Chapter Nine | ABCs and Wearable Things

If Amanda was being honest, this wasn't the craziest thing she had done. Threading a needle to make her adopted two-inch tall child clothes definitely wasn't the craziest thing she had done. She bit her lower lip in concentration as the thread slipped through the needle's eye.

Amanda thought gluing the fabric might be easier, but her trials proved less fruitful than she wanted. The edges tore away too easily and absorbed into the fabric if she didn't coat a certain amount; and at that point, she might as well glue the whole thing together. So, Amanda thought – knew – he was worth it. He couldn't wear togas forever.

After hours of scouring the internet, Amanda could find nothing easily accessible too buy to clothe parker. She had found someone on Etsy who would custom make doll clothes for any size, but even he was surprised when Amanda asked for a one inch shirt and one inch pants.

In all reality, this was easier than trying to explain to a stranger the dimensions she needed for Parker's clothes. Hours of work produced a dozen shirts and about the same amount of pants which Amanda had stitched together.

She found folding the cloth and cutting the pattern was the easiest. Making things a little bigger not only helped make the clothes, but it also made Parker look that much cuter. It also gave her safety pin harness more room when he wanted to explore.

Ever since the park incident, Amanda tried keeping Parker safety pinned when he was just out and about without her watching. It wasn't all of the time. It was just when they went outside or if Amanda had to step away from the couch or the kitchen counter. He was becoming more adventurous by the day, and Amanda already had a few close calls with him nearly falling off of extremely tall heights that might injure him.

It felt like those parents who put the monkey backpack leash on their kids, which made Amanda feel absolutely sick, but she had few other choices if she wanted to step away and not leave him in his box or unsupervised.

She didn't use it frequently, but she did use it for safety when she couldn't always have her eyes on her adopted son. After all, what kind of life would it be if he had to stay in his box for the rest of his life.

His box, at least, was something Amanda was quite proud of now.

Parker's room, as Amanda was now referring it, had push lights Parker could control as well as a proper bed, comforter, and pillow Amanda sewed. No more washcloth beds for the tiny boy. There was even an old matchbox she used as a bedframe, and she started folding paper clips to hold his clothes up on the string she put in there.

Parker had a bell to signal when he wanted something until Amanda installed a baby monitor so she could hear him. Amanda was enjoying setting up Parker's room. She even gave him a chance to pick out his own "trim," which was just colorful duct tape, and the colors of his walls, which he wanted to be a light blue with cloud themed tape.

It was precious and reminded Amanda of Andy's room from Toy Story. A few toys and even a soft crochet blanket and rug later made Parker's room actually feel like the room of a little boy.

Seven months and he finally had a proper room.

Seven months and he finally had a relatively decent wardrobe with a change of clothes.

Amanda let her hands rest in her lap as she glanced over into Parker's box. He was playing with some miniature Tinker Toys Amanda had found online, and he was loving them. Amanda chuckled as she watched him play, amused by his nearly imperceptible babblings.

Had time really gone so fast?

She gazed down at him and noticed how long his hair had gotten and how he seemed just a little bit taller when he stood. His mind absorbed all of the information she gave him, and still he wanted more, which she happily provided.