Sara Delivers In Style with Annie & Isabel Designer Hospital Gowns

Sara and I have been friends since the very first day of nursing school when we were immediately drawn to one another over identical outfits - corduroy overalls and Doc Martens. Not sure what we were thinking, but maybe we were in style in 1995? We both were alone in a new city and together we made San Francisco home. 

We laughed and definitely cried a few tears during our 4 years together at the University of San Francisco. We are convinced we would not have survived anatomy, physiology, micro, organic chem {that was a close one}, and countless clinical hours in the hospital without each other. We still crack up at our 19 year old selves so shyly knocking on our first patients door at clinical...{knock knock}..."Mr. Smith.....oh, Mr. Smith.... {knock knock} are you awake? can we come in?" Poor Mr. Smith... I can't imagine how long it took for us both to fumble through his vital signs. 

Sara will forever be my soul sister. Now that she lives over 2,500 miles away on Kauai, Hawaii and I miss her every single day. When my first son George was born, Sara was living in LA and working as a neonatal ICU nurse. The first real contraction I felt, I called her...my on call RN. I never thought she would make it, but a security escort through LAX and the last flight of the night later...she was there for me. Shortly after George's birth, Sara moved to Hawaii and we don't get to see each other nearly enough. 

Sara is now the mother of three beautiful boys. I was so sad to not be able to hop on a quick flight and be there for her when her turn came around. It was really special to have Sara sporting Annie & Isabel designer hospital gowns for the birth of her sons Keoni and Duke. In a strange way, I felt as if I was a small part of her big day. We are honored that she chose to wear the Anita and Susan gowns. She labored and delivered in our Anita designer hospital gown. She then recovered in our Susan designer hospital gown. 

"I absolutely LOVED wearing my Susan and Anita gowns when my second son was born. It's typically not a time when you feel like you're looking your best, but the gowns made all the difference. They were comfortable AND cute. Annie & Isabel designer hospital gowns are a must for every expectant mother's hospital bag or anyone headed to the hospital. I also really loved the stories behind the gown's name and they definitely touched my heart when I read them. It made wearing my gowns all the more special. Thank you A&I!"

Here is a really great picture of how much coverage you have in an Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown! Because we are nurses, we know that your gown has tie on the side. No need to fuss with ties or snaps that you can't reach that leave exposing gaps. We always hear from customers that they felt covered and dignified in our hospital gowns. You don't even need a robe or the typical second hospital gown for you backside!

*The zebra print "Susan" gown is no longer available. We have replaced it with our NEW SUSAN! 

"How Is Selling Clothing Making a Difference In People's Lives? I'd Love To Know!"

When my sister and I made the decision to become nurses it was because we felt called to a profession that allowed us to help those in need......as is the case for most nurses.  We can't imagine giving of ourselves in any other way than through our hands and hearts as we care for our patients in the hospital. We feel honored to help others during times when they are most vunerable. Every day we have the privilege of making a difference in someone's life and that, in and of itself, is amazing.  But, doing what we do is not always easy and the stress of our jobs can weigh heavily on us. We try not to let our work life interfere with our personal lives but sometimes a particular patient's story or outcome will stick with us for days, years, and sometimes forever. It changes who we are and how we live. We both have had a few rough weeks at work and are so thankful for the support we give to each other. Anna has been dealing with a short staffed ER and barely gets a lunch or bathroom break most days. I recently experienced one of the hardest deaths of my career and have been caring for some patients with heart wrenching circumstances. Through all of this sadness, however, we find strength and inspiration from the men and women fighting the good fight before our eyes. When we come home on days where a person lost their life unexpectedly and we are faced with comforting their heartbroken family, it makes the little everyday stresses so inconsequential. It is on those nights that we hold our families close and remember that each day should be cherished like it is the last. Here are some things we should all remember:

Life is not always fair.

Every day without pain and suffering should be cherished and lived to the fullest. 

Appreciate the little and big things each day and try not to sweat the small stuff.

Treat each day like it could be your last and make the most of it. 

When we started Annie & Isabel it came from the core of who we are as women and nurses. We obviously didn't choose our career in nursing because we wanted to be recognized for our compassion and care. We chose it because we love to help others feel better. When we started Annie & Isabel as a side business, we based it on that same desire.....to help those in the hospital. Providing comfort and dignity in the small form of having your OWN hospital gown is not a genius idea! Hospital gowns have been around...umm...forever. We just redesigned them from our first hand experience and added features that we know are lacking in the standard gown. We have used our expertise from our professional careers to make what we know to be an amazing direct to consumer hospital gown. What other product can you gift yourself or a loved one that provides comfort, style, and dignity in the hospital?! What other product has the power to bring a smile to someone during a most difficult time?!

We receive so many emails from our customers telling us what a difference having their own gown made during their stay or in the stay of the person they gifted the hospital gown to. We are so touched and honored that people WANT to share their stories with us and especially love that the many testimonials we recieve, come from people wearing them in all stages of one's life.... from bringing a new life into the world to helping someone die comfortably and peacefully.

Amy, a woman welcoming her first child said, "I loved the fact that it closed completely in the back so I could walk the halls without worry and the shoulder snaps allowed me to easily nurse my little one"...

14 year old open heart surgery patient Katie said, "The gowns made my days so much brighter! I felt "dressed" in the gown, which made me feel less like a patient and more like a person. I love my hospital gowns!"

Karen who cared for her mother in her final days said, "She passed away around midnight and the gown brought comfort to more than my mom during the time of her final hours in hospice. We were pleased seeing her in such a nice hospital gown and knew she would appreciate the spiffy, detailing and the fact that they matched her slippers.  Thank you so much for helping us."



Hearing from these inspirational women is what keeps us going! Like we always say, "When you look great, you feel better!™" and that is not just what we think or what you see on the home page of our website... that is what we know. We know this from our days at work when we can take the extra time out of our busy days to wash our patients hair or soak their tired feet...and now we know this because of all our amazing customers that tell us about it when wearing their Annie & Isabel gowns in the hospital or at home.

Yesterday on Twitter my {very supportive} husband suggested @AnnieandIsabel  to @kim who was looking for "creative and positive people" to tweet about. Someone else tweeted back to my husband....

"How is selling clothing making a difference in people's lives? I'd love to know!"

Honestly, my first reaction was a feeling of frustration...knowing that he clearly did not understand our product and there was no way he had ever been a patient in a hospital bed.  My calm husband, however, chose to look at this as an opportunity and tweeted back to him with a link to our hospital stay testimonial page. His response......

"Cool- I'll try to remember them next time someone I love has a hospital 

visit that lasts more than a day"

We really want to thank all of our readers, followers, and friends for all of your support. You are all a part of our Annie & Isabel family. Every time we send out a hospital gown we think about the people that will wear our hospital gowns. Sometimes our thoughts are of excitement as a woman anticipates the arrival of a newborn child. Sometimes our thoughts are of prayer as the woman about to wear their Annie & Isabel hospital gown will be going through surgery, cancer treatments or battling a chronic illness and sometimes they are thoughts of sadness and comfort as a family prepares to say goodbye to a loved one. Just as we carry the stories of our patients from work in our hearts....we also carry the stories of the women who wear our hospital gowns in our hearts. Thank you all for helping Annie & Isabel make a difference.

Happy {Belated} National Nurses Week!

Our Mother Susan ~ The Namesake of Our Susan Gown & Inspiration to Follow Our Dreams of Becoming Nurses.

Happy National Nurses Week - {last week} - We were SO busy working that we did not get a chance to post this!

We are feeling nostalgic as we write our second National Nurses Week post here on our Annie & Isabel blog! One year ago we had just launched our business providing a direct to consumer hospital gown alternative and were so excited to share our designer hospital gowns with the world.... and that we have! With over 50,000 visits to our website, and hundreds of gowns sold, we have been overcome with joy as we help women feel comfortable, dignified and, of course, stylish in the hospital.

If you've followed along in our first year, you know that we are sisters, wives, mothers to 6 energetic boys between the two of us, and LOVE our "real jobs" as RNs working in the hospital. We feel very honored to be in a profession that is so rewarding and feel good knowing that we can make a difference providing the care that comes from our hearts to our patients on a daily basis.

We, as nurses, feel so much gratitude in having the opportunity to touch the lives of our patients in some of the happiest and also the saddest moments in their lives. Nurses have a great impact of everything about your hospital stay. We are the eyes and ears of the hospital. We are your advocate and your voice.

In honor of National Nurses Week {last week}.... Thank you to all of our co-workers who support us and teach us something every day. We don't know what we would do without you!

We also want to give a big thank you to all of you who have supported Annie & Isabel with comments on our posts, "likes" on Facebook, and thinking of us as your "go-to baby present" and gift for friends that have unwanted hospital stays. We have been overwhelmed with the love out there for our baby girls "Annie & Isabel"... if you don't know the story... click here!

Oh... we almost forgot! Our post last year "Why Did You Become a Nurse and Not a Doctor?" had so many hits from people who Googled "Should I become a nurse?" which we thought was so neat! If you found our blog and are thinking of a career in nursing... it is a true calling and an amazing career! There are so many things you can do with a nursing degree. You can work in a hospital as we do, but you can also find just about anything that might fit your interests! If you ever want to ask us anything more about why we love being nurses, please don't hesitate to email us ~

wecare@annieandisabel.com

Find us on {Facebook}

Find us on {Twitter}