Preemie Clothing

Deciding between preemie and newborn sizes really depends on how small the baby is to start with. A 5 lb baby will probably be out of preemie much faster than a 3 lb baby. My nieces were both early (only one a "preemie") and small. They actually did get a fair amount of use out of the preemie clothes (months). There is a fairly limited supply of preemie clothing available and the stores tend to overlap with what they carry. I bought outfits at Target.

My son was in preemie clothes forever. We got most of his from Wal-Mart. It would depend on how big the baby is and how fast he is growing.

Babiesrus carries some

Would not even bother buying preemie. Buy newborn. Preemies get big
real fast! Burlington Coat Factory-Baby Depot carries Preemie size.

Keep in mind this was 10 yrs ago, but when my twins were born extremely premature, I could find clothes at Babies R Us.

Target, Walmart, Carters, Babies R Us all carry Preemie.

Yes, they both do in limited quanities.

I was going to say Babies R Us as well. I have for sure seen a lot of Carters clothes there in Premie Size.

Not all preemies get big fast, mine was in preemie clothes for several months. It also depends on the size of the preemie. Check the labels for maximum weight in the preemie size. Some only go up to 5 lbs while others go up to 7lbs. Try Carters or Babies R Us.

Babies R Us sells them in stores. Walmart sells them in stores as well. Target sells "Newborn" which is smaller than 0-3 months but may or may not be to big for a preemie depending on what the birthweight is. Depending on what the birth weight is clothes from Build a Bear can fit too.
My niece was a preemie (Under 3 lbs) and this is where we went. Her first Halloween costume came from Build a Bear :)

Go to Janie and Jack or Gymboree! They always seem to have the cutest premie clothes on the sale rack. When those clothes go on sale, it is cheaper than Target. I think I've seen premie clothes at babyGap too.

Yes, babies outgrow premie clothes very quickly, but it is SO nice to have a few pictures of baby's first days in clothes that fit. I am so glad I got my daughter a couple of premie outfits. She outgrew them after 3 days (she wasn't a premie, but she was small) but the pictures I have of her in those outfits are priceless.

By the way, Janie and Jack and Gymboree have fairly liberal return policies, so if the baby outgrows the clothes by the time your friend wants to have her child wear them, she can return/exchange them.

Babies R Us has a slightly larger selection than Target, plus Target does not have them in all stores. Some of the larger department stores do sell some in the stores as well, like JC Penny and Sears. If the baby is under 5 pounds, go for the premie but if 5 pounds or more, I would say go for newborn if you cannot find any. Also, the smaller the baby the easier a gown is. They can really fold up those legs. My d was 3 1/2 pounds and the gowns were my fave.

When my daughter was a preemie we could only find clothes at Babies R Us in preemie sizes. Since then I regularly see them at Target. I would not buy newborn because they will be way to big. I would not say buy a wardrobe of preemie clothes but for a while even newborn stuff is way too big. Maybe try second hand shop or ebay. Mom's of preemies know how hard those clothes are to find you may be able to find a better deal online. :)

walmart in store is where i got all my premie clothes. they are super cute too. depends on how small the premie is. my niece weighed about 5lbs when she came home and we got her cabbage patch clothes. they fit her perfectly. my daugther was a little less than 6lbs and she wore premie clothes for about 1 month.

Agree with Patty - just buy newborn. They are in preemie clothes for such a short time and it doesn't matter if they are a little big. They will grow into them, and fast! Your money will be better spent on the newborn size. Or, just get one preemie outfit to hold her over and the rest newborn.

I have seen preemie sizes and both Target and Wal Mart in the stores, but I imagine it depends on your location. I ordered most of mine from ebay - much cheaper!

Wal mart and target both carry preemie sizes in the store, as well as babies r us