r/NICUParents • u/Slight_Mousse7070 • 1d ago
Trigger warning nicu
I'm a uni student in the North of England and I had a baby that was in the nicu at 40+6 weeks we were both very ill, I do textiles design and for my dissertation and project I'm creating a collection of adaptive clothes for babys that are in the nicu that could say be sold as normal clothes, I was wondering if any parents would be willing to say what they found difficult when dressing their babys and what they wish they had, preemi babies or full term, this would be collected for research however I do not need any details just ur opinion
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u/Amylou789 1d ago
The things that come to mind for me are most vests (that go under the sleep suit) are one piece for the body. We had one premie specific one which wrapped around which was much better for access to wires. And then for the full sleep suits, access in the feet to put on the sensor,so maybe poppers on the foot so you can just open that bit up, or socks that have poppers to attach them. Footless sleepers with socks were always annoying as the socks always came off!
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u/Slight_Mousse7070 1d ago
thank you so much I do agree with this I found the sensors on the foot difficult the most and cannulas on the hand but the sensors are so sensitive it's hard to dress so poppers would be good vest wise I was also thinking of a possible two piece like a separate back and front 🤔
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u/ilikechess5 1d ago
The sensor that was on my baby's foot didn't really seem compatible with sleep suits, would have loved something that helped with that!
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u/Slight_Mousse7070 1d ago
I definitely agree the sensors were so sensitive
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u/RabbitPal 1d ago
What I always remember is that we had some adapted suits that were Velcro, which sounded great but then in theory seemed to curl up or loose shape very quickly! Which made it difficult to piece together, I much prefered poppers or the old fashioned buttons! Sounds like a really interesting dissertation, best of luck! ❤️
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u/Slight_Mousse7070 1d ago
thank you yes I've been thinking poppers and I find the velcro looks really medical I want it to look nice and try to bring some normality to such a not normal time
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u/Sea-Visit5609 1d ago
I would check what is already out there such as Simple Seed, gunamuna, Luxie Charm, spoonie threads, and even snap up/crossover style clothes from Carters and Gerber. I feel like there are so many brands making adaptive clothes now.
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u/Slight_Mousse7070 1d ago
yes I have looked at what's already out there and some are starting to be in shops however I'm wanting to design something that would be sold as normal baby clothes in say tesco or next for not just preemie babys but full term babys as it wouldn't have been useful for me to buy adaptive clothing from a specific website
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u/Glittering-Corgi9442 19h ago
We loved the Picolette by Olivia Culpo onesies from Target (in USA). They’re made of a microfiber panel on the front that sticks to itself so it’s super easy to change and opens easily for skin to skin. I’d highly recommend checking them out as it’s an excellent design feature. Might be something you could do something similar with!
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u/mysticpotatocolin 1d ago
i hope your baby and you are okay now!! ❤️ I think finding items that fit them and also were able to accommodate the wires?? Our son had the one on his foot and it was always a bit of a rearranging effort when we decided to change his clothes.
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u/Dry_Payment_6020 1d ago
My preemie was born 15 weeks early, so long term NICU stay. I bought all these cute, warm long sleeve sleepers that he cannot tolerate. BPD babies get very hot because they work very hard to breathe, so I had to go back and buy only short sleeve onesies. The nurses’ favorite was a romper that would lay completely flat when opened, and the arms and legs snapped to close. It was cute and soft, but he could still wear it with an IV and ventilator without having to disconnect anything.
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u/hhula1993 1d ago
When my son was born 5 years ago m&s, next and asda all had affordable ranges! They still seem to now, but i remember what I found hard to find was funkier patterns and natural fibres
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u/icais 1d ago
We liked the kimono style tops and body suits but hated the ties because they were so fiddly. Would have loved something a similar style that was easier to pop open and closed when we needed to adjust a monitor but still cute and not medical looking. Maybe decorative ties with snaps under?
Also fold over mittens AND feet so the foot with the lead could be out but the other foot could still be covered. I found it hard to find prem sized onsies in the country im in that had fold over feet, then seemed to only sell them for older babies closer to walking (we used them a lot when our babies came home on oxygen but would have been good in nicu too)
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u/CautiousWing6874 1d ago
Like others have said - something with easy feet access, maybe some sort of hat that could hold all the wires behind their head? We always got so tangled when lifting him in and out… on that note - some sort of sling type mechanism maybe sort of wings on the back of a sleepsuit to lift up like a little hammock to scoop them up gently? My son was born at 38weeks so not preemie but very unwell with a lot of tubes / sensors and alarms etc.
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u/ComprehensiveFee6851 1d ago
Something that could help restrain hands while allowing developmentally appropriate hand use? My micro premie didn’t have severe issues or surgery, but she kept pulling out her ng tube for months, and once pulled out her breathing tube which caused a minor crisis
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u/HippieMomma0526 1d ago
Zippers that went both up and down were the best for us because it allowed wires and whatnot to be positioned easily.
We didn't have these in the NICU but found them at home: sleepers where one leg comes completely unzipped so only one leg actually had to be removed.
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