Preemie quilts

Okay, Kellie . . . things to think about. Sometimes the neonatal unit will use a tiny quilt to protect the baby's eyes over the 'incubator' crib. Sometimes they are used to snuggle baby. So - hold it down to about 24". Don't do a batting very heavy. A washing machine brutal shrinking of flannel is best. When baby is stronger, you can move on and do other things. I received a thank you from a mama of a preemie recently who said when she saw her little one hugged in a wee quilt by someone who sent love that she knew everything was going to be all right that she was so happy to know that she was surrounded by love. You can do that. Needs to be a happy, light-weight and small. Polly

Prems are all different sizes Kelly.

Dd was 1 lb 10oz, 13 3/4 inches and 11 weeks early. So a FQ would have been big enough for her.

DS was about a week late 6 lb 8 oz and 17 3/4 inches.

I haave seen lots of different sized babies in hospital so it is probably best to folly Pollys advise.

Dee in Oz

And check if they can have a quilt yet anyway, they often don't allow anything in the incubator with the baby, it's just a nappy and tubes and monitors and what not :-(. So a quilt right now is maybe more of a comfort to the mum, I would still go small, so that they can easily stick it in a bag and use it when they do have a chance for cuddles. The size Polly mentioned sounds about right - you might try using the lighterweight quilters dream, I forget which way round select and request is, but the lighter one would be perfect for this, I would be sure to plan a design that you can quilt with a coloured cotton thread, don't want invisible thread near a baby and if you're anything like me, I end up with bits on the quilt that need some quilting, but I can't work out a thread colour!

Cheers Anne

I didn't make that very clear last night, Taria. My mind is mostly on how much of a north turn Hurricane Ike is going to make - and turn, he did. The water is already rising here and the winds are picking up to 45 mph. So. Meanwhile back to the flannel. I meant to be telling Kellie that flannel was a good choice for the quilt's batting. My luck with buying flannel for quilt tops and backing is not very good. Some of Northcott's flannel is as lovely and smooth as velvet. Usually when I pre-wash flannel it gets fuzzy-pilly and is only suitable for batting - but it works very well for that. Polly

We make ours here for the local hospitals. No smaller than 24 inches as Polly was saying. We can go as big as 31 inches.

One word of caution - check with the hospital and see what they recommend because when we brought our little granddaughter home, they said to be sure and not put anything fuzzy in with her at first. That included no plushie fabrics with deep pile. They also preferred we dress her warm and not to use covers at all, but rather bundle her in a lightweight receiving blanket. Something we did use a lot was quilted pads to put under her, so maybe that is another option of things to make for little ones.

Her chubby brother is almost 4 months old and such a strong little guy I think he could pop up a tent and roll out a sleeping bag for himself!! Moni ---- Posted via Pronews.com - Premium Corporate Usenet News Provider ----

That's interesting ! Knowing how strong dyes in fabrics can smell I've often wondered if that could have anything to do with SIDS. Did they say why not to use fuzzy fabric ?... I'm assuming that they might not be good for an infant's breathing?? Mary