Baby gift for premies -- help me with size

[tar heel]

My childhood best friend's daughter just had triplets. They are doing pretty well but are very small -- boys are around two pounds and girl is several ounces less. I want to buy them a clothing gift appropriate for next summer. With full-term babies, I would buy 24 months. I'm not sure what to get for these babies, though -- 12 months maybe?

Can't believe the Children's Place outlet sale -- it will be really easy to get three cute suits without spending a fortune.

 

[KerriSue]

why not get a gift certificate for her to use when the babies get a bit bigger, this way she can purchase as needed

Also, with three babies I can imagine a ton of diapers will be needed, how about those.

Something better would be the gift of time I know just that one baby is work let alone three

Kerri

 

[lindakmonty]

that is a hard one, they could take off and grow like weeds! Gymboree has great childrens clothing. I bought premie size for my ds when he was first born. He was 7lbs 14 oz. and he wore the premie clothes for about 2 or 3 weeks. they were so tiny,but so adorable. the nurses went on and on about his clothes, his shoes that actually fit their tiny feet !!! I would think there would be some tiny clothes online but as far as trying to guess for next year... that would be tough. Every child is so different. my ds was born average size but he is now 5 and mostly wears 3t or 4t and is 34 lbs. Congrats on the new additions

 

[barkley]

neither of mine were premies but both were around 5 pounds. with both i had to get the smallest size available and shrink them (still hung off them), but by a year of age dd was almost 4 times her birth weight so it would have been impossible to guage what size she would be wearing that far in the future.

i'de say go with a gift certificate, there's nothing worse than getting baby clothes that go to waste (i returned so much stuff after she was born-i could have changed her into an adorable outfit 10 times a day for a few weeks without doing laundry-i returned them for store credits to use over the next few years).

 

[mickeyboat]

When were they due? I would the size they would wear next summer if they were born on their due date. Hannah was a premie, and wore right about the same size as her age - while most other babies wear larger than their ages.

Denae

 

[cats7494]

Honestly - a gift card to a place like Target would be wonderful! A friend of mine had triplets - and the gift cards were a life saver for diapers, wipes, etc...

It is really hard to say what size they will be next summer...My dd12 was a premie and she caught up to "normal" size by age 1. She was not quite that small birth..she was 4 pounds 11 oz.

 

[FSUGrad97]

My DD2 was 4 weeks early and weighed a little over 5 pounds. As one of the other posters mentioned, I would get a gift certificate. It was really hard to buy clothes for her in advance, and I have a ton of outfits that she never wore (most were gifts).

With a gift certificate, the parents will be able to choose something that they know will fit, and they won't have to deal with returns.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

It's really hard to say. With my twins they grew completely differently. My daughter wore 12 months at a year old, while my twin boy was in 18-24 months, and he was the smaller one at birth! I say go for a gift card and buy some diapers. You can never have enough of those with multiples!

 

[laurie31]

It's very hard to say...but if they only weigh 2 pounds now, my guess would be 3-6 month size by next summer.

However, and I don't mean to be morbid at all, and I have prayed that the babies will all do very well and be home soon, but you never know what can happen to babies that little. I wouldn't buy anything for a year from now. Get a gift certificate, or else wait and buy the outfits after the first of the year. Children's Place has a monster sale every year in January. I bought cute 18 month outfits for my niece that were reg $10 - on sale for 75 CENTS!

You might also consider gift certificates for food/restaurants, housekeeping services (I know I'd want Merry Maids if I had triplets!!) or something like that

Congrats to your friend's daughter! I hope she has all her babies home by their due date

 

[tar heel]

Thanks. I understand about the gift certificate but would still prefer to buy a gift if possible. I'm a pretty good shopper and could probably get more for the amount I'm willing to spend. This is the daughter of someone I was very close to at one time but very rarely see now, and I don't want to spend what it would cost to get three Gymboree outfits even on sale.

From my own experience, I loved having clothes for the next year when I didn't already have a million outfits. While I did have little clothes that were barely worn, all the 18 mo. and 24 mo. outfits for the next year were well used.

I don't want to do diapers b/c she had three showers and has a stockpile. Giving the gift of time would be really hard b/c I live two hours away!

I'm being so difficult . . . but I really do appreciate your help!

 

[ToriLammy]

I vote for the gift card too, my daughter was a premie, weighed 2lbs 10ozs and at one year she wore 12M size but it's so hard to predict.

 

[tar heel]

Laurie -- You make an excellent point about next summer. I hadn't even thought about the possibility that one of them might not make it.

It was the Children's Place sale that made me want to buy either three or six outfits! Couldn't believe the prices!

 

[nkm]

Guessing any child's size a year from now is hard to do, but a preemie makes it even harder. My daughter was born @ 30 weeks, 3 lbs 8 ounces, and she sprouted up and passed all full term babies her age. Then she started walking, and slimmed down A LOT! She is now 18 months old and is back to wearing an 18-24 month size, and in some styles that is too big; while before Christmas (before walking) she was almost wearing a size 2.

Some preemies do better than full term babies, some preemies are average, and some preemies are smaller than average. Really hard to judge.

I agree that gift cards are a good idea and so is a helpful item for mom. Perhaps a bouncy chair/rocking chair. Fisher Price makes a great one. Even if she has one or even three already, an extra one for another room or another floor is always a great idea. I had one on each floor so I wouldn't have to drag it with me. Or how about clothes for fall, but again you are back to trying to guess their size by then! Just ask the mom's opinion on the issue, she might have some ideas for you!

Good luck!

 

[ahutton]

I'm guessing at that size the babies are in NICU or some type of care while they grow some more. DS spent a short time there, and I recall being somewhat limited on what we could use while they are there. It had to go on certain ways to allow for their monitors and quick access. Some gifts for now would be things they can use in the hospital, like little stuffed animals. They do have some that have an "insert" of sorts that Mom wears for a day and then you put in the animal and it carries Mom's scent. Gas Cards for the trips to and from, and any other services you can provide to free up time for them to spend visiting like lawn care, housekeeping and such, so they have fewer worries and can be there. You might check with the hospital about what clothes they can have now, or what restrictions there are, if any.

As for clothes - someone mentioned go by their actual due date and then how old will they be for sizes. Probably 12-18 month sizes will be close. If you get things like onsies that can be layered if they grow faster/slower (can be worn alone, with shorts or with pants!) they will get used. So will the heavy t-shirt weight footed sleepers in the 12, 18 and 24 month sizes as they will likely have times the weather will be right for those.

 

[mtemm]

its really hard to know a year ahead of time. they say it takes around 2 years for most preemies to catch up, but that is only an average. mine were 5 weeks early and much larger than your friends (4lb10oz, 5lb10oz), but my daughter (the smaller twin) remained very small for a long time. by the time she was 2 she was pretty close to caught up size wise. my son, on the other hand, had a hard time gaining at first, but then started shooting up like a weed. by the time he was 12 months, he was easily in 12 months sizes, if not 18 months.

 

[Kimberle]

That is the exact size my dd was when she was born. (1#15.5 oz). My dd is now 7.

She pretty much followed her age curve with sizes. When she was 2, she wore a size 2, when she was 4, she wore a size 4. Now she's 7 and a size 7.

Just an FYI for some of the other posters, the SIZE of a infant at birth does not indicate how well s/he will "do". It is the numbers of weeks early. My dd was born 11 weeks early (at 29 wks). At 29 weeks, babies have a 95% rate of having no lasting effects of their premature birth.

I think clothes for next summer will make a great gift! You can buy lots of cute t-shirts & socks. If you buy pants, make sure they have the adjustable waist, not just the elastic. My dd is very skinny and must wear slims or adjustable waist pants. Elastic bands do not work for her. With the t-shirts, if you don't quite "time" the size right, the Mom can always put a light sweater over the top. Hats, hats, hats are very important for preemies. When they are young, they need them to help keep the heat in and when they are older, to shade them from the sun. You can also include a gift receipt. Some stores (like Gymboree) will accept a return/exchange for up to six months. That way, if your sizing is "off" (cause we all know babies grow at their own pace), the Mom can exchange them several months from now.

Congrats to the new Mom & Dad!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Both my girls were premies, 4lbs12 & 5lbs. People gave me long term gifts they could never wear.

My oldest was very sick and did not start growing till after her surgery at 4 months.

My youngest was SGA (small for gestational age) and did not grow at a normal rate until she was put on growth hormone at age 6.

I vote for diapers and buy some of those cute premie outfits. They are adorable! (shhh...I saved a few)

 

[4chitlins]

I agree with the gift certificate. My twins were 4 weeks early and weighed in around 5 pounds but even some of the preemie things didn't fit them well.

 

[justhat]

My cousins twins were born at 27 weeks and were 1 lb. 6oz and 1 lb. 7 oz. and at a year one of them was just about 20 pounds and almost walking while the other was about 15 pounds and barely sitting on his own. The larger one was wearing 12 month clothing and the smaller one was in 6 month clothes.

My own daughter (who is 3 months older than these boys) was born full term, 8 lbs. 4 oz. and she was 19 pounds and 29 inches at a year and in 6-12, 9, and 12 month stuff at a year, but 12-18 months was way too big on her. She's 2 years and 4 months now (26 pounds and 36 inches) and she wears 18-24 months. 2T stuff swims on her still, even with the adjustable waist.

So I think it's really hard to buy clothes a year ahead for any newborn, preemie or not. Cause if you got my daughter 24 month clothing for when she was 1 it would not have remotely fit her (and we did get lots of gifts like that). Based on that I'd go with the gift card too or buy something for a closer time frame that would be easier to guess. Or just buy something in size 2T cause odds are they'll wear that size for a year, whenever they fit in it, so they'll definitely get use out of the outfits then.

 

[bengalbelle]

I agree with Justhat. My DS was not a preemie but was 5lb 10oz when he was born, 5lb 4oz when we left the hospital. He wore preemie clothes for 2 months, then 0-3, etc.

At 1 year no way would he have been able to wear 24 months. His sizes usually corresponded with his age or a little smaller. The 2T sounds like a good idea.