I've had plenty of experience with preemie clothes, since even our largest baby, who weighed in at a whopping 6lb 7oz, swam in 0-3 month clothes when he was born. When our 31 weeker arrived, I was very thankful for all the beautiful preemie clothes, socks and hats we received from family and friends. Seeing her in them when she was stable enough to be dressed in the NICU always brightened my day. She was born weighing at 3 lbs 15 ozs (1780g), which made her the biggest baby in the part of the NICU where she spent her first month, and she still managed to wear preemie clothes for several weeks after she was discharged.

I disagree with this notion, and I highly recommend that parents of preemies get at least a couple of outfits that fit, because being able to dress them in their own clothes will make you happier. They don't need a huge wardrobe. A few pieces of their very own should do the trick.

General Guidelines

First off, check with your nurses about when and if your baby will be able to wear their own clothes. When you do select clothes, look for ones that will be easy to dress your preemie in. I found that when I first started dressing our 31 weeker, the easiest thing to put her in was a snap or tie front t-shirt. Look for clothes that will work with whatever lines or monitors are attached to your baby. I found clothes that pulled over the head were the hardest for me to work with. Typically, a sleeper that snaps all the way down the front and legs works well, because you will be able to pull wires and tubes through the spaces between the snaps. Look for fabrics that are soft on your baby's skin, over outfits that are frilly, with scratchy trim or embroidery.

Micro Preemies (1-3 lbs)

If you're looking for clothes for your micro preemie, you'll most likely need to find them on the web. A good one stop shop for clothing for babies who are 1-3 pounds is The Preemie Store. They carry a variety of t-shirts, hats and other clothing from different manufacturers. They also carry clothes for larger preemies, as well as a variety of preemie gifts and accessories.

Larger Preemies (3+ lbs)

If your baby is a little bigger, you'll probably be surprised at the number of options you have in clothing. Major chain stores like Wal-Mart and Target, a well as major department stores usually carry preemie clothes that will fit babies who are between 3 and 6 pounds. If you're shopping at a chain store however, make sure you hold up the outfit and really look at it. I've found that many of the preemie onesies I've seen at stores like Wal-Mart tend to run kind of short and wide, leaving your typically skinny preemie swimming inside.

Specialty NICU Clothing

If your baby is still in the NICU, or will be coming home with an apnea monitor or other equipment like feeding and oxygen tubing, you should check out the clothes made by Anna's Preemie. Their clothes are made super soft, without tags, and have special features like openings at the shoulders for easier dressing, and tabs to hold tubing in place. They also make clothes with a special opening at the chest to accommodate apnea or heart monitors. Best of all, even though Anna's sells specialty items, they are reasonably priced, with sleepers running around $16, and fancier homecoming outfits between $25-30.

The bottom line here is that preemie clothes, even specialty ones, don't have to be expensive, and you baby doesn't need to spend weeks or even months swimming in the wrong size clothes. So, go out and buy a couple of outfits that fit your preemie and brighten your day.

If your baby has grown out of their preemie clothes, and you'd like to pass them on to another family, please head over to NICU 101 and put a post in the Preemie Gear Exchange section of our forums.

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