Many people may say to not buy micro-preemie sized clothing because they are used for such a short time. At Perfectly Preemie, we don’t quite agree with that. We have heard from many NICU Parents that unless you've spent months in the NICU, you may not realize how long it feels. Days upon days of being at the NICU, wishing for the day you can take your little one home can feel like an eternity. For this reason, having clothing that will fit whatever size your preemie is can be a small dose of normal. Many NICU Parents can feel like there is little they can do to comfort their child during their NICU stay, and the simple act of being able to clothe their child can be comforting. Taking these items home, washing them, and bringing them back also brings a small does of normalcy to a NICU stay.
In the NICU, babies can have various medical needs, so we try our best to design clothing to accommodate. Our NICU friendly designs feature shoulder openings for easy medical access, velcro and plastic snap closures that won't heat up in the incubator, and easy on/off styling for quick dressing. A preemie's skin can be delicate and sensitive, so we sew our tags on outer layers of the garment and make outfits that have the seams sown inward. Don't let the tubes and wires in the NICU intimidate you into not buying clothing because as you can see, we have clothing that is designed for it.
The majority of families in the NICU were not planning on being there, and they find themselves in the position of not being able to dress their child in the cute clothing they had purchased and/or been given. Preemie clothing helps restore this small bit of normalcy to a birth, and helps the NICU parents feel like their child is not just another baby wrapped in a hospital blanket. We offer our clothing in a variety of prints and designs to help NICU Parents feel like their baby is uniquely theirs.
A fun added benefit of preemie clothing is being able to keep it to later show the child how small they were when they started out. Some NICU Parents have told us that they have used the preemie clothing to dress a bear or doll so that they can keep it around as a reminder of how far they have come. If you aren't into holding onto things, you can always gift the clothing to another NICU family when yours has outgrown them.
