Knitting for the NICU

Family Knitting: Summer Romper & Headband for Hat Baby

"Hat Baby", as in that's her name... no, really, that's what we call her, has been our constant living room companion for the almost seven years I've been knitting for the NICU, is my model for Medium-sized Preemies. Although her legs and arms are much chunkier than our skinnier little Littles, her head measures exactly 12" and her length just under 14", making her the perfect dressmaker doll to sub in for Preemie fashions.  For years now, she's either worn the latest in Preemie wear, or the plain Jane little sleeper she came in.  Hat Baby deserves designer outfit love too, so this summer I knitted her  a sunsuit and headband of her very own to dress up in. 

While technically both the headband and sunsuit would fit a 3-5 lb preemie, it probably wouldn't be something to actually dress a real baby in since they need multiple layers to hold in their body heat, but it's fun to think about for photos and definitely cute for other dolls of the same size.

"Preemie" Summer Romper  and Floral Headband for 12" Height Doll

Doll: 12-14" tall;  10 1/2" chest; 12" head circumference

Pattern by Glenna Anderson Muse

Pattern copyrighted 2013 by Glenna Anderson Muse. Please do not place pattern on the web or make any use of pattern other than for personal use or knitting for charity.

Summer Romper

Materials:

2 oz Baby weight yarn in any color

Size 5 dpns

Size 8 dpns

yarn needle

1 foot of 1/4-1/2" silk ribbon

Directions:

CO:  60, loosely, over 3-4 needles and join in the round, placing marker between last stitch of cast on row and first stitch of new row.

Work in 2x2 ribbing (K2, P2...repeat) until  total length measures 2 1/2"

Change to size 8 needles.

Knit one row

Purl one row.

K+1, K3 around row. (Don't worry about exact counts on stitches, the important part is to keep increasing every few rows to create the flared skirt--it's for a doll. For a real baby, we might need to be more particular about counts and such.)

Knit x 4 rows.

Repeat increase and knitted rows until skirt measures 5"

Purl one row

Knit one row.

BO all stitches.  Cut tail and pull through last stitch. Secure.  Weave in all loose threads.

Optional:  To form "shorts" rather than skirt of romper, lay romper flat and find middle of front and back.  With same thread stitch a 1" seam, starting from hem, to form a simple seam between legs.  Secure and weave in loose threads.

Thread ribbon onto yarn needle and weave across front of romper to create halter ties.  Leave both ends dangling equal amounts on each side.  When dressing doll, bring ribbon around back of doll's neck and tie into a bow.  Trim ribbon as needed.

 

Baby Doll Headband with Flower

Pattern by Glenna Anderson Muse

Pattern copyrighted 2013 by Glenna Anderson Muse. Please do not place pattern on the web or make any use of pattern other than for personal use or knitting for charity.

Materials:

1/4 oz Baby weight yarn

1/4 oz Baby weight in contrasting color (leaves)

Size 8 straight needles

yarn needle

1 1"-2" silk flower mounted on an alligator clip (easily found at hobby stores or women's accessory stores like Claire's)

Directions:

With main yarn, CO 40 stitches very loosely.

Work in 2x2 ribbing (K2, P2, repeat) across x 6 rows.

BO loosely in stitch. Cut tail and pull through last stitch to secure.  Sew headband ends together and secure. Weave in loose threads.

To make "leaves", with contrasting yarn, CO 20 sts.

BO all stitches, cut tail and pull through last stitch. Secure. Allow piece to curl around itself.

Sew ends together. Secure. Use remaining tails to sew onto headband approx 1" apart, at sewn place only. Allow rest of "leaf" to remain unattached from headband.

Make 2 and sew both onto headband.

Clip flower onto headband between the two open leaves

 

 

 

 

 

2012: Knitting for the NICU on TV and Thank You's!

Along with an incredibly ambitious project plan for this Christmas in the NICU, fellow knitter Kathy and I unexpectedly (but happily) got our deadline moved up by a couple weeks for a local TV station, KY3-TV to come film a segment about Christmas in the NICU.  We knitted and sewed like crazy women but managed to slide in under the deadline with holiday festive hats, botties, stockings/cuddlers, and snowman photo ornaments for all of the adorable December babies. 

 This is a photo of Mom Amanda Houtz and her cutie pie son, Logan. (Photo from KY3 web site)

For full video of the segment titled "Knitting for the NICU" please click on:

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-dedicated-volunteer-creates-christmas-cheer-for-babies-families-in-hospital-20121224,0,7385954.story

 

Thanks to friend and fellow RT, Ronda, for this pic of me with reporter, Emily Wood, following my portion of the segment:

My one regret from the piece is that they didn't have time to talk about all the volunteers who have knitted with me over the five years of this project so I'd like to do that now and in big script!

A HUGE thank you to Kathy Grimes, a fellow respiratory therapist, who has been knitting with me for two years.  She is the creator of almost all of those OMG CUTE  animal hats that are so popular in our NICU plus so much more, including the hats, booties, and cuddlers from this Christmas season.

Also, many many thanks to those who have knitted with me in the past as their own commitments and obligations have allowed. Please know that I always smile and think of each of you as I look through all the great hats and booties that have snuggled the noggins in our NICU in the past:  Aunt Susan who created the very first October NICU "Punkin Patch" with me, my sister Suzanne, nieces Jordan and Sydney, Kisha, out-of-towners who mailed donations to our babies:  Cindy, Dianne, Lisa, and fellow RT's  Nicole, Yung, Shelly, Ronda, and Susan.

Thank you all for your help, your love for our babies, and your dedication!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

 

 

Related articles

Christmas 2012 in the NICU

Call Out for NICU's Who Need Hats

Do you work for or know of a NICU in need of Preemie hats, booties, mitts, and/or cuddlers?

When we, or other groups, have extras we'd love to share the baby love!

       

Please email me privately at Marie9949 (at symbol) sbcglobal (dot) com.

Due to Popular Demand...Corbin's Encore

After we ran the previous photos of Corbin still in the NICU modeling his hats, Mom Sarah took a new photo showing Corbin.  This is him "attempting" to wear his reindeer hat eight months after his discharge from the NICU.

Look at those bubbly blue eyes and cute chubby cheeks--so darn cute! He's the reason we all do what we do.

Thank you, Sarah, for letting us post this pic for everyone.

 

 

Meet Corbin: One of our own Preemies

Disclaimer: All photos posted with written permission from Corbin's Mom, Sarah--Thank you!

One of the downsides of knitting for NICU's is that if you don't work in the hospital or in the NICU where your efforts are being directed, you never get to see any of the little Littles modeling your creations.  We often have to rely on our imagination and maybe a doll or two for sizing. 

Sarah, Corbin's Mom,  found this blog, recognized the reindeer hats, and left a very sweet comment thanking the group for our time, also graciously sending me pics to be posted to this blog for those of my group who made them and also to inspire all of us charity knitters everywhere that our projects go to real live Cutie Pies who wear them with style!

Look at that face--the definition of adorable!  This Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer hat was designed and knitted by Kathy, an RT in our department.  Great job, Kathy!

This is a great picture using perspective show how small preemies can be.  The pacifier is normal sized.  The thicker part of the cannula under the nose is regular sized (the prongs are extra extra small sized specifically for preemie babies.  Corbin weighs a little over 3 lbs here, what would be the smallest range of "Medium Preemie" in my book "Warm Hats for Wee Noggins".

That also means that, yes, there are babies born even smaller who survive and flourish.

 Hmm...wonder what he's thinking about?

Corbin rocks his cupcake hat!  Other than the reindeer hat, I'm not sure exactly who made each of the others but I know Corbin and his family greatly appreciate each hand-knitted hat he received.

Again, getting size-technical for all NICU knitters--notice the adult hand holding Corbin's head.  At this point, his head was only about 12" around, at most and his little arms aren't much bigger around than an adult man's thumb.

 

Again, for perspective for knitters, the tape on his right foot and the ID band on his left ankle are both 1" wide and the orange NG tube in his right nostril is half the size of a coffee stirrer. 

Every time I stop to think about how small preemies can be I'm overwhelmed with awe at how frail on the one hand and tough on the other hand these little guys are who grow up to be regular sized people.  They go through the developmental stages, preemies just do the last weeks of it outside the womb.  Anytime you need to remind yourself that our world is made up of  miracles, come back and visit these photos again.

My favorite pic--Corbin is a happy little man in a blessed family.  Catch that dimple on his right cheek and that mischievous smile.  We wish you the best of life, our little friend!

Thank you from all of us, Sarah, for sharing your son and his journey with us.

The Rules for Knitting for NICU's

            "Will you knit something for me that's as adorable as I am?" (Photo from March of Dimes web site)

   

 There aren't really rules, per se, for knitting for the NICU but there are certain things that need to be done in specific ways. As I explain them, they'll make perfect sense. I'll go through the areas individually, but in general, keep my knitting-for-the-NICU mantra always in mind:  SOFT and EASILY WASHED.  Preemie babies have premature organs, including skin, which makes only the softest of soft fabrics and yarns suitable for their tender skin and all the items will be washed repeatedly in very hot water and dried in a very hot dryer to kill germs. 

 

Projects to Knit (or crochet):

NICU's are always in need of hats, socks, booties, hand mitts, blankets, and cocoons/cuddlers/sleep sacks. Some NICU's allow handmade toys in the cribs and some don't but even the NICU's who don't will usually gladly take hand-made teddy bears or other soft toys to give out to our babies' siblings, for Pediatric kids,  or to comfort children in the ER.

 

Yarns:

All babies' skin is delicate but in the NICU that is true times a hundred-fold.  The younger the baby the more thin, delicate, and vulnerable their skin. With the very tiniest little Littles, there are places where their is skin is only a few cells deep, so only the softest, most gentle, non-allergenic fibers can be used.  Stay away from animal fibers with the exception of alpaca, which is non-allergenic due to the absence of lanolin on the hair follicles. The best yarns for Preemies are spun from cotton, bamboo, acrylic, and alpaca.

 All sizes of yarn can be used;  babies aren't just about baby yarn. There are two purposes for hats in NICU:  keeping body warmth in and keeping noise out.  Premature babies are not ready for stimulation of any kind yet, whether it's light, sound, or touch. Their development has not had time to progress that far. That's why NICU's are always dark, quiet, and warm.  Noise and light that seems tolerable to us can actually damage the fragile still-growing cilia in their ears and rods/cones of their eyes. Because premature babies also lack the body fat yet to maintain their own body heat, we must supplement them with heated environment in their isolettes and with hats.  Baby yarn is great, but worsted weight and bulky yarns can be appropriate and helpful too, as well as ear flaps (without any long ties that could present a choking hazard).

Patterns:

Because premature fingers and toes are so tiny with such fragile skin and capillary beds, only tightly woven knit or crochet pattern textures should be used. As beautiful as lacy patterns are for older babies, those same hole-y creations can trap tiny fingers and toes, cutting off circulation, possibly irreversibly.  To imagine the smallest of the NICU patients' fingers, look at the fingernail on your index finger. Now imagine a tiny hand, with all four fingers spanning only the width of your fingernail, and only barely or almost able to encircle your finger with their hand. That's how tiny those fingers are. 

 Cocoons, cuddlers, and sleep sacks are very popular, and can be very useful in the NICU as long as we knitters keep in mind that they need to be created with SIDS recommendations.  Keep the length to no more than 11" for 1-3lb babies, 14" for 3-5lb babies, 15" for 5-7lb babies, 17" for 7-9lb babies, and without fold down flaps around the face or hoods.  This will keep any fabric from accidentally covering the baby's face.

There are many wonderful websites besides this one who post free patterns sized for preemies:

Bev's Country Cottage

Relief Share Org

Newborns in Need

March of Dimes

Knitting Patterns Central

Although there are lots of pattern books for babies, there are few books available sized specifically for premature babies, which is why I chose to write one:

Warm Hats for Wee Noggins by Glenna Anderson Muse

It can be found or special ordered at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or JoAnn's Fabrics, or mail ordered directly from the publisher: Leisure Arts.

There are so links in the upper left hand of the blog page.

Colors:

Historically, pastel colors only have been used for babies, particularly premature babies. I disagree on principle and from my own personal experience.   Babies are people too and come in all sizes, personalities, and skin colors.  Whether they come out to play at 23 weeks or 40 weeks they immediately have their own little personalities on display for all to admire. Some baby girls are quietly demure in a way that makes us reach for pink girly girl hats, some baby boys are already little wild men who wear deep colors perfectly.  One of my favorite Christmas hats I've ever knitted was for a deeply- caramel-colored skinned girl who, I swear, SPARKLED in a bright, gem-toned purple and aqua striped Santa hat. Also, some of the most popular hats we knit in the fall are for the daddy's:  camo. Camo of every hue for both boys and girls.  Pastels are great in the NICU but deeper, richer colors and variegated yarns are just as wonderful.

Embellishments:

One of the great things about embellishments on hats for preemies vs toddlers, is that preemies don't chew on buttons, so within reason, as long as all embellishments are triple super duper sewed on tightly, they can be used on NICU hats.  Try to keep anything sewn on to the front of the hat and away from the sides and back of the head so the baby won't be laying on any kind of applique, silk flower, etc.  And the same goes for bulky seams. Try to stay away from bulky seams that the baby might lay on. Again, it goes back to their tender skin.

With that said, I use a wide variety of items sparingly to decorate hats and booties: buttons, google eyes, ribbons, silk flowers, appliques, fabric paints, pom-poms, etc.  Below are a selection of photos showing hats made by my friends and I over the years: 

For larger versions, click on the pics.

   

 

 

 

 

Whew! And after all that work, know what my very favorite part is?  Seeing our little Littles in those hats and then sending them home with parents as souvenirs of their time spent with us in the NICU.

Happy Knitting!

Glenna