Where to buy adaptive clothing for babies and toddlers?

Adaptive clothing has become more mainstream for adults and older kids, but there is only a few options available for babies and toddlers.

What is adaptive clothing for babies and toddlers?

Basically adaptive clothing for a baby or toddler, is an outfit that is designed for easy access to medical devices or to make dressing easier if traditional clothes do not fit.  That is pretty broad.  When you are looking for clothing specifically to help with a G tube or GJ tube, your really looking for ease of access and the ability to feed the line through the clothes.

3 main retailers for adaptive clothing

In all of my internet sleuthing, I was only able to come up with 3 major retailers that offer adaptive clothing: Target, JCPenney’s, and Kohl’s.  I provided a review of all their offerings including prices, volume, and general information to know.  Please keep in mind that most of these retailers only offer adaptive clothing online and do not always carry them in store.

Target

Target does offer quite a few options for adaptive clothing but it is adaptive in general not specifically for a feeding tube.  So if your looking for sensory adaptive clothing, they have a pretty large selection, not so much for ease of access to a stomach.  They also tend to target toddlers and school age children.  Their sizes start at 12M and they only have 1 pair of pants in that size range.  Their price range seems to run as low as $4.50 to $35.00.

Overall:

• no options for babies
• best for school age children
• best for sensory adaptive clothes
• low to medium price range.
• very few options for easy access to a feeding tube

JCPenney’s

JCPenney’s offers a few more options in the ease of access to the stomach.  I saw lots of bodysuits all the way up to 5T! They offer a lot of basics in a variety of colors and prints. If you are looking exclusively for easy abdominal access, they have about 13 options total, which is actually a lot compared to other places!  Their price range seems to run $18-48 but they also seem to run sales frequently.

Overall:

• no options for babies
• best for school age children
• medium price range
• lots of bodysuits with easy access to stomach for the 12m+

Kohl’s

Kohl’s seems to have a lot of options when you first look at their catalog and I started to get super excited!  Then I started to realize what they were referring as adaptive clothing is really any clothing with a wide neck, 3/4 sleeves, and no tag.  They do seem to be the only major retailer that had any clothing for babies!  They had lots of bodysuits size 0-24 months that had easy access to the stomach.  Lots of cute prints and characters too! Their price range tends to run everywhere, I saw lots of items for $10 all the way up to $48.  They tend to offer lots of loyalty discounts and sales too.

Overall:

• BEST option for babies
• lots of price ranges
• lots of bodysuits with easy access to the stomach for all ages (0-3 months all the way up to 5T)

Why is adaptive clothing important?

Adaptive clothing at it’s core is suppose to offer easier options for dressing.  The adaptable clothing market is huge and constantly growing, but the industry tends to focus on older adults and seniors. Clothing retailers have also realized that adaptive clothing could be anything, so they tend to slap the label on a lot of clothing that isn’t specifically designed to help a medical condition.

Do I have to buy adaptive clothing for my baby or toddler?

NO! Adaptive clothing is not a necessary item for a baby or toddler with a G-Tube or GJ-Tube.  It would be nice if more retailers offered options that would help, but in the long run I don’t think the time and profit is worth it to them.

Now a great option to look for adaptive clothing that is specifically made for babies and toddlers is to look at smaller companies.  Stay away from the major retailers and start looking small.  Etsy is a huge marketplace and offers a lot of options in this area.  Most are made by Moms so they understand the struggles and are much more adaptable to your needs.

Can you DIY adaptive clothing for babies or toddlers?

Yes! Check back soon where I go over some low-cost options, tips, and tricks for finding and making adaptive clothing that won’t break your budget!