Because Olive was way too small for Charlie’s newborn sized clothes, I had to make some online purchases while we were still in the hospital!
1 + 6 – Kushies long sleeve wrap tee and footed pant set – I ordered 2 of these shirts and matching pants in preemie size. These kimono style shirts are easy to put on, and don’t irritate baby’s belly before the belly button falls off.
2 + 3 – Zutano Owl cap + bodysuit – I’ve always been a fan of Zutano’s Owl line, and this set was too cute to pass up for little Olive! Their Itzy Bitzy line is great for preemies and small newborns, and is available in a bunch of fun prints. I’m also a big fan of their fleece hat and booties.
4 + 5 – Carter’s Long Sleeve Bodysuit Set and ruffled pants – I ordered this basic affordable set of bodysuits in preemie and newborn. The pants run so small, they look like doll clothes! I’d recommend getting the newborn size unless you have a micro preemie.
7 – Pampers Preemie Diapers – These teeny tiny diapers fit Olive perfectly. But she’s growing quickly so I only bought one package and then she’ll be on to the newborn size!
8 – Salter Electronic Baby and Toddler Scale – With small babies there’s always the concern with whether they’re gaining enough weight. We loved to do weekly weigh-ins with Charlie on this scale. It’s also great for measuring just how much milk your baby is getting in a feeding by weighing her before and after.
9 – Philips Avent Microwave Sterilizer – I hadn’t been planning on sterilizing bottles for Olive before she was born. Sterilizing was really for back in the day when water wasn’t as clean as it is now. Lactation consultants will tell you that it’s perfectly fine to sterilize before first use or run through the dishwasher, and then not sterilize again. But because Olive probably has a weaker immune system, I’m going to sterilize until she gets bigger.
Did you buy any special preemie gear?
cherry / 242 posts
For preemies in the NICU, don’t buy anything with zippers. The nurses need to have openings/spaces for the wires. So pajamas with buttons are the way to go. Don’t buy too many preemie clothes because they do outgrow them fast, unless your baby is really tiny like mine were and they’ll be in the preemie clothes for several weeks.
honeydew / 7968 posts
good to know! i’m expecting premies – but we’ll see!
cherry / 242 posts
Don’t really buy anything specific to preemies until you really know for sure. Depending on how early they are, they won’t even be able to wear clothes until their PICC lines are removed. For me, Sebastien didn’t get to wear clothes until he was over 3 pounds. Sam never got to wear clothes before his passing because he always had some type of central line (he was almost 8 pounds when he passed), so even if he had made it, he would have been too big for preemie clothes.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@sandsandmore — so so sorry to hear about your loss. i can’t imagine how devastating that must have been.
i actually bought newborn size clothes after olive was born, but she was swimming in them. the preemie size fits her perfectly, but you’re right that you don’t know what you’ll need until they’re actually born. i ordered from diapers.com which has free overnight shipping, so i was able to purchase everything at the hospital after olive was born.
cherry / 182 posts
Claire was full-term (born at 39 wks, 4 days) but she was so tiny (6.7 lbs, 19″) that we needed to go out and get premie stuff. She stayed in premie stuff for another 2-3 weeks!
kiwi / 500 posts
i also loved the salter scale. It really helped ease me many of times when I wasn’t sure Ky was gaining the necessary weight. Great thing to have around the house when you have kids.