Most people don’t plan on having a baby prematurely. I know I certainly didn’t. I was working through my very planned out third trimester checklist and painting our bedroom on the day my water spontaneously burst (no trickle here!) at 33 weeks. Thankfully, Amazon Prime and two-day shipping saved us when we brought our preemie home less than a week after birth. Here is what I learned you need to buy for a preemie baby;
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*Please note – I am not a medical professional and every baby born prematurely has different needs. I am a mom who happened to have a rather healthy baby six weeks early and these are the extra items I am glad I bought.
At our first newborn checkup with the pediatrician, she gave us the option of coming in weekly for weight checks or to purchase an infant scale and e-mail our baby’s weight each week.
Obviously, we chose to purchase the scale. For a preemie baby, it’s important to make sure the baby is gaining weight every day. If there is an issue with feeding a premature baby needs to be seen quickly.
After a lot of research, I purchased this infant scale. I like it because it converts to a regular scale when you no longer need to weigh your baby at home. I feel it gives a very accurate measurement in lbs and oz. Although I get a slightly different reading each time I use it, all the scales I researched said the same thing in the reviews. When comparing our preemie’s weight at home to the scale at the doctor’s office each time it was very similar.
You might already have newborn clothes ready at home but if you have a very small baby even newborn clothes won’t fit. In the hospital, I ordered a few clothing items for my preemie baby to be delivered before we even came home and I’m so glad I did!
Onesies
These preemie onesies fit my 4 lb 10 oz baby much better than newborn clothes though we did still have to roll up the sleeves.
Pants
Our boy wore these preemie pants for a long time after coming home.
Booties
I hate newborn socks because they never stay on. I am all about the baby bootie. We have a few of these baby booties which work great but these booties are even better (though more expensive) because there is no velcro!
Zippered Sleepers
Some parents dress their babies in zippered sleepers all day every day but I prefer them just for sleeping. These zippered sleepers zip from both the top and bottom to help with diaper changes or if your baby has to be hooked up to any monitors. I don’t like snap sleepers at all but if your baby has many cords to deal with snaps might be easier.
Hats
My kids have much smaller heads than most babies but my preemie baby has the smallest head ever. Newborn hats completely drown him. I love these soft preemie hats.
You probably didn’t pick up or register for any preemie-sized diapers. Once you know you will be heading home from the hospital you are going to want to order some to fit your baby. There are even different levels of preemie diapers so make sure to check the weight on the box before ordering!
Personally, I cloth diaper my babies (but not overnight). I absolutely love cloth diapering but until my son reached about 8 lbs I stuck with disposable. My cloth diapers are way too big to properly fit a preemie.
Read More: All-in-One Cloth Diapers
Clearly, every baby needs a car seat but not all car seats are made equal. The minimum weight on a car seat can actually be very different when comparing brands and models. We purchased a new car seat right before my water broke not realizing we would be having a premature infant. Luckily, the NICU nurses said it was the BEST car seat for preemie babies!
The swaddles we used for our two full-term babies were way too big when we brought our preemie home six weeks early. This preemie swaddle fit much better.
When your baby is born early feeding can be a real issue. The “suck, swallow reflux” might not be fully formed. I breastfed both my daughters so having to exclusively pump and supplement with formula for two months after birth was not in my plan. Here are the feeding supplies I had to buy for my preemie baby;
Read More: Awesome Breastfeeding and Pumping Tips
Formula
For two months my son’s pediatrician had us supplement with formula. The goal was to get as many calories in our premature baby as possible. We gave 2-3 bottles of formula each day.
Obviously, you should discuss feeding your baby with your chosen pediatrician but this is the formula we were told to give our baby.
Bottles
We already had a few of these baby bottles from our first kids but realizing I would be exclusively bottle-feeding for some time I ordered a few more.
Preemie Nipples
I didn’t realize preemie-sized bottle nipples even existed until a NICU nurse recommended I order some. Prime shipping for the win!
Make sure you order the brand of bottle nipples that will work with your bottles.
Bottle Warmer
I also had never used a bottle warmer before. With our older daughters, they only had bottles when I was away from them and we just warmed up the breastmilk in the storage bags under running hot water.
When I exclusively pumped with our preemie I am so glad I purchased this bottle warmer. It’s very easy to use and I will continue to use it to defrost and warm up baby food once my son starts on solids.
Vitamin w/Iron
When our older kids were babies we had to give Vitamin D each day because they were breastfed. This time with our preemie the doctor recommended a multivitamin with Iron.
In no way is a breathing or movement monitor a necessity. In fact, it might cause some parents more anxiety if any false alarms go off. But I was so terrified of bringing a preemie baby home from the hospital six weeks before our due date that I knew a monitor would bring me some comfort.
After reading MANY reviews I knew I didn’t want my infant wearing a monitor. Instead, I purchased a movement monitor that goes under that mattress. We have never had false alarms but you do need to remember to turn it off (push a button) every time you pick the baby up. If you don’t there will be a few clicks before the alarm sounds.
Trust me, you only forget once or twice before you get in the habit of turning it off. For us, the movement monitor gave me some peace of mind. I don’t know how accurate it is but it has allowed me to get some sleep and that is worth every penny.
I hope this information on what to buy for a premature baby has helped you whether you are a parent of a preemie or are looking for gift ideas. Take a look at my Baby Registry Checklist to see ALL my recommendations.
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