Is anyone buying premie clothes?

My DD was 7lbs 9oz and swam in NB size clothes for the first 3 weeks or so. I was wondering if anyone is buying premie clothing. it seems hard to find. I am interested in onesies to put under footie PJ's just to keep them a little warmer since they will be born at the end of Jan, beginning of Feb.

 

i would def. get some preemie clothes. we had to go out & buy some so it would have been better to be prepared. we got some cute preemie onesies at wal-mart that were not expensive at all in solid colors, prints & with silkscreened images. they held up well & didn't fade after washing. i saved them to look back on how tiny they were one day.

 

I thought about getting preemie clothes, but I felt like it was just tempting fate by buying them. At the rate my babies have grown so far they'd be 7.5-8 lbs if I get to over 38 weeks and I'd rather than swim in NB clothes than come early and need preemie clothes I guess was my logic lol. I figure if they come early or are smaller than I'll just send my husband out to buy a bunch of sleepers in preemie sized then.

 

My idea of shopping is not to buy something that you may have to return. IF you need preemie clothes, then you will have time to send someone (or if NICU is involved) or buy it yourself. I hate to have clothes lying around that didn't get used. My opinion.

 

I was kind of wondering about this as well. Everyone has been telling us to start buying diapers each time we find ourselves at the store with extra cash (ha! extra cash? what's that?!). Anyways...are you guys doing this? If so, are you buying newborn diapers or size 1? or both?

 

With dd (who was 7.7) that the Gerber onesies I bought shrunk so much that they were too small (they were nb size). That might be a good option because they are so inexpensive and you can get them almost anywhere. You could get a pack or two to have on hand, just in case your two little ones are on the smaller side. And they should be snug enough to put under footies.

 

Hmmm...I haven't thought too much about this yet, but my DD was born 9 days early and was only 6 pounds 11 ounces. Her newborn clothes were too big.

Since they won't let me go past 38 weeks with the twins I imagine newborn clothes will be too big. Kinda afraid to "tempt fate" as someone put it by buying preemies sizes, though. Not sure what I'll do.

 

We are going to start doing this. Most NB babies go through (on average) 10 diapers a day x 2= 20 diapers a day. That is 600 diapers in the first month. I think my DD used NB size diapers for the first month and then moved onto size one if my memory serves me right. So I think we'll try and buy NB diapers for at least that first month and then buy size 1's as well.

Wow, doing that calcualtion really makes me want to run out and buy buy a truckload.

I think the only drawback is whether you like the diapers or not. I found that I wasn't too picky about what diaper my DD wore until she was about 3 months old and her bowel movements became larger.

 

I know, me too! I think that's one tidbit I'll keep from my DH. As far as the kind of diapers, I want to say we didn't really care either at the beginning for my DS. I think it was about the same for us, once they got to needing the better ones, we bought them.

Also- I'm a little confused on the sizing for preemie vs. NB. I thought that newborn would have been 8lbs up...but a friend just told me that NB is 6 to 8 lbs. If thats the case, what's the typical size range for preemie clothes?

 

I will be having my baby boys on Monday when I will be 38 weeks and 2 days. They are thinking that one little guy is 6 lbs, 13 oz and the other little one is 6 lbs, 14 oz. We weren't sure what size diapers to buy so we actually bought gift cards to Target throughout the pregnancy. Now we have a couple gift cards and can purchase the sizes that we need after the babies are born. We do have some packs of Newborn and Size 1 diapers that were bought for us. As far as preemie clothes go, we didn't buy any preemie clothes. Instead, we bought gowns so that the boys feet will be covered, but we don't have to worry about how small or big the clothes are. The gowns are thick and convenient for the many diaper changes that will be needed. Both my girls lived in the gowns for the first 4 weeks! Loved them!

 

Before you buy diapers, ask about the store's return policy on them. Then tape the receipt to the top of the UNOPENED box. Sometimes you don't get enough, but sometimes you get too many of a size and the babies grow faster than you expect. Some stores won't let you return even unopened boxes.

I would buy maybe 1-2 preemie outfits for each baby, but preferably the non-footed kind. I've had 6 children, from 5#3 to 8#8. They all swam in the newborn clothes for a couple of days. But my longer babies would have been too long for footed preemie clothes. My twins were 7#9 and 5#3, and both wore preemie things for a bit. Well, Sabrina (smaller) wore them for quite a long time, as she had a hard time gaining weight. So even after they didn't fit Sydney, they fit Sabrina. But my girls went home from the hospital with me the day after they were born. So we didn't really have time to go shopping. I was very glad I had 2 preemie outfits each that fit them well. The NB ones would have been ok on Sydney, but no way would they have worked for Sabrina. So don't go hogwild and buy a bunch, but I really think it wouldn't hurt to have 1 or 2 each, especially if you get something simple from say Walmart, where you won't be out much if they don't get much use out of them.

 

I thought I didn't need any preemie clothes- my water broke at 37 weeks 5 days, they'd projected the boys in the 5 lb range a month earlier, so I was kind of surprised to have Baby A weigh in at 6 lbs 2 oz, Baby B at 5 lbs 7 oz. This wasn't really a problem-they didn't need any NICU time and both got the hang of breastfeeding with relatively few problems.

However, breastfed babies get colostrum first, which doesn't put on any weight. They dropped weight for the 4 days or so before my milk came in and they started leveling out. So my "runt", born at 5 lbs 7 oz. came home in the high 4 lb range. He literally SWAM in everything but a couple of onesies and 1 outfit that was deemed his b/c he was so small. He would have swam in those things, too, but we are doing cloth diapers so he looked like a bumble bee with a skinny body & a huge butt! :rofl:

I wish I would have had maybe 2 outfits apiece for them, but I ended up just sifting through everything we owned in newborn size, hand measuring which was the smallest and sticking that on him. Now, at 6.5 weeks old, that first outfit is finally getting too small. I am sick of seeing on him, LOL, but will put it away as the only thing that fit him in the beginning.

I also did not want to tempt fate and buy things that might indicate prematurity- but my boys came 2 days before my scheduled 38 week c-section, so if I had it to do over, I would just bet that for a couple of days/maybe a couple of weeks, they may need some tiny clothes as a matter of course.

Good luck,

Michelle

6.5 week old id boys

 

We had an outfit for each of the boys that was a onesie and shorts. The onesies were way too short in the body so they never wore them. They wore newborn size right from the very begining, some of it was big, but the Gerber brand runs small so they were fine in footed sleepers from them for the first 3 or 4 weeks. By then their other newborn stuff fit much better. They didn't move into the 0-3month size until they were already 3 months old.

As for the diaper suggestion, we bought a TON of diapers before the boys were born. My goal was to have 600 newborn diapers and 1200 size ones on hand when they were born and I did. That got us through the first 3 months or so. We used all the newborn we had and ended up with about 1/2 a box of size ones left over when they switched sizes. The suggestion about the receipts is a great plan in case you have too many. I would also suggest buying a few different brands so you can determine what you like and what works for your babies. Once I figured out which brand worked best for us, that is what I told everyone to buy. Even now when my FIL comes over, he always brings a pack of diapers

 

Yes..Wal-Mart and BabiesRUs has some good Preemie clothes.

The only thing I would say is be cautious of the "size" of the preemie clothes. Our were born almost 4 months early, and when they were still well under 3 lbs, we started putting them in Preemie Clothes, but the sizes varied A LOT. By the time they got around 4lbs, some of them didn't even fit, but some they coulnd't even fill out. We had already packed away a lot of Merrick's Preemie clothes by the time he was 4 1/2lbs and Marlee before she even reached 4 lbs.

 

Thanks SO much for all of the suggestions ladies!! This is such a great board!

 

whoops...forgot another one of the best places...Consignment Sales.

Half of the stuff we got still had tags on them. You can search Consignment Sale on yahoo in your area. They have a lot of them in spring and fall, so there might be one soon.

I was hesitent at first when my DW was talking about it. Thought it was more like Thrift Store clothes, but then saw the clothes...they can't be torn, stained, soiled, etc.

And now...seeing that some of the Preemie clothes that we have for our kids in the NICU now, ONLY got worn maybe twice(and still look "store bought"), that's where we will be getting rid of them when it's time.

 

Sleep sacks are awesome, especially when it's cold. I used them on my DD until she hit the age where she could crawl. Very cozy.

 

I agree that you should have 2 outfits per baby. My son was 6lb 3oz and dropped to the high 5s when we brought him home. We didn't own ANYTHING preemie for him and the outfit we brought him home from the hospital in looked RIDICULOUS!! I was really embarrassed and no one wanted to go hunting for preemie clothes while I was still in the hospital.

Just keep your receipts and at least know you can put your precious little ones in something that fits rather than seeing them in these clothes they are swimming in. My son was born in the summer so it wasn't a big deal to put him in slightly big onesies and swaddle him, but the sleepers that were too big just didn't work. Don't buy too many gowns either...you'll either love them or hate them. I wasn't a fan and had lots but that can solve the big clothing issue but you can't put them in the carseat in them. Good luck! You're not going to jinx yourself by having a little safety net!

 

I think it is smart to have a few preemie outfits for each baby on hand. I didn't and it wouldn't have been easy for me to go get any because we were sent to Seattle from Alaska to deliver. Thankfully a friend of ours was in Seattle and went consignment shopping for us. My girls were born at 35 weeks and 3 days weighing 4 12 and 3 9.5 so they needed preemie clothes for a few weeks. I'm pretty sure most preemie clothes goes up to 7lbs. Our NICU accepted donated preemie clothes, so that is what we did with our when the girls outgrew them.

 

Wow, what a great idea about the gift cards!!!!!!!! I would never have thought of that, but it is a practical and brilliant idea!

I have already been buying a pack of nappies/wipes/pads etc each week when shopping, but I don't really feel comfortable with the idea of buying premmie clothes either. I have most of my size 000 clothes from my previous 2 pregnancies but they were 9lbs 6oz and 7lbs 5 oz, and so was sure what to expect size wise with the twins!
If we buy gift cards, I can just send hubby out and buy what size we need, when we need it and still keep that positive frame of mind. Brilliant!

 

Again, another great idea.

Sooooo glad I found this thread as I have been wondering the same thing.

 

My son was an entire month early, but about the size of a full-term baby (6lbs 10oz, 18 inches). Most of his NB clothes fit just right. However, now that I'm expecting twins and at high risk for PTL, I would like to get a few preemie outfits. Earlier in the summer (soon after I found out I was having twins) I got two preemie boy outfits and two girl ones for VERY cheap at a garage sale (and they were in perfect condition). Once we find out what we're having, I'll get a few more. But I won't spend a lot of money on them.

Pre-buying diapers is such a great idea. We intended to do this, and then I was put on bedrest and had to leave work at only 8 weeks pregnant due to bleeding, so money has been VERY tight since then. But, an extra ten dollars on a small pack of diaps I think would still be smart.

BTW....I (and all my friends) SWEAR by Pampers Swaddlers for sizes NB-2. After that, the other brands seem more comparable. But the Swaddlers are just so much softer and really don't seem to leak anywhere near the other kinds (and I tried ALL other kinds).

 

I have two outfits for each baby in a preemie size just in case. And if they need more, I'll send my mom out for more. I learned the hard way how big newborn clothing can be on a 5lb baby when my DS was born at 35 weeks! If I don't use these outfits, I am donating them to the NICU.

 

Holly, what a good idea to donate them to the NICU. I have a friend who just had quads (yes quads...and amazingly made it 34 weeks. Anyway, she said she was amazed at how many parents didn't dress their kiddos in clothes while in the NICU. Of course, not all people expect to be having preemies. But that really made me want to be able to clothe my babies in more than just those little gown things they wear there!

 

When my DS was born at 35 weeks and was in the NICU for 17 days, they used donated sleepers and such to dress the babies, and I can't tell you the difference it made to DH and I to see our child in clothing, instead of just a diaper and wires. When he came home and outgrew his preemie clothes, I took them all to the NICU to return the favor. They were so happy to get donations!

 

I was 11 weeks pregnant with the twins when we went to The States ( Mom is American). We bought 2 very cute preemie clothes.
Wel the boys came at 39+1 weeks!! hahaha not preemie at all and both bigger than our daughter at 38+1
BUT the clothes where to big hahah So now we always say that even preemies are XL in the States.

I did have a few internet-sites for very small preemie clothes if we needed them

 

I have done this everytime I was preg and we have already started a few weeks ago doing it again. I get the larger size and rotate the size I buy. We did buy newborns yesterday, but we will not get many of those.

 

Never bought preemi clothes, got some for a boy, but too small after one wash. They were in size 1 diapers from the start as well. But mine tend to be bigger, and I figured it only takes an hour to get some newborn diapers and preemi clothes if needed.

 

I have also stockpiled 1250 diapers A few newborns and mostly 1's.

 

I am a big believer in stockpiling nappies as well. Have done so for the previous 2 and have started for my 2 bubbas as well. Mostly newborns/infant (4-6 kg) and once we find out what they are will buy boy/girl ones in next size up.

I think too that it's a great idea to donate outgrown premmie clothes! :good: Will do that with ours if we use any.

 

I'm buying some premie clothes. My first two sons (who were singletons) were small enough at full term to need premie clothes. I'm sure we'll be needing premie stuff again, even if we manage to get to fullterm. We've bought a couple things of premie diapers to but mostly newborns and 1's.