Suggestions Please

MrsLCH

Hi Ladies!  My good friend just had her baby today.  Her due date was supposed to be June 29.  Both she and her daughter are doing well.  I would like to get her something, but I'm not sure what.  I don't want to get her something useless like flowers, just something thoughtful that she'll appreciate.  Since I've never been in her position, I'm not sure what to get her.  Any thoughts?  Thanks.

mhop

Some of the best gifts we got were gas cards, gift cards to restaurants near the hospital, soft recieving blankets for the isolette/crib, and a journal that I had all of DD's visitors sign with a note to her.

RubyRed7

If people hadn't brought me food, taken me to dinner, etc I probably would not have eaten... So anything in that department is a great gift.

Anything with the babies name on it was a big hit with me too! I also like the idea of a scrap book, journal, or photo album...

jehprb

Food for sure - GCs to restaurants near the hospital (better, yet, ones that DELIVERED to the hospital) were much appreciated!  We also really liked it when someone brought us food and sat to visit a little while we ate - it was nice to step out of the NICU for a bit and talk about something else for 20 minutes.

FutureMrsDenman

Ditto all the PP.  A gift bag/basket with some of the following might be nice:

• hand sanitizer or a combo hand sanitizer/lotion
• a really good intense moisture or "therapy" hand lotion (NICU Mammas wash their hands constantly and they get really dry and crack and even bleed sometimes)
• a disposable camera to leave by the isolette for nurses to use when the family can't be there
• a pad of paper and a pen for taking notes/leaving notes for doctors or nurses/journaling
• food cards, and/or gas cards or pre-paid parking passes/cards depending on how far the hospital is and how large it is and what the parking situation is like
• a digital photo frame she can load with pictures of the little one to have with her when she is away from the NICU (could be used to help supply while she is pumping if her plan is to BF)
• snacks that are a bit better than what you'll find in a hospital vending machine (better health wise or just better quality)
• receiving blankets or a "kangaroo care" blanket ... something super soft, warm, and "scrumptious" that she can wrap around the little one while they have thier skin to skin "kangaroo care" time.

 

C.P.C.

Gas cards are a fabulous idea if they do not live near the hospital. I also really appreciated the preemie outfits people brought. They are not easy to find and it saved me the time to have to go and look for them. I don't know how prepared she was and what she already has. I didn't have any receiving blankets when my daughter was born. That was one of the first things I bought and took to the hospital. For some reason it made me feel better knowing she had her own personal blankets and wasn't using the yucky hospital ones.