Eeep - knitters, please read

[Magpie]

(Knitters can skip to the end if they want, I'm not offended)

A friend of mine apparently just had a baby. This would be much more wonderful news if she was due fewer than five weeks from now. As it is we haven't heard that she isn't ok, but the hospital wants to keep her for 10 days. For comparison, my mom was in for three days with my sister - 21 years ago. I can hope that maybe the length of time they keep preemies just hasn't changed when everything else has, but I doubt it. So if you could keep them in your prayers (send good thoughts/etc as you feel comfortable) that would be appreciated.

So, it turns out that the snuggler I made will be far too big (it was already big, but that's what the pattern called for). It will also be more needed. Does anyone have any good suggestions for how to knit a preemie sized outfit? I can't even find anything in "newborn" size, it's all six months & up. I'm going to start a hat soon (I can take that to the hospital when we can visit), but I figure that more would be appropriate.

[csquared]

I don't knit, but I will pray.

[Sliceanddice]

ummmm i can make a blanker a hat and baby bunting...

oh and booties....

im not useful

[BarbieGirl]

Don't know if this link will work since you have to sign up to search but Ravelry if not just sign up for an account on ravelry.com and search preemie, a lot of the patterns are free.

You could also look for doll patterns, american girl Most of these are for american girl dolls which are fairly big dolls and might be a good size for preemies.

[trailerparkmedic]

You could always make a 6 month sized outfit with lighter weight yarn/smaller needles to size it down.

Babies, even preemies, grow fast, so it's good to make something for them to grow into.

[Bella_Vixen]

Just make the baby things the reg size. The baby will grow into them.



Off topic: When my friend had her baby in the month of May a few years ago, I bought an outfit more suitable for fall then summer. She wasn't thrilled at first, but when the first unseasonably cold day came, she was ecstatic.

[Seshat]

If you can find out how long the baby is, you can scale down the pattern on a newborn outfit.

Google "preemie layette pattern": there's quite a lot of links.

[trailerparkmedic]

Also, about making bigger stuff for baby--a lot of my friends have found that they get more newborn sized clothing than they can use (which only lasts 3 months or so) and very little 6 month+ stuff (which can last for 6 months).

Baby will certainly need some hats as a preemie, and if you make something now, s/he can wear it in the hospital.

[Magpie]

Well I wasn't originally going to make newborn stuff (it doesn't last long enough to be worth my time, and they had bought a lot), but I figured that they wouldn't have anything in preemie sizes. How important is it to have clothes that are in the same ballpark size as the kid? Will they just be able to use the "newborn" stuff they have?

[Kanalah]

I will send prayers and well wishes thier way.

I had my daughter 9 weeks early, and she spent a month in the NICU.

What I might suggest making is tiny booties, preemies feet can really get cold. (It's one of the things the hospital asked us to bring for her, besides a hat.) Also those long nightshirt style sleepers. (I'm having trouble thinking for the exact name, but it's like a really long shirt but it covers the whole body.) Those are awesome for keeping warm and really nice for diaper changes.

Also give your friend lots of love. Preemie moms can be under a lot of stress.

[fireheart]

What I might suggest making is tiny booties, preemies feet can really get cold. (It's one of the things the hospital asked us to bring for her, besides a hat.) Also those long nightshirt style sleepers. (I'm having trouble thinking for the exact name, but it's like a really long shirt but it covers the whole body.) Those are awesome for keeping warm and really nice for diaper changes.

I believe they're just known as nightshirts, nightgowns or nighties. I've seen them referred to as t-shirt nighties and they're the type I love the most when it comes to nighties. With babies, they'd just be the same concept except tinier.

[Kanalah]

Thank you Fireheart, I just totally spaced on the name.

Easy to do when you have an autistic 4 year old screaming and flailing at you while you're trying to work on a quilt order that needs to be done before the end of the month.

When it rains it pours apparently.

[shankyknitter]

first off love and hope to your friend and her little one.

Secondly- doll clothing. Look for doll clothing patterns, and knit them in soft baby appropriate yarn.

[BarbieGirl]

I believe they're just known as nightshirts, nightgowns or nighties. I've seen them referred to as t-shirt nighties and they're the type I love the most when it comes to nighties. With babies, they'd just be the same concept except tinier.

in the US they are also commonly called 'sleep sacks'

[Magpie]

The baby and mom are apparently both fine. I guess the 10 days is largely observation. (Or it might be that there are conditions which require the hospital, but preemies always out-grow them, so no worries).

I made a baby bag, the pattern called it a snuggler. It's just that the pattern seemed to be sized for a 6-month old (which is good, he'll be largish when it's still cold, and she can just stick an extra blanket in there in December).

I found a pattern for preemie hat and booties, I think I'll just stick with those. There's not much point in going beyond that, because it would take a week or two to make a full set (I only have two classes a week, and I walk to work so I don't have commute knitting time like normal people do), so a) the baby would be bigger by then and b) she will have bought stuff.

We might be helping wash some of the clothes and paint the nursery (she thought she had 6 more weeks, and the space just opened up so they only just moved out of an apartment to a town house). But we might also just stick with the traditional casserole, because there are a lot of people who don't work full-time who are helping with this, and stuff might be done during the day.

Thank you for all the advice and support!