Kristie McNealy, MD

Elliot’s Preemie Tees™ is a beautiful line of preemie clothes, founded by Debbie Besselievre, who’s own grandson Elliot was delivered at 30 weeks. Elliot weighed in at just 1 pound 12 ounces due to problems with his umbilical cord, and Debbie quickly discovered that specialty clothes designed to fit his tiny body carried a specialty price tag. Inspired by a desire to clothe her grandson, she used her skills as a seamstress to sew tiny outfits. NICU nurses and parents were so impressed by her work, that they encouraged her to make clothes for other babies, and Elliot’s Preemie Tees™ was born.

Elliot’s Preemie Tees™ are unique, because each garment is made to order. You can choose the style, fabric and size, and each item is made to your specifications. The clothes come in three sizes: small for babies 1-2 pounds, medium for babies 3-4 pounds and large for babies 5-6 pounds. Sizing is based on the measurements of actual preemies, including Elliot, so in most cases, you’ll find that Elliot’s Preemie Tees™ fit better than preemie clothing from major retailers. All fabrics are 100% cotton, and Elliot’s even carries an organic cotton selection made from cotton grown in the US, and milled in Canada, without chemicals or dyes! There is an assortment of tee and gown styles, and each be made with shoulder openings to make them more accessible for babies with IVs and other lines.

By the time I first discovered Elliot’s Preemie Tees™, my own preemie was big enough for regular baby clothes, and I didn’t get a chance to see any of their products first hand. Recently though, I was excited to get my hands on a few items from their line, including gowns and tees. At first glance, I was astounded by how tiny the size small body tee is. You can tell just by looking, that these clothes have been designed with the sizes of actual preemies in mind. The gowns and tees all unsnap down the entire front for easy dressing and access for nursing tasks and diaper changes, and the IV styles unsnap at the shoulders so lines can easily be managed and routed where they need to go without having to thread them through clothing, which can be difficult.

The clothes are well made, in cute fabrics, and there are many prints and solids to choose from. Iron on tags at the diaper level give you someplace to jot your preemie’s name so the clothes don’t get swept off to the hospital laundry. There are no scratchy tags at the neck, which is great, and the cotton fabrics are nice and soft. While I haven’t washed them because I’m saving them for you all, they look very sturdy, and I think they’d stand up to frequent washing quite nicely. All that, and they still manage to come at a price that practically can’t be beat!

All in all, these are definitely clothes I wish my own preemie would have had. Dressing her was a joy, when we were allowed, and having some nice, easily accessible outfits like Elliot’s Preemie Tees™ would have let us put her in her own clothes more often!

Now, here’s the best part: We have Elliot’s Preemie Tees™ to give away to two lucky winners! For boys, we have a size small hat and body tee, and a size medium hat and gown, all in the Later Gator print. For a girl, we have a size medium IV layette in the Baby Bear print.

To win, all you need to do is a leave a comment below. You can get one extra entry for posting about this contest on your blog, or on twitter. If you do this, come back and leave a comment here with a link to your post, so I make sure to give you credit for your entry!

Entries close Saturday, May 17th, and two winners will be chosen at random on Sunday, May 18th! Winners will be notified by email, so please remember to fill in the email blank when you leave your comment. Good Luck!

Similar Posts:

• Preemie Clothes: A Guide to Dressing Your Preemie
• Brighten Mom’s Day with Itzy Bitzy Clothes from Zutano
• Preserve Memories with Beautiful Keepsake Footprint Jewelry
• NICU Memories – Blogging for Prematurity Awareness Month