Should I buy preemie clothes now?

Jenelle05

I am currently 32 weeks pg and have been told that I will be having this baby sometime in the next 2 1/2 weeks due to IUGR and reduced cord flow. Should I buy preemie clothes now? I am not even sure what the NICU allows...? All I have is 3 or 4 NB size outfits (up to 7 lbs). They haven't given me a weight estimate yet, but they said he is measuring 29 weeks...from what I have read, that is most likely under 3 lbs? 

Thanks  

Afton3

Whether or not you buy preemie clothes largely depends on the health of your baby when he is born and if he spends a lot of time in the NICU.  I wrote a post about this on my blog awhile back:

Finding Preemie Clothing

I never did get to use the preemie clothes I had.  Good luck to you - I really hope that you stay pregnant as long as possible!

msalinardi@live.com

I wasn't allowed to put clothes on my little one until she was around 3.5 lbs and the nurse told me not to bother getting preemie clothes, that she would just grow out of them really fast. So DD wore lots of Carter's newborn onesies and I know the NICU nurses really liked the outfits that buttoned up the front that didn't have feet. It was actually really fun to watch her grow into and then out of her newborn clothes!

ijack

I would wait. She probably won't wear clothes the first couple days anyway so you'll have time to get stuff if she does need it.

GL to you!

Autumn_bride2b

I would buy a few items but don't take the tags off and keep the receipts. She may not be able to wear clothes at first (depending on the NICU's policies) and may or may not fit into them. When the nurses give you the go-ahead, then you can wash them. Also, until your LO is eating by mouth, the clothes won't get very dirty and the nurses may just leave her in the same outfit for 2 or 3 days, so you won't go through many at first. Just an FYI, even "preemie" sizes can vary. Some fit DD perfectly at 3 lbs, others were HUGE, and at 4 lbs, she still has some room in them.

msalinardi@live.com

Another thing, our nurses used to tape up the back of the outfit to make it fit if it was too big (which everything was). Those ladies are experts!

jkipp82

At first we didn't buy any...when he started wearing clothes - the NICU actually had some preemie outfits they put on him (especially our favorite nurse would change him right before we came in)...but when we got moved downstairs (still nicu but babies who were closer to going home)..many of the other babies had been there a lot longer already and their parents brought in clothes...so I couldn't resist and we bought a handful.  I probably ended up with about 10-15 preemie items (mostly onesies, a couple pj's).  DS was discharged at 4lbs 11oz ...and wore a bunch of the preemie stuff for quite awhile (especially the onesies..he grew out of the pjs because of length, but was so skinny the onesies still fit).

If you do get anything - definitely ones that snap....zippers are a no-no in the nicu.  And put your name somewhere on them to make sure you get them back!

mrsbnlmel

Our boy came home at 4lbs 10oz and he wore his preemie stuff for a little over a month. We bought nothing ahead of time and luckily, once he was in clothing, the NICU had things for him to wear.

We sent grandparents out on the day he was discharged to buy us some preemie things. It was a little bit of a hassle to get it washed and to the hospital, but it worked for us. I might buy a few things ahead of time since you have the warning. I'd wait to wash it though.

T&J'SMAMA

I agree on waiting or leaving the tags on. You really never know how big your LO is going to be when you can use them. You don't want to spend a bunch of money on things you may never use.

Our NICU also provided clothing, and they told us up front if we brought things in they would probably get mixed up in theirs and getting them back would be difficult. So you may also want to check with yours and find out if it would even be worth it.

 

AFwife1106

I would wait and see first how big your baby will actually be and what the NICU allows and when.  We didnt need clothes for our LO until she was moved to the crib and she was over 4 lbs.  She could wear a Gerber's NB size at that point.  When she came home at 5.5 lbs, she could wear preemie sized things and NB sized onesies (Carters and Gerber).. so I would wait a little and see.  My LO was born at 28w6d and was 2 lbs. 3 oz. 

mek10976

My MIL bought us a bunch of preemie stuff and I'm glad she did.  I felt like I didn't really have time to get stuff when DS was in the NICU b/c I was either at the hospital or at home taking care of the dog, house, or whatever.  She gave us some onesies, but they were the regular kind, not snapping up the front.  Our NICU was ok with them.  It may depend on how many leads your LO has. 

I'm also glad we had the preemie clothes once he came home at 5lbs. 7oz. But I will say that some of the clothes seemed to be really tiny and not last.  I think DS did best in the Carter's NB size. He wore them until he was almost 10lbs.  Gerber NB is a good bet too, since they run really small.

To summarize, I would get some onesies with snaps in the front for the NICU and then NB stuff for home.  Oh, and a cute preemie going-home outfit!