Need Ideas for Thank You Gift for L&D Staff

2JEL

I was hoping some of you more knowledgeable mamas could make some suggestions as to what I could send to the hospital to thank the nurses and residents (and occasional attending doctors) who did such a great job taking care of us last week.  Are there restrictions on food, etc.?  Also, is it customary to just send a note to the whole unit?  I was only semi-conscious much of the day and I don't want to offend anybody, especially since we'll likely be back in the next few weeks.

chicorojo

I didn't know this was a thing :-/

leoandethansmom

I had no idea, either! The last time I was in the hospital (not L&D) I left two of my flower vases for them as a thank you.

lionyloo32

You can never go wrong sending food to hospital staff. Donuts, cookies, cupcakes, whatever is easiest for you. You do not have to send anything though. They do after all get paid to take care of you.  

Eora3

Call the hospital and ask about food. You can always send a tray of cookies to the L&D unit.

birdytn

I'm a nurse and we love getting goodies. A cookie tray, fruit basket, even a plastic pumpkin with Halloween candy along with a card would all be appreciated. 

rshamos

Food is always nice with a thank you card. That is very sweet of you to think of doing this!

Njmommy2be

When I had DD my DH brought up Donuts and Coffee from Dunkin Donuts for the L&D nurses, and also brought some for the post-partum side of the unit for those nurses. They were so appreciative and several stopped in to thank us! Any thank you and food seemed to be appreciated.

pieceofme

I didn't even think of this!! It's a good idea.

NELSMD

Liquor??

NELSMD

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2JEL

Thank you all for the great ideas!  I like the idea of sending over some halloween or fall themed pastries, but may end up with cookies depending on whom I can find to deliver.

Also, for those who asked, I'm not entirely sure it's a thing, but I want to express my gratitude especially since I'll be returning in a few weeks and would rather be remembered as "the one who sent over the yummy treats" than "the one who refused to lie on her back so we had to keep repositioning the baby heart rate monitor all day".

frenchy816

My mom was handing out cookies and truffles to her nurses last week; partially to get rid of them (someone brought them up) but also to thank them. I think she sent my grandma out for some chocolates for the entire floor before she was discharged. 

byrne15

I work at a hospital and my fav stuff to get is food!

dessert like things or snacks are the best.  We have even have some people have meals catered to our unit which is obviously more than generous.

also, breakfast food is a good one too....bagels, donuts, muffins, etc.

byrne15

2JEL said:

Thank you all for the great ideas!  I like the idea of sending over some halloween or fall themed pastries, but may end up with cookies depending on whom I can find to deliver.

Also, for those who asked, I'm not entirely sure it's a thing, but I want to express my gratitude especially since I'll be returning in a few weeks and would rather be remembered as "the one who sent over the yummy treats" than "the one who refused to lie on her back so we had to keep repositioning the baby heart rate monitor all day".

it is a thing... I might not have known it was a thing before I worked at a hospital.

Kim0710

Although homemade is a very sweet gesture, I will not eat anything made and brought in. Something store bought or delivered is a much safer way to go IMO.

BabyRN2009

We love getting food presents! :-P Even one of those Costco sized tubs of Red Vines is a huge hit. Nurses love to eat. ;-) And lets face it...half the time we don't get a chance to eat anything our entire 12hr shift, so those cookies you brought might be all we get! Truly, anything is appreciated and a sweet gesture. :-)

Noodlesandrice

I didn't know this was a thing, but during my consultant days my go-to thank you for when I wrapped up any client project was always the same...bucket(s) of assorted bagels and cream cheese from Einstein's bagels and giant boxes of coffee from Starbucks. Starbucks will sell you giant boxes with spouts of their brew from the cafe and give you all of the paper cups/creamer/sweetener you pick and need. People seem to love food.

xc1148

My boss cursed out the two nurses in the room when things got a little tricky at one point during his wife's delivery.

He sent an entire chocolate cake. To each of them.

Beevol

When I worked in the hospital, the best was when folks brought in food (anything will go over well - but sweets and snacks are best).

A couple of tips/ideas: 

Bring it in the evening, shift change is usually around 7 pm so if you bring something at 5 or 6pm then the night staff will be more likely to get some too (they are often left out),

Write a note and include names of staff who stood out. Not only does it make people feel good to be specifically mentioned, but it could mean something at annual review time, plus, since most hospital staff work three 12hr shifts a week, the specific nurses who cared for you might miss the treats and this way they definitely wont miss the appreciation. 

Whole fruit, single serving bags of chips, donuts, bagels, cookies, big bucket of candy - anything that is grab and go is best. 

If you want, include a picture of your baby - lots of places display them when they get them, so it's up to you to decide if you're comfortable with that. 

DH is stress baker (which is horrible because I am a stress eater - we make quite a team!) and so he spent the entire week before I had DD baking cookies - we had about a gross of cookies which we brought with us to L&D when I went into labor (I had him take one of the trays to the postpartum nurses too because, we seriously had over 100 cookies). 

colliebabe

With DD she was born in October so we brought a big bowl of Halloween candy in a decorative bowl. It was gone from the nurses' station in 20 minutes! 

This time we will probably bring something similar - individually wrapped Christmas candy.

We didn't do a thank you note last time but I would like to do one this time. We had one main nurse that was AWESOME and I wish I had sent her something.

NerdyNurse

I'm a L&D nurse and we love food esp chocolate. Someone gave us Chapstick and candles the other day, kinda strange but you can never have too much Chapstick

ColeyCannoli

I'm planning on bringing in coffee and donuts to the L&D staff as well as the ones on the recovery floor (since they move us). When I worked as a CNA my favorite people were the ones who came in/back with coffee for the staff. The instant coffee we had in the break room kinda sucked and it made those 12 hours shifts so much better.

BankerBSN

I Am going a bit overboard but I am bringing breakfast the day I go in for my induction and have a catered lunch delivered the next day. But I am special snowflake.

pregnantinstyle

I am going to buy a bunch of $5 gift cards, cup ornaments and reusable Starbucks cup filled with yummy snacks like a gingerbread biscotti and individually wrapped cookies in cute little cellophane gift bags for the L&D staff and specific nurses that help me through labor. I figure that should be good especially during holiday time. I'm sure anything you give the staff they will appreciate.

Disneygeek77

When I had DS, we brought in Costco muffins and orange juice.