14 Year Old Girl Undergoes Open Heart Surgery and Recovers In Her Annie & Isabel Hospital Gown With a Smile

We are so excited to share this next testimonial with you. This is the story of Katie, a 14 year old teenager, who recently underwent successful open heart surgery. The need for open heart surgery came as quite a surprise to Katie and her family. Here is the story in Katie's mother's words:

"Katie enjoys competitive swimming, snow skiing, water skiing, and other outdoor sports. Her pediatrician's office recently placed a greater emphasis on cardiac health in athletic children. Katie's pediatrician referred her for an ultrasound due to a heart murmur that she'd had since birth, even though doctors had repeatedly concluded that this murmur was "innocent".

No one expected the ultrasound to show that Katie's heart was greatly enlarged. After an MRI, doctors confirmed that Katie had a Sinus Venosus Atrial Septal Defect, a hole between the two top chambers of her heart that also affected the right upper pulmonary vein. Given Katie's athleticism and lack of symptoms, this diagnosis came as a great shock! Within a month, Katie was admitted to Children's Hospital Oakland for open heart surgery under the superior care of Dr. Howard Rosenfeld, her cardiologist, and Dr. Frank Hanley, her surgeon."

A week prior to Katie's surgery, her aunt, Jenny, e-mailed us to purchase one of our gowns for her niece. When we found out that her niece was having open heart surgery, we knew right away that Katie was going to require a hospital gown that would allow for cardiac monitoring.

Did you know that Annie & Isabel hospital gowns can be altered to provide a pocket, called a telemetry pocket, that allows for cardiac monitoring? We have done this on several occasions and this is what it looks like:

front of gown with telemetry pocket in middle

This pocket on the front of the hospital gown will hold a portable cardiac monitor and has a two inch button hole like slit that opens to allow for cardiac monitoring cords to come through.  Anyone in the hospital that has cardiac problems or requires any heart surgery will require heart monitoring.

pocket open to show slit where cords come through

We added the telemetry pocket to Katie's Evelyn designer hospital gown and sent it off.  Jenny was kind enough to let us know when Katie was going to have her surgery and told us she would update us on her progress.  We got an update that we never expected!!  Check back tomorrow for the 2nd part of this great story!

A New Mother Delivers in the Annie Designer Hospital Gown

Here is Allison wearing her Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown as she gets ready to deliver her first child. She is wearing the "Annie" gown and we love that her cute flip flops look perfect with her hospital gown. We are sure she was the most fashionable mom on the labor and delivery floor! Thanks Allison for your testimonial!


"All ready to welcome miss Lauren Whitney...a big THANK YOU to Joyce and Annie & Isabel Hospital Gowns for making me feel stylish during my labor & delivery...I received many compliments while walking the floor."

-Alison Minneapolis MN

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

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Meredith Wears Her "Susan" Annie & Isabel Designer Gown & It's A Hit With The Hospital Staff!

We are so happy to post this beautiful testimonial from Meredith, of San Francisco, in her Susan designer hospital gown as she welcomed her son Andrew into the world! Thank you Meredith for your kind words and we are so happy you loved wearing you OWN hospital gown for Andrew's debut!

"I knew I wanted to wear and Annie and Isabel gown for my second child's birth. I selected the Susan months before our baby was born and knew it would be just right for making me feel great during labor and delivery. When I checked into triage and asked my husband to help me put the gown on, the nurse came in and said, "Oh my goodness, that's the cutest gown I've ever seen. Where did you get it?" She proceeded to call in 3 other nurses and they all gushed about it. A few hours later, when the anesthesiologist arrived he said, "Did I miss the room where they're handing out the cool gowns today? Where did you get that?" Everyone who came into my room absolutely raved about the gown, and when I told them where I got the gown, they all said you should sell them at CPMC. Aside from everyone around loving it, I loved it. I knew I had washed my own gown, and that I could snuggle my newborn baby with a clean mommy hug. The nurses tried everything to keep it clean during delivery, and it was actually pretty clean even at the end. I love the photos from our son's birth and feel like I look so beautiful and happy in my gown. My dad is a doctor, and when he showed his colleagues the photos of our son's birthday, once again, all the doctors and nurses said, "Where did your daughter get that awesome gown?" Keep it up. You are making such a difference in making women feel comfortable and beautiful."

Just Precious!

A Sweet Mother's Day Gift

We wanted to wish all mothers and moms-to-be a very happy Mother's Day today!! We, as mothers, know how blessed we are to have the beautiful families that we have and to also have the privilege of mothering our children with the hopes that they remain healthy, well-rounded children. Mother's Day is a nice time to reflect on our families and the blessings we have.

Some mothers are getting an extra special present this Mother's Day....the gift of a new baby. The new mother below, Hilary, is one such mom!!

Hilary celebrated the birth of her third child just three days ago. What is even more exciting to us is that this is the second birth in which she has worn her Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown. Hilary was one of the first mothers to ever wear an Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown and now she is one of the first to wear it for a 2nd birth!!! She first wore her Annie & Isabel gown when she gave birth to Raven which you can read about HERE. Scroll near the bottom to see her testimonial:-)

Proud New Mama!!

She delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl. How sweet is she?

This is what Hilary said about wearing her Annie & Isabel hospital gown for the second time which we thought was so neat:

"I was so excited to be able to wear my gown again....it held such good memories from Raven's birth and now it will hold memories from Azri's birth!"

Congratulations Hilary and a special Happy Mother's Day to you!!!

Don't forget that we are still offering free shipping on orders through today with code "Mothers". Last chance to order your gown with an $8 savings on shipping.

With 2 Girls and Her Pink Annie Designer Hospital Gown, Mindy & AJ left the gender of the 3rd Baby as a Surprise!! It's A...

In honor of Mother's Day, this upcoming Sunday, we are so happy to share with you a testimonial of a special friend and mother! My sister and business partner, Anna, was at her son's baseball game last spring and was sitting next to Kelli Wheeler, author of "Momservations - The Fine Print of Parenting". They were talking about their businesses when Kelli realized she had a friend who would be delivering her 3rd child that very week via C-section. She asked Anna if she could buy an Annie & Isabel hospital gown that day (our gowns are especially nice for extended stays like C-sections). Anna called me {Selena} and I ran over our "Annie" gown to the baseball diamond. The next week we were so surprised to find out that the "Annie" gown went to a college friend and neighbor of Selena's husband, Mindy! Mindy and her husband AJ went to Santa Clara with Selena's husband and we were so excited Mindy welcomed her son Joey into this world in one of our hospital gowns (which we got to see pics on Facebook... love that!) Mindy is a beautiful person inside and out and a wonderful mother to her 3 children. Here is what Mindy said about wearing her very own designer hospital gown,

"Wow, what a difference a cute hospital gown makes! My third (and final) baby was born on May 26, 2010. Due to my previous c-sections, we knew when baby #3 would arrive, but we did not know if we were having a boy or girl! Our first two children are girls. Secretly we hoped for a boy, but another girl would have been great too. So, needless to say, when my husband joyfully announced in the operating room, "It's a BOY!" we were thrilled! I spent four days in the hospital recovering from my c-section and bonding with baby Joey. Baby Joey and I had several visitors during those days. I could not have been more grateful to be wearing my cute Annie and Isabel designer hospital gown. Our friends and family all commented on the gown. Just about all the moms said, "I wish I had a pretty gown when my babies were born!" Thanks to Kelli for the thoughtful gift! And, thanks to Annie and Isabel for making my baby boy's arrival even more memorable!"

- Mindy

Congratulations Mindy & AJ. You have a beautiful family and thank you for sharing!

Follow Kelli Wheeler of Momservations

{ Twitter }

{ Website }

{ Buy her book... A GREAT Mother's Day Present! }

For Mother's Day we are offering free shipping in the United States by using the code "Mothers" at checkout now through Mother's Day. If you order by May 4th, we guarantee your hospital gown will be delivered in time for Mother's Day. Annie & Isabel designer hospital gowns are the perfect gift for the expecting mother in your life.

Because of Facebook Karen Welcomes Daughter In The Annie Designer Hospital Gown!

We received this lovely testimonial from Karen. Karen wore the Annie gown while she was recovering in the hospital after the birth of her daughter. We think that Karen picked the perfect gown to welcome her sweet little girl! Congratulations Karen and thank you so much for sharing your experience in an Annie & Isabel designer hospital gown!

"Thankfully I follow Annie & Isabel on my Facebook, because I was reminded about their delivery gowns close to my due date with my daughter. I ordered my Annie gown almost immediately after on Oct 13^th and received my gown on Oct 14^th. Talk about efficiency!! I washed and packed my gown weeks before my due date and was getting more excited about having my baby girl, probably because I was getting excited to wear my Annie gown! Then, on the day of my delivery, I didn’t wear my gown right away because I didn’t want it to get soiled! Luckily, I got to wear it during the rest of my stay and got so many compliments from family and UCSF doctors and nurses. I was surprised they had never seen or heard of Annie & Isabel since one of the founders is a nurse at UCSF. Anyone who has to spend time in a hospital deserves to look cute and stylish in an Annie & Isabel gown. Get yours today!"

-Karen