Website Review: Preemiestore.com

My family and I had naturally been looking forward to the arrival of my newest niece, the first child of my brother and his wife. She was due on November 18th, 2007. So you can imagine our concern on October 6^th, when my sister-in-law had an emergency C-section due to various difficulties.

So their daughter and my niece was born on October 6^th and weighed only 3 pounds 11 ounces. She and her mother were both doing well, but all the clothes they had, my brother was telling me a couple of days later, were way too big for her. No one plans to have a premature baby, of course. I told him I'd see what I could find online. I found some things on e-bay, but I also ordered some things from a great little on-line store, The Preemie Store (http://www.preemiestore.com). Run by a mother and her former preemie daughter, it is a small business devoted exclusively to clothing and accessories for premature babies (as small as one pound) as well as small newborns (actually not that small though; you can find things for babies up to nine or ten pounds).

Among the many items offered are clothes especially designed for babies who need to be in the neonatal intensive care unit; these are clothes that babies with IVs and or respirators can wear. You can also get christening outfits. Accessories include blankets, bibs, a car seat insert so that your premature baby is positioned correctly in the car seat, and journals/baby books geared especially to parents of preemie babies, as well as preemie pacifiers. You can even get tiny Halloween costumes! All the basics are there including onesies, gowns, rompers, coveralls, dresses, hats, booties, just about any type of clothing baby might need. You can browse by price, and there are many items for $15.99 or less. Or if you prefer, there are also high-end items. Many different brands of baby clothing are offered-some examples being Gerber, Itty-Bitty Baby, and Chuckleberries. There are items on sale every day.

Pat Cotter, the owner, tells me that she got her start in this business in 1985, when her daughter was almost two. Back then, she just sold items she made to several hospitals-Minneapolis Children's, St. Paul Children's, and Abbott Northwestern Hospitals. Then she started a catalog. She was online by about 1995. This having been the dinosaur age as far as the internet was concerned, there were no online shopping carts. Customers had to print out an order form, write out their order, and mail a check. Now, of course, it's much more convenient. The business is completely online; there is no physical store. Cotter notes that she has no time to sew anymore, since she bought out a competitor in 1999 and started buying from more vendors. She now has a second online store as well-www.soothiepacifier.com, which sells pacifiers that hospitals give out but that are hard to find in stores.

I ordered some onesies and a bodysuit for my new niece. I was happy to note that this site is "BuySafe Certified" meaning that BuySafe is vouching for the merchant's identity, reputation, and financial stability, and is willing to guarantee your purchase up to $25,000. Of course, I spent somewhat less than that. We got the items right away, they are adorable, and right now they are among the few clothes that fit my niece! She's growing fast, though, so I may be back to check out some of the bigger sizes on preemiestore.com.