Hi. My name is Liz and I work in the NICU at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. Each year, our NICU takes care of hundreds of sick & premature infants from across the region.

 

Some of our parents choose to provide clothes for their baby, but many of our tiny patients use the sleepers we have in the unit throughout their stay. Many will have grown through several sizes before they are ready for discharge. These sleepers come through donations from families/supporters and purchases by nurses/staff.  I've purchased & donated several hundred sleepers over the past couple years, but I'd love to be able to do more for the babies. Sleepers range from $5-$30+ for licensed (ie HAWKEYE) & 3 lb preemie sleepers.

 

My goal is to raise enough money that I can purchase Hawkeye sleepers in bulk and/or find a licensed vendor to custom print some for us. We only have a very few and many parents ask for them on game day! (and yes, we'd like a few ISU & UNI ones as well).

 

I would also like to increase our supply of holiday themed sleepers. Sweet babies dressed up for special occasions makes everyone happy and help our families cope with the stress of hospitalization.

 

The NICU's can have close to 90 patients, and those greater than 1500 grams (about 3 lbs) can wear clothes. Baby clothes are also used by Newborn Nursery and the other Peds units throughout the UISFCH, and often "borrowed" from the NICU when needed. Due to the monitoring equipment, feeding tubes, oxygen & ID bands, we prefer front-snap footed sleepers. Any sleepers we are able to purchase will be labeled with sew-on tags and remain in the hospital. Our sleepers are sent through hospital laundry (hot & harsh) and we use them until they are literally falling apart. It is not unusual for a baby to go through 2-3+ sleepers a day--especially if they spit up a lot. We literally have hundreds of sleepers in rotation, and are constantly replenishing them as they wear out and/or are lost through discharge, transport etc. We use primarily preemie & newborn sizes, with some 0-3 mos, and then a few larger sizes for our older chronic babies. The picture below is our linen closet full of sleepers.

 

**If you previously had a baby in the NICU you might have received hand-made seasonal costumes/hats etc from the Preemie Project. Due to covid restrictions and changes within that non-profit, we will no longer be receiving similar donations.**

 

Donations may also be used to purchase sew-on tags and plastic snaps (to be added to zipper sleepers) as shown below.

 

Thank you for any amount you can give! All donations will be used to benefit the UISFCH NICU.  If you prefer to give directly, the hospital website has information on monetary and in-kind donations.  

10/13:  The response to this has been overwhelming.  In addition to purchasing several hundred Halloween, Thanksgiving & Winter/Christmas holiday sleepers in "regular" preemie & newborn sizes, I am planning to purchase some of the tinier (more expensive) outfits for the 3 lb babies (the smallest that can wear sleepers).    I am also in contact with some licensed vendors to work on getting smaller collegiate outfits.  This is all possible because of the generosity of people like YOU, not only donating money, but by reaching out & spreading the word.  Sleepers purchased in bulk can be stored and introduced into use as needed.   

10/26:  THANK you again to everyone who has supported this project by donating & sharing the link.  This project is a true testament to the power of crowd-funding.   I would never have been able to do this on my own, and it is so humbling that so many people were willing to trust me to manage this project.  

A bit about me:  I've been a Peds nurse since 1987.  I've worked in bone marrow transplant, PICU & NICU in various places.  I currently work in the L6 area where we focus on transitioning/growing babies to home.  In  Dec. 1993 I gave birth to 32 week twins after spending 10 weeks in the hospital in pre-term labor.  I've been on the other side of the bed.  I have vivid memories of sitting in church Christmas Eve with tears running down my face because my babies were in the hospital and my family wasn't with me.  The NICU experience changes people.  Yes, there is much joy--watching the babies grow and celebrating in their milestones, but there also is a lot of loss, grief and guilt.   We can't take all of that away, but we CAN try to make the experience as positive as possible.  THAT is what this project is all about, and I thank all of you for helping me to make a difference and support NICU families during their time in the hospital.