A Baby Cries, A Mother’s Frustration

Started a Search That Ended In

The Tiny Explosion That Shook A Giant Industry…

What a magical moment when your baby comes to your arms! Unfortunately, though, 1 out of 8 babies are born prematurely or low birth-weight. Plans for the nursery may not be done yet, car seats are yet to be bought, and the blissful moment just turned to fear.

This precious extraordinary baby is about to teach you things about yourself that you never thought you would have to experience. You will learn you have more courage then you thought and you will learn that strength comes from places you never imagined.

Your low birth weight baby has many struggles to overcome. Some of these struggles and concerns are short term, while others may be long term. New information shows many premature babies can still have low birth weight problems until they are age 12!

A Woman’s Instinct is to Take Care

We aspire to make life better as we tend to the needs and wants of those close to us. Someone’s child falls we instinctively rush over to console and wipe tears away. A friend needs a shoulder to lean on, we’re there, - even if it means supper will be late and you have been too busy to even think about what to cook.

 I remember the time a male colleague and I were away on business. He and his wife were blessed with a two year old and a newborn. During a grueling meeting, his cell phone buzzed persistently until he finally looked at the incoming call telephone number. He excused himself from the room returning with a deep frown on his face. Concerned about him, (we women always seem to take on others’ problems, don’t we?) during our first break I asked him if there was a problem I could help him with. We had been away from home for over a week by then and I was hoping nothing serious was happening back home. He slowly shook his head in a “no” response. After a couple of silent minutes, he told me the phone call was from his wife. They had just moved to town so she had not had the time to make new friends, therefore he was the first, and only one she could turn to. I asked if she was OK, were the children sick, was there a problem with the house? With eyes looking at his feet, he replied, “the kids were keeping her so busy she had not even been able to take a shower for two days. She’s exhausted and all she wants is a shower”.

This strong woman could bear all that was given her. All she wanted in return was a simple shower. Yet she was too exhausted to engage in such a pleasure.

That’s just we women do. We console, we wipe tears, we put other people before ourselves, and we put off a shower because our children always come first. Moreover, we do it all with love.

However, right now this is one thing that you can’t kiss and make better. You’re tired, worried, and you want information.

I know what it feels like to have a preemie. The excitement of the birth, the confusion, the disbelief, surgeries, cannula’s, heart monitors, IV’s and wires all over, bad days, and the constant worry.

But that alone sure didn’t make me an expert.

What did make me an expert started the day we ran out to buy preemie clothes and found nothing. Nada, zip, zilch. Our only solution then was to go to the local toy store and pick out a few cute frilly doll dresses. (You’ve heard all this from other websites selling preemie clothes– right?)

After a good washing of her new dress we proudly grabbed the camera and put her in her first dress. We were so excited to have her home and all we wanted to do was send pictures (or should I say brag?) to every single person we knew. However, the minute we started dressing her she began crying. A mother’s first reaction is to comfort the baby then check the clock to see if it’s feeding time. Was it time for a diaper change (or should I saw a droop change. When Pampers said preemie size what they really meant was 1/8 smaller then Newborn size!)? We did everything we could to console her and nothing worked – until we finally took her dress off.

That was my “ah ha” moment. I gingerly fingered the dress to see if I had overlooked a tag or pin. Nothing. As I slowly touched every inch of the dress I began to realize just how scratchy the material was and the seams were horribly scratchy. Well it was made for a doll, not a baby! We were just so desperate to normalize our preemie to make ourselves feel good.

I share this beginning with you because this was the seed that CHANGED A GIANT INDUSTRY. I learned pregnancy does not automatically give you forty weeks to prepare for your healthy baby’s arrival. I learned that tears for the birth of a child are not always tears of joy but for sadness of what may be. I learned that today might be the hardest day you have ever encountered, and tomorrow is sweet and filled with hope. 

Within months, I began searching stores and the internet for answers. To my horror, I found almost nothing in published print or items manufactured for these tiny lives. It was as if a premature baby was such a rare occurrence, there was no need for such things.

Run…Run…Run… But Where?

A team was put together and we spent years researching prematurity. I talked to OBGYN doctors, respiratory therapists, Neonatal doctors and nurses, parents of preemies, and just observed. I watched preemies in the NICU as they lay quietly, when they were stuck with needles, when the nurse would change their diapers, parent’s reactions to good news as well as bad. I wanted to not only see what these babies went through, but I wanted to feel.

Wow – what we discovered!

Sifting through the hype, the facts, and the research, we uncovered startling information. Here is just a bit of what we uncovered:

1.       A preemies’ skin has not completely formed. You will notice the skin is wrinklier and more loose then a full term infant. Their skin is literally rice paper thin. (for more specific information read this:  http://searchwarp.com/swa52817.htm

2.       Preemies endure terrible skin infections from skin lesions

3.       Premature births have risen 30% since 1981–Your Not Alone

4.       With medical advances, survival rates among very low birth weight infants (LBW <2500 grams) has increased

5.       After millions of dollars spent in research, they have discovered preemies DO feel pain (that seemed like a no brainer to me)

6.       98% of parents of premature infants need their baby dressed to help them through the NICU process and beyond

7.       Preemies do not “grow faster” then full term infants. It may seem like it because you are watching weight gain in ounces where as a full term infant you watch for weight gain based on pounds.

8.       True Preemie sized clothing and accessories are difficult to find

9.       93% of surveyed parents said they did not like that their baby was “drowning” in their clothes.

With this and so much more information in hand we needed to discover a way to help these babies stop suffering and help them thrive.

How the medical community helped us design and prove our clothes help protect your baby’s skin.

We surveyed hundreds of parents of preemies and asked them what they wanted in clothing for their baby. We asked nurses what their biggest struggles were with clothing on these babies. We asked Doctors what would be the perfect sleeper for a preemie, and we asked respiratory therapists what feature would help keep the cannula in place.

To give you an idea of what we asked here are two questions directly from our questionnaire:

Question  8: Do you think preemies should wear clothing? Why?

Some of the replies we got back were:

·       “Yes - But we can’t have the feet covered because of monitoring. We love gowns.” P. Dutchak – NY, NY

·        “Yes - We want to put little shirts on them but we don’t have a source that can provide them to us other then what people donate.” V. Guba – Albuquerque, NM

·        “No - We don’t put clothes on the babies because we need to monitor them so closely” T. Cooks - WI

·        “Yes- My baby wore the preemie clothes my Mom made for three months.” L. Brookman – Birmingham, AL

·       “Yes – After my son was born we couldn’t find preemie clothes in any of the stores. I finally gave up and put him in Newborn clothes.” A. Dorr Miami, FL

·        “Yes – It made ME feel better” I. Higuera – Sacramento, CA

·       “Yes – Just because my baby is so tiny does not mean she is less then” H. Hamilin – Sacramento, MO

Question 19: What designs, features, etc. do you want in clothing for your baby?

·       “I want to be able to buy them and get them right away” D Quast – Bridgeport, CT

·        “I want cloths that are soft and cuddly” R. Kimmel – Las Vegas, NV

·       “We want to be able to get right to the baby without having to undress them” D. Leigh – Richmond, VA

·       “I want them to fit. Can I say that again? I want them to fit!” C. Marshall – Amarillo, TX

·       “I don’t want all the frill and lace – that’s too scratchy.” G. Mcrea - Sioux Falls, SD

·       “I want a selection” B. Sabol – Provo, UT

·       “I hate labels – I cut them out anyway” M. Saddler – Chicago, IL

·      “You can find some preemie things on the internet but these sites make me feel like I’m buying from e-bay” M. Mots – Columbus, OH

·       

As our skin is our largest organ and can help us fend off infection or cause us a great deal of pain, we concentrated on what comforts and protects the skin.

How we scored a major victory in the fight against oversized and hurtful clothing for preemies.

  In 2005 ANNA’S Preemie was born. We had designed and created a line of preemie clothes that gives preemies what they need. When we started collecting data, we had no idea we would be helping preemies thrive via clothing.

What makes our lines different? We ASKED you what you wanted and then we created it. Most manufacturers TELL you what you’re going have available.

Being TOLD what choices you have – isn’t that what you’ve been used to?

With our clothing you get:

1. The softest cotton available against your baby’s skin – 100% Pima cotton. (Never heard of  Pima cotton? Want to know why we only use Pima cotton? Click here to learn more http://www.supima.com/About/content.cfm?ItemNumber=594&snItemNumber=539)

2. Less bulk that adds weight upon your baby. Doubled over seams may look better to you but every ounce of fabric you have add increases weight onto the baby. To put it into perspective lets say you weight 150 pounds. Fully dressed in jeans and a shirt you have added about 3 pounds of weight. That’s a 2% increase to your body. Not a big deal because you’re used to it. Now let’s look at a four pound baby. Our sleepers weigh 1.4 ounces. That is 2.1% of the baby’s body weight. Add doubled seams and now the garment weights 2.4 ounces or 3.8% of the baby’s body weight. That’s a lot of weight on the baby just for looks! But then some companies are more worried about what looks good – not what’s in the best interest of the baby. We’ll say it again. It’s because they don’t really know what is in the best interest of the baby, only your wallet.

3.  We found all manufacturers use snaps on their garments. It is much cheaper for the manufacturer to use snaps but they add unnecessary weight to the garment. To reduce weight we utilize durable soft Velcro for all closures. Velcro is much easier to close and just as durable.

4. The NICU line incorporates our patent pending front flap. Most infants within this weight range require heart monitors, apnea belts, G-Tubes, oxygen, etcetera. In the past making adjustments to, or changing the medical equipment, required undressing the baby. Each time the infants’ clothing is removed precious body heat is lost and possible irritation to the skin can occur. With our clothing, medical equipment is accessed via the front panel opening without undressing the baby. The panel Velcro’s closed and is very discrete to the appearance of the garment. 

5. With medical devices and oxygen come tubing and wires. These wires are strung through an opening on the sleeper and laid across the infant. As the baby grasps the wires, these life saving devices may become displaced or cause false alarms. To prevent this, each garment comes with soft Velcro tabs located on the side of the garment that contains all these wires and tubes. Containing all these wires is less frightening for the proud parents, safer for the baby, reduces false alarms, and helps to keep the cannula from being displaced.

6. Size is very important to a preemie. When the garment is too large, the sleeves are rolled up and the sides are tucked around the baby to “fit”. Rolled sleeves can cause irritation to the arms from the bulk of the material. Some philosophize that the baby will grow into the garment anyway so it saves money. When I go out I wear a man’s tee-shirt, size XXX, with “You don’t wear your clothes this big – don’t make your preemie” imprinted on the front. See my point?

Some people think we are too progressive.

That’s a real compliment! We could design and manufacture our garments like what is currently on the market. It would be easier, cheaper, and we would just be competing against what is already on the market. But then, we would be perpetuating the same problem you’ve had in the past. That though, is not what ANNA’S is about.

Sure they may be sooo cute, but are you trading cute for your baby’s comfort? Even if you don’t choose our clothing for your baby, please make your selections carefully. When your baby is just a bit older then indulge in laces, head bands, snap closures, and so forth. You will have lots of time to make your baby the most handsome or beautiful, baby. For now, you know why when we say “we know what you are going through”, we mean it. 

And know - we are here for you and your baby.

We expect 100% customer satisfaction and put it in writing http://www.annaspreemie.com/return_policy.html  We fast ship same day, and provide you with the most accurate description of each product. And, to sweeten your day we will even give you a special gift of 10% off your first order to prove we want your baby to have the best! Just enter coupon code 85106 during check out!

Do you know of any other manufacturer that cares this much about what your baby needs?

We wish your baby good health.

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