Will most likely have a preemie... a question

pinotgirl · March 2012

Does the hospital provide what the baby wears in the NICU or do we? He's not born quite yet, but there's a good chance he'll be born in the coming days/weeks.

If we have to provide the clothes, what do we buy? Sorry, FTM and completely clueless!

tarapiag · March 2012

It usually depends on how many weeks gestation your LO is and how long they are expected to be in the NICU; also may depend on the NICU. My LO was 31 weeks and had quite a few problems at birth so for the first few weeks she couldn't wear clothing because of all the wires and tubing. After awhile, the NICU put a shirt on her and then told us we could bring in clothing, so I brought in kimono type long sleeved shirts and then sleepers with buttons so that we could still get all the wiring through the holes in between the buttons. These were preemie sizes; Walmart and Carters tend to have the preemie sizes sometimes. Our NICU gave out an information packet when we were admitted and explained about clothing, etc. so I would talk to them if and when it becomes an issue, but I wouldn't worry too much about the clothing issue just yet; just focus on providing a good home for your LO

ChristieNRN · March 2012

My son was born at 30 weeks on Feb 24th. By day 3, he was wearing little outfits. All the outfits have been provided by the NICU. They love dressing the babies up. I do know that the babies have to be a certain weight before they will put them in clothes. Aiden was born at 3lbs 3oz but then dropped to 2 lbs 14oz....he is now back to 3 lbs 5.2oz.

It melts my heart every time I see him and he is wearing clothes.

If you bring in clothes, do not bring pants. They need snaps, onesies...anything that is simple to access the monitors and their diaper.

I hope you are able to keep your baby in as long as possible.

I wouldn't stock up on a lot of preemie clothes because they do grow so fast. I have several that have been gifted to me. Some preemie sizes run differently than other brands. So just wait a little while on buying clothes til your baby is close to coming home.

pinotgirl · March 2012

Thanks! The NICU people will visit me on Monday so I'll double-check with them.

jacque_z · March 2012

It could depend on the hospital. Our hospital did provide clothes but we ended up buying quite a bit of clothing which we in turn donate to the NICU. If your baby is born soon, he probably won't be wearing clothes for some time. Even then clothing is more of a pain than anything due to the cords/wires etc. I hope your baby is born later rather than sooner but if he is this board is great.

JuliaJAG · March 2012

I just asked our nurse about that this morning but she gave me a vague answer... y'all's answers are good to know and make sense! Our baby just had his PICC line removed so I'm hoping to bring a couple of outfits in next week.

eta: Darn. I just talked to the night nurse and she told me he has to be diaper-only until he's in an open crib. He's still in an isolette. I should've known that....

shanlubey · March 2012

Until babies can regulate their temp, they usually don't wear clothes. Sam's first time wearing clothes was on his one month birthday.

OrganicTeacher · March 2012

They let Wes wear clothes once his IV was out - which took a week before they pulled it. Once that was off then he could wear them - that includes during his time in his incubator. He is in an open crib as of today - so we will see if he can keep his temp or not! We had to bring the clothes - and I would make sure that if you can bring them, make sure that they have hand covers on them in case he/she has an NG tube. Wes has pulled his out MANY times - and those gloves/covers save his poor little nose and throat! GL to your little one!

katie4253 · March 2012

I think, if I were you, I'd focus on the stuff for myself. Get your pump purchased (or figure our where you'll rent from), have all your nipple creams/nursing tank for easier and more modest pumping, a cover for pumping, and a hands free bra. I love the pumpease bra, but simple wishes is another popular one. Get the hands free RIGHT AWAY. When I was pumping in the beginning I cried because I spilled some of the very little I was able to pump because the flanges were hard to manage.

If you are in the hospital now, ask to speak to the Lactation Consultant and have them go over everything you might need to know.

Your LO won't wear clothes right away, so I wouldn't worry about that at all.

Gabe wasn't allowed to wear clothes until they were weaning his isolette temp down (in preparation for getting him into an open crib). That was around 3lbs. It took about 3-4 weeks for us to get there.

GeauxTigers82 · March 2012

Ditto what everyone else said, but I want to add that Gymboree also has great preemie clothes. They fit much better than the Walmart preemie sizes (although the Walmart sleepers are good and cheap). The Gymbo clothes are long and skinny and the little arms and legs are skinny to fit a preemie (unlike other brands that are short and fat). You can get pretty good deals on them too, since it's not that much in demand (they have under 5 lbs. and I think up to 7 lbs.) Carter's has cute stuff too, if you have one in your area.

Our NICU did provide clothes, but they were just the white cotton tops/sleepers. Not so cute...

I know everyone says don't get a lot of preemie sizes, but I did! I really like to dress my girls up though, so it was just fun for me to shop. I even bought new preemie clothes for the twins, instead of using DD1's, just so they could match! Of course, I would always dress them matching, only to return to them in something different! They did wear them for at least a month or two though.

I remember being so happy when I could finally dress them! It's such an insignificant thing, but it just makes them look more comfy! You just want to bundle them up when you see them laying there in a diaper (yes, I know it's heated, I'm just saying)!

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