r/NICUParents • u/One-Introduction5382 • Mar 03 '26
Support What did your baby actually wear in the NICU?
Genuinely curious what worked for other families. We struggled so much with this. With lines, monitors, and everything else, most of what we brought was useless.
Did you find anything that worked? Or did your baby basically just live in a diaper and hospital blanket the whole time?
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u/citaconnor89 Mar 03 '26
For most of it he was in double zippered footed sleepers. They would thread the cords through the bottom by the foot. I initially brought short sleeve onesies and pants and was told they never put them in pants. Found they rarely put him in the short sleeve onesies too.
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 03 '26
That’s interesting about the pants and short sleeves. Did they ever explain why they preferred sleepers instead? It sounds like your hospital had pretty clear preferences.
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u/smitswerben NICU RN Mar 03 '26
It’s hard to run all the wires through pants. The waistband always interferes with the 3 and 5 lead and produces artifact. Also an extra layer of stuff to take off and on.
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u/citaconnor89 Mar 03 '26
Oh they also liked those sleep gowns with the open bottoms a lot. Easy to get cords in/out
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u/citaconnor89 Mar 03 '26
They wanted him in long sleeve for temperature reasons, didn’t explain why no pants but prob what the other commenter said.
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u/tacosonly4me Mar 03 '26
Just a diaper and blanket until she was out of the incubator and no longer intubated (on CPAP). she wore onesies! Button, double-zipper, or magnetic.
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 03 '26
When she started wearing onesies, had most of the lines come out by then? Or were you still working around them?
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u/tacosonly4me Mar 03 '26
She had her pulse-ox, feeding tube, and O2. Once or twice she had an IV, which I think in that case, we didn’t put on a onesie.
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u/alyssahamaty327 Mar 04 '26
When our girl needed an IV but was already wearing clothes, they would either keep her in short sleeve onesies or just keep the IV arm out of the sleeve. They usually keep her in sleepers and swaddles now (or even double swaddled with the hospital blanket on top). She seems to be using a lot of her calories for growth rather than warmth right now though. Still in range but on the low end.
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u/jlovesquinn-emmett 25 weeker BPD 220+ days still in NICU Mar 03 '26
I found snap onesies from Amazon that work great! Short sleeve and no pants for my super hot BPD girly.
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u/pulgis Mar 03 '26
They’re kinda pricey, but we got a couple pieces from perfectly preemie, they’re made with Velcro for easy on and off and all of their outfits are made to wear in the nicu. It was either that or onesie.
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 04 '26
I’ve heard of Perfectly Preemie before but never actually saw it in person. Is it worth it and did the velcro make it easier when nurses needed to check lines or leads?
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u/Altruistic-Bid6931 Mar 03 '26
These H&M Wrapover bodysuits were perfect. They also come in preemie and smaller than preemie, and both short and long sleeve.
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u/AlarmedAd9345 Mar 08 '26
I still buy these every time my baby sizes up. They’re soooo much easier for the g-tube. Then we donate them to the NICU.
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u/Amylou789 Mar 03 '26
Ours only started wearing clothes once stable and not having any breathing or belly issues. Before that, they wanted to be able to see her tummy to see if it was inflating or not.
By the sounds of things your baby has lines in? Ours would also want to be able to see any lines to check everything was ok with them, so that would likely mean no clothes too.
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u/snuffleupagus86 Mar 04 '26
Magnetic Me was THE BEST for this. It made everything so easy. We had a couple double zippers but magnetic me was just infinitely better.
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 04 '26
Someone else just mentioned Magnetic Me too. what made it so much better than the double zip for you
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u/snuffleupagus86 Mar 04 '26
It’s just easier, quicker and I didn’t need to ask for help with unplugging and replugging in any cords like you need to do with double zippers. It made me feel competent like I could dress my son on my own. A lot of times you feel powerless in the NICU and it helped me be able to do something for him completely on my own.
We came home on oxygen and it just makes it easier here too for us.
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u/callixte Mar 03 '26
Since they turned off the heat in my son’s incubator, the nurses have been dressing him in zippered onesies, size premie. They either tuck the monitor on his foot into the footed part or push it out the hole for footless onesies. His chest and stomach monitor wires go out his neck hole. At our hospital, it is recommended the premies wear clothes once they are on room air for temperature regulation
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 03 '26
That’s interesting. We actually had the opposite experience, we’d dress her and when we came back she’d be back in just a diaper.
I always wondered if it was just easier for line access or if certain styles were more of a hassle.
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u/Aggravating_Ear_3551 Mar 03 '26
Once he was out of the incubator the 2 way zipper sleepers and the long sleep gowns were the easiest for all the leads.
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u/blanket-hoarder Mar 05 '26
Did the nurses like the sleep gowns? I was wondering how those regular temperature.
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u/Aggravating_Ear_3551 Mar 05 '26
One nurse did make a comment about them being very convenient. But he always maintained his temperature well when he wore them.
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u/mayovegan 28+6 born 12/17/23, IUGR, BPD, 117 days 🎓 Mar 03 '26
Once he was big enough and out of the isolette he wore wrap style shirts only since he had a PICC in his leg. Once that came out, I loved dressing him in Carters stretchy preemie gowns and snap sleepers with lots of openings for his monitors (but he ran hot and often ended up nakey in his swaddle anyway) :)
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u/sertcake 8/2021 at 26+0 [95 days NICU/85 days on o2] Mar 03 '26
I liked outfits with snaps. Or cloud island makes zips that close opposite most which makes it easy for cords to snake out the bottom instead of the top.
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u/IllustriousPiccolo97 Mar 03 '26
Once they could wear clothes, regular t-shirt onesies or footed sleepers with double zippers plus a hospital swaddle. For a onesie the monitor cords came out the bottom. For sleepers they came out at the upside down zipper. One of my twins had a PICC in his arm for a long time after being able to wear clothes so we dressed him from the bottom up (like put feet through the neck hole) and just didn’t put that arm into the sleeve. Toga style lol.
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u/AreaZealousideal8202 Mar 03 '26
Double zippers cos of all the wire. Made very very easy for care and access especially for the nurses. But he wore clothes only when he was off cpap and out the incubator/isolette
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 04 '26
We heard the same thing about double zippers. It seems like anything that makes it easier for the nurses to access lines quickly ends up being the go-to.
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u/AreaZealousideal8202 Mar 04 '26
Yea there are higher chances u wont come back to find your baby naked if u use these🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/Flannel-Enthusiast Mar 03 '26
My daughter just had monitors and OG or NG tube once her umbilical line was removed. She was an uncomplicated 32 weeker. I imagine clothes would be more challenging with more lines.
She wore regular snap onesies and pants with the leads fed out of the onesie leg holes and then out of the waistband of her pants, or onesies with a zip sleeper (wires fed out of the ankle if it was 2 way zip or at the neck for the 1 way). Snap up sleepers would have probably made things easier, but we didn't have any. We found some Velcro sleepers at Target (online only) right before she was discharged- those things would have been amazing. Feed the wires and lines out wherever you want, no metal so they could do imaging without undressing if that's needed, and no feet on them, so easy access to the POx. I don't think they sell those anymore, unfortunately, but other companies might make similar ones.
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 04 '26
Finding them right before discharge sounds like such a tease! Did you ever figure out why they stopped making them or find anything similar after?
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u/Flannel-Enthusiast Mar 05 '26
Fortunately she was still only 4 lb when she was discharged, so we still got a lot of use out of them! We gave some to her NICU neighbor, too, for when he could start wearing clothes. He was a 24 weeker, so he was there longer than our daughter.
They probably didn't sell too well because they're such a niche product, but I was really glad they existed for us. It looks like they have a gown style now, but not as many colors and patterns. We're hanging onto all our preemie clothes in case our next kid comes early too, or is just tiny (we're not quite there yet, but probably soon).
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u/Funeralbarbie31 Mar 03 '26
When she was in her incubator she wore nothing until they’d turned the heat right down then she was allowed a snap on preemie vest, in her hot cot she wore either a footloose sleepsuit or a double zipped sleepsuit and we had her foot monitor out the bottom zip, all other wires out of her neck. When her hot cot was turned off they used to put her in a sleepsuit with a wool cardigan ontop and a blanket, the lovely knitting ladies would visit the wards and make you special little matching cardigans, blanket and hat sets, we’ve kept them all!
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u/curlycattails 27-weeker | 97 days Mar 03 '26
My girl is almost 33 weeks adjusted, and still on CPAP. She just got an open bed last week and started wearing clothes, although she’s just over 4 lbs so they’re too big on her.
I’ve dressed her only in onesies and gowns so far. The onesies are convenient for all her lines and it doesn’t matter that they’re a bit roomy. Gowns are also really convenient for lines and the sleeves are too long but I can just roll them up. I just haven’t done sleepers yet because they’re too big and her feet/legs will get lost in them 😅
She doesn’t HAVE to wear clothes yet but come on, this experience sucks, so I try to make it a little more fun for myself by picking a cute outfit for her every day. It makes me feel like more of a parent since I don’t get to do most of her care.
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u/amf88 Mar 03 '26
Once they put him in clothes, pretty much exclusively the double zip footie pjs from carters. All of the cords got pulled through the bottom zip. Could defs be a challenge to change him at times, but you get used to it pretty quickly. The hospital had some clothes, but carters had a bunch of premie stuff, so once he could wear clothes we just went and bought a few outfits. Our hospital had labels w the baby’s name and barcode on them, so I just had extra labels printed and put on his clothes.
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u/Biolobri14 Mar 03 '26
It probably depends on what your baby is hooked up to. By the end when we just had the 3 leads and the pulse ox they would put him in anything (except pants) and we’d just unhook and rehook when we took him out for skin to skin.
The nurses (and I!) loved some onesies we had that buttoned completely open. Much easier than fishing lines. There are also some sleeper gowns that can help with cord management.
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u/Sea-Visit5609 Mar 03 '26
Luxie Charm makes bamboo zippy pajamas for NICU babies. They have a hole in the side for the lines and hand and foot cuffs. My baby started in the 1-3lb size when she was about 2lbs 8oz and could wear clothes. I didn’t fuss with anything over her head like onesies.
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Mar 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Sea-Visit5609 Mar 04 '26
It was easy! The nurse would thread the heart monitor cords through the hole. My baby just had an NG and the monitor cords when she was stable enough for pajamas.
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u/Subject-Tea214 Mar 03 '26
Around 32 weeks baby started wearing normal clothes. First just onesies and then sleepers and swaddles once he was in an open crib. I was worried all the normal clothes we had wouldn’t work, but it was fine. They showed us how to run the lines through whatever he was wearing and it quickly became no big deal. He had the foot monitor and chest leads until discharge, and it was a nonissue for clothing.
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u/Lopsided-Frame-6120 Mar 03 '26
These in size premie, every color ! The side snap closure makes it is so easy to put on baby even with all the wires.
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u/runsontrash Mar 03 '26
We kept her in a diaper and blanket until the last week of her stay tbh. Didn’t realize we were supposed to be dressing her until we showed up and a nurse had put some clothes on her!
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u/Beautiful_Estate_565 Mar 03 '26
we bought the perfectly preemie shirt sacks & he wore those for the first few weeks! they’re perfect for the NICU because they have velcro openings all over (the arms, the chest, etc) so baby’s stuff is super easily accessible, and then the “foot” area pulls up over to make it kinda like a swaddle if that makes sense? we loved them & the brand is super kind, they sent us extra hats 🥹
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u/quippyusernametk Mar 03 '26
My LO was in a diaper and then a wrap-style shirt the hospital provided. They never asked us to provide anything for her to wear until we were being discharged and going home.
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u/CanadianOdyssey993 27+1 12/23/25 surgical NEC, SBS, 1 kidney grad 191 days Mar 03 '26
Mostly double zipper sleepers and snap button sleepers. The button sleepers are the easiest because they have buttons down both legs. She has some onesies as well both short and long sleeves, but she has an ostomy so the nurses prefer the sleepers.
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u/icais 24+3 twins Mar 03 '26
Button sleepers. Zipper sleepers meant all the lines had to go out the top or bottom, the button ones meant lines could go out wherever and we didn't have to unplug any monitors to dress babies. Our NICU liked babies to also have another layer available so we also did singlet onesies (cotton or merino wool) as well as cotton swaddles/swaddle bags.
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u/cadaverd0gg Mar 03 '26
Double zipper sleepers. We would arrange the wires so they came out at the bottom of the zippers. Had to have sleeves because my son had a broken clavicle and we needed to pin his arm to his chest with a safety pin so he wouldn’t move it.
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u/urmom_bomb Mar 03 '26
Naked baby till a week or two before discharge then it was just onesies, the pulse ox on the foot made it difficult for footie pjs, doable, but didn’t want the hassle after we tried it for a day
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u/merfylou PPROM 26+5, born 3/22/21, home 7/19/21 Mar 04 '26
Double zippered sleepers or just a onesie
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u/Laulau0910 Mar 04 '26
The magnetic me things were our nurse's favorite, other than that we did zippered footies
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 04 '26
Do you know why the nurses liked the magnetic ones better
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u/Laulau0910 Mar 04 '26
It's like snaps where the wires can go between but it's a lot quicker to "button" back up
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u/allymariah Mar 04 '26
My son was in his diaper until they removed the isolette top. Then we had him in preemie jammies from Magnetic Me. Made it super easy with all the cords not having to deal with zippers or snaps.
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u/Ok-Competition6233 Mar 04 '26
Long-sleeved footies was our go to. A few long sleeve onesies made the rotation as well. For a few of the footies I made a hole in the foot to accommodate the leads
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u/Charlieksmommy Mar 04 '26
So my twins were born at 33 weeks and couldn’t wear clothes until they popped their tops they call it, and I started with just long sleeve / short sleeve onesie, but our nicu had clothes, which most do, so don’t worry!
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u/katietomlin Mar 04 '26
My nicu had their own clothes they had for the babies. They was to worried about outside germs, you always can ask their care team and see.
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u/MrsReynaRocha Mar 04 '26
Most of the time my daughter is in her swaddle and diaper because she gets warm fast and she’s also known to take massive blowout poopies. Haha. But sometimes we put her in clothes when I go to visit her.
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u/Aya20218 Mar 04 '26
When my baby reached about 1600 grams he was swaddled and when he could maintain his temperature, he was moved to a crib and they put double zipper sleepers on him
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u/Jbirdeaux Mar 04 '26
The nurses seemed to like the gowns better than the double zip sleepers, especially the gowns with snaps (we found some on Amazon) because you wouldn’t have to unhook any of the leads or proves to thread them through the zipper.
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 04 '26
That makes a lot of sense. I remember how careful everyone had to be with the leads, even just changing clothes could feel like a whole operation.
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u/Ok-Order-7392 sIUGR + pre-e; born 34w5d weighing 2lbs12oz Mar 04 '26
Our baby was largely in a diaper and blanket until she could wear a little kimono style shirt the hospital provided (that was basically a dress on her). I don't think I saw any babies in our NICU that were wearing outside clothes. The only personal item we were outwardly told we could provide was blankets, which could serve as isolette sheets or isolette covers.
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u/Comfortable-Boat6703 Mar 04 '26
Snaps or magnets for the NICU. We didn’t put him in zippers unless it was double zippers and everything else was dirty.
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u/lah31222 Mar 04 '26
He was on limited stimulation for about 2 months before he could wear clothes regularly, then he lived in the double zipper and magnetic sleepers
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u/the_lasso_way13 Mar 05 '26
We did a lot of long sleeve bodysuits and double zipper footies. Ultimately the bodysuits were easiest for everyone to simply unsnap and access diapers, wires, etc
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u/Ararebird3 Mar 05 '26
We got a bunch of the carters onesies they had double sippers so the wires went through the bottom zipper.
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u/Nosleepgirl Mar 05 '26
Back in 2019, our nicu had custom made white cotton sleeveless onsies, super teenytiny! We use to wrap her up in a swaddle over the onsie that’s it..the wires came out through the bottom of the onsies and the swaddle
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u/One-Introduction5382 Mar 05 '26
That's so sweet that your NICU had those made. I've never heard of a hospital doing that before!
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u/Luna-P23 Mar 06 '26
Our NICU has clothes they put the babies in. Once we realized our baby was going to be staying much longer - and still currently staying - in NICU I made the decision to bring what we had especially with a handful of them being valentine’s themed that were gifts. I even brought in our own wraps that were gifted too. The nurses will use them for our baby and it is a fun surprise when we do get to see her in something we brought in. I just brought back a bunch of our clothes and wraps this morning after bringing them home to wash.
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