The first thing that shocks me is that there are 248 posts per day. Then there is the list of rules, including one that says, "No sob stories or emotional baiting." But the title of the group also includes the phrase "Anything Goes," and boy, does it ever. Because in the world of buying, reselling, and trading bamboo pajamas for kids, these parents don't mess around.
Yes, these are Facebook groups. Facebook groups created specifically for the purpose of discussing bamboo pajamas, selling bamboo pajamas, finding out about new bamboo pajama prints — it's a niche of motherhood, one that Jordan Lowe, a mom of one, tells me she ended up in because of her little boy's skin. He has eczema, and the bamboo fabric — which has become exceedingly popular over the last few years for its buttery softness and breathability — helped him feel comfortable. "I turned into a weird bamboo mom," she tells me. "And I need help."
Little Sleepies, Posh Peanut, and Kyte Baby are all trendy brands of baby and toddler clothes (some big kid sizes, too) created exclusively in bamboo fabric. They are all known for doing "drops," sharing specific colorways and patterns in advance so parents can plan to shop before they're sold out. The items are always in limited quantities, and popular sizes (especially 12-18 months, one parent tells me via Facebook) sell out fast. The patterns and collections often have a nostalgic quality — think Barbie, Lisa Frank, The Lion King. They feel special and unique, and in a world where parents feel increasingly out of control, being able to snag a very specific pair of pajamas for your baby feels like a win.
But these Facebook groups make it hard to enjoy.
"I'm on a bunch of the Buy/Sell/Trade groups because there are the older prints I love, and if I can find them at a good price, I'll try to get them," Lowe says. "But these people drop insane amounts on this sh*t. A swaddle blanket just sold for $690. I wish I was joking with you." Frequently, Lowe notes, the prices are much lower... but still expensive. Think over $50 for one pair of baby pajamas. For reference, a brand new pair of Little Sleepies pajamas is $34.
There also seem to be a lot of posts where moms share screenshots of text messages with their partner or spouse, begging them to buy more pajamas or sharing that they’ve already bought some and are having to hide the package before their partner finds them. “It reminds me of those LuLaRoe leggings everyone was obsessed with,” Lowe says.
Courtesy of a Reddit snark group made specifically for sharing screenshots from these bamboo groups
When I peruse the listings, I see a whole lot of brand new pajamas for sale, many of them far above retail. Those are usually for limited edition prints that are no longer sold, and yes, people absolutely buy up the inventory of these drops and hold onto them until the drop ends and then resell. Lowe says the blankets for Little Sleepies are an extraordinarily hot commodity — "It's an entire flipping market," she says. "People buy the blankets and then resell them immediately." Getting one is nearly impossible, and she says that people get extremely frustrated about how fast they go in drops.
People also post in the groups looking for specific prints, sharing what they’re willing to pay. Think three to five times as much as the items cost brand new from the retailer.
But it's not just the prices that make these groups feel like another world. There's a whole terminology, an entire shorthand language that makes up most of the Facebook posts. "It's like a secret code," Lowe says. I join a few of them, and it takes me way too long to figure out what's happening on each post. There are no anonymous sales, and in the "Anything Goes" groups, someone selling pajamas can simply handpick whichever person they want to receive the item. In other groups, there's a rule that you must sell to the first person who comments.
Some of the groups are meant to warn parents about the "cheap" bamboo pajama brands. Some are using copyrighted images, like bootleg Disney prints, and parents think they're getting a deal on some limited edition Little Mermaid print only to find out it's all fake.
And then there is the fighting. Screenshot after screenshot fills the group of moms calling out other moms. They show photos of comments where someone expressed interest in a swaddle but never responded to accept the offer. They tag each other, telling each other to "go take care of your baby" or "find something else to do," and then spend another hour responding to comments and dragging each other. Lowe finds a print she's been looking for, and the other mom is willing to sell it to her for only $12 — it is a pair of used baby pajamas, after all. "I wanted to share about my $12 find," she tells me. "But I'm scared of these people."
When Little Sleepies preps for a new drop, she gives me a heads-up. "It's going to be a f*cking bloodbath," she says. And she's right.
What is it about these drops? I ask her. Why do people lose their minds about getting some specific print or pattern? Lowe says she isn't sure; she thinks it's a "FOMO thing," that people just get really excited about a limited edition print. "Which reminds me," she says. "I just demolished that sale."
She's talking about a new Disney drop from Little Sleepies over the summer. The group posts are popping up faster than I can catch them all. People are furious that they weren't able to get anything. Other people are sharing that they bought hundreds of dollars' worth of items — and will now be reselling them for double what they paid.
Lowe bought a princess blanket, but not for her son. "Their blankets are impossible to get," she says. "So I was like, hm, could I score one? And I did! Hell of an adrenaline rush." But then she turned back to the group and found a mom of a little girl with another daughter on the way who wasn't able to buy one. "I sold it to her for what I paid for it," Lowe says, noting that others were selling their brand new, just-bought blankets for over $200 to parents who missed out.
"Boy, do I feel alive," she says.
It's a bit of a frenzy, these groups. Bamboo pajamas are a specific thing to get all worked up about, but this niche has all the right ingredients — something for babies, something that you use all the time, something that comes in precious, limited edition prints that make you squeal with glee. We've all been there, spotting something adorable for our kids and knowing we have to have it. That's what these "bamboo mamas" are like. They have to have it, and they'll make sure they get it.
Lowe even tells me she's recruited her mom to help her buy items when they go on sale. "I had already checked out three times before she completed one sale," she laughs. "I was like, you need to be faster."
Inside the group, resells do go fast. But Lowe says there's also an etiquette to the game: "You always double-bag your items when you mail them. You disclose all stains, pulls, wear, etc. Because if you don't follow the 'rules,' people will blast you, tag you, and get you kicked out."
At the end of the day, though, this is a group of moms. A group of moms foaming at the mouth over bamboo pajamas, but a group of moms nonetheless. They lean on each other, especially in the "Anything Goes" group. "I've seen moms ask to get help with abortions," Lowe says. "Or they ask for advice on leaving an abusive partner, and everyone just takes action."
Because if a mom can care this much about bamboo pajamas, why wouldn't you want her in your corner?
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