Three years ago, Elliot Cardon was born, 10 weeks premature.

His grandmother, Cedar Hills resident Debbie Besselievre, went to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit and saw him -- all one pound, 12 ounces -- and felt a sense of helplessness.

"He was hooked up to wires everywhere," she said. "There were monitors and IVs. It was a little intimidating." Eliot's mom, Brooke Cardon, didn't get to hold him until a week later.

Besselievre went home and tried to find clothing that would fit Elliot, in hopes that it would help mom and baby to better bond.

"Maybe if we could dress him like a baby he would look more normal," she said. "I found a few places on the Internet that had clothes that would fit him. Some of them were so odd-looking. Others were real expensive and poorly made."

From that beginning sprang Elliot's Preemie Tees, a company which makes clothing for premature infants. Besselievre and Cardon have created a line with eight designs, more than 40 fabrics and 26 colors of snaps. Each piece is made-to-order and is usually shipped to the customer in two to three business days.

There are several options in sizing: 1-2 pounds (small), 3-4 pounds (medium), and 5-6 pounds (large).

The styles include gowns, raglan gowns, raglan tees, shirts with fold-over cuffs, gowns with fold-over cuffs, shirts, T-shirts, hats, bibs, layettes, IV layettes, shirt-and-hat sets, gown-and-hat sets, body tees, body preemie tees, IV shirts, IV gowns, IV body tees, IV body preemie tees and more.

The clothes are designed to lay completely flat, which helps nurses and parents keep lines hooked up.

There is a new option which has just been added: Customers may select organic cotton, which has not been dyed.

Bibs are $1.99. Hats are $2.99. Shirts are $4.99-5.99. Gowns are $10.99-11.99.

The fabric is pre-washed to remove any sizing issues or chemicals. There are no scratchy tags at the neckline and very few seams to irritate a baby's sensitive skin. There are no collars at the neckline to chafe a baby's delicate skin. Snap closures are used instead of Velcro to remove the possibility of scratching the baby.

Elliot's Preemie Tees accepts special orders.

"Our customers sometimes have special requests," Besselievre said. "One person bought Texas A&M pajama bottoms and had us cut them up and make outfits for twins before the big game."

Sometimes they get large orders, such as one from a hospital for 225 shirts and gowns. When times like that happen, they call in reinforcements and still get the orders out quickly, she said.

They plan on adding diaper covers, dresses, pants and training pants to their line.

One other future plan is to create a non-profit charitable organization to donate burial clothes for preemies who do not survive.

"The death of an infant shouldn't be something that someone profits from," Besselievre said.

One of the purposes of the company, and the clothing, is to offer choice for the parents. When in the hospital, the baby's care is directed by the staff, leaving the parents sometimes feeling unnecessary. Making clothing choices helps them become bonded to their child.

Into its third year, Elliot's Preemie Tees has increased its orders tenfold from the first year and sees more growth on the horizon.

Elliot is also three and, although somewhat small, behaves like a normal 3-year-old, said Brooke. "He is into everything and chatters all the time," she said.