If You're Bringing A Nurse 'Thank You' Basket - Whats In It?

mollyxcate

I'm an emotional basket case about all of this 'giving birth' and all DH and I have to rely on is his terrible internet signal to maybe keep him in contact with me and keep me calm through all this and I have to go natural. So I imagine as much as I don't want to cause any issues and I want to be calm zen mama through this whole delivery thing that is not gonna be the case. I won't be monster mom but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a soggy crying mess... maybe a bit grumpy. I fully intend on bringing some sort of 'thank you' basket for the nurses for putting up with me and putting in a small note to thank them in advance for all they do for me, Chloe, and my family.

I figure chocolate is good to put in there (no peanuts of any sort, probably?) and I would love to bake but I don't want to give them week old baked goods and I doubt when I start feeling contractions that I will be thinking 'I should bake some brownies, then pack my hospital bag while timing contractions' so I'm just wondering what everyone else is giving if they are.

I feel like all candy is probably not appropriate?

I know some people think these baskets are silly and flameful but I'm really just trying to be nice. Nursing is not an easy job. 

mamahawk12

I don't think it's flameful - I think it's sweet. People who do it in hopes of getting special treatment is one thing, but doing it purely as a "thank you" I think is great. And I know from my nurse friends that they are HIGHLY appreciated, regardless of what it is. 

I made little boxes filled with truffles and ghiradelli squares - all kinds with blue wrappers. Like you, I wanted to make cookies or something but it just didn't seem realistic considering there is really no way to know when baby will come. 

mollyxcate

We don't have dunkin but we have Krispy Kreme and Starbucks. There are 8 million Starbucks and we can go by Krispy Kreme on the way to the hospital.

mollyxcate

meaknigh:

I don't think it's flameful - I think it's sweet. People who do it in hopes of getting special treatment is one thing, but doing it purely as a "thank you" I think is great. And I know from my nurse friends that they are HIGHLY appreciated, regardless of what it is. 

I made little boxes filled with truffles and ghiradelli squares - all kinds with blue wrappers. Like you, I wanted to make cookies or something but it just didn't seem realistic considering there is really no way to know when baby will come. 

Aww!! I like the little boxes idea! I could go to Michaels and pick up some cute boxes PLUS that would give me something to do for the next few weeks. Assembling boxes. 

Cheerilee

I'm not sure what I'm doing yet but here are some suggestions (and things I've been craving) :

Pretzels, trail mix, granola bars, fruit snacks, dried fruit packets

Starbucks single serve coffee powders, small flavored creamers, flavored tea bags

Hershey Kisses, mini candybars, hard candies (Atomic Fireballs, Life Savers)

sourapplemartini

You could make cookie dough and freeze it in balls to bake while you're in early labor. That's easy to do!

Cheerilee

meaknigh:

I don't think it's flameful - I think it's sweet. People who do it in hopes of getting special treatment is one thing, but doing it purely as a "thank you" I think is great. And I know from my nurse friends that they are HIGHLY appreciated, regardless of what it is. 

I made little boxes filled with truffles and ghiradelli squares - all kinds with blue wrappers. Like you, I wanted to make cookies or something but it just didn't seem realistic considering there is really no way to know when baby will come. 

I love the boxes idea!  How many boxes did you make?  Did you drop them at the nurses station or have them in your room?  If in your room, was it the delivery or recovery room? 

squireremillard

I had never heard of this, and frankly wasn't in LD long enough to get to know my nurse. Someone asked me on several occasions who was your nurse, and I was like I don't know. I only spent literally a 2-3 hours or less in LD. As far as the mom and baby room, I never thought about doing something nice for them. oopps. Good thought, but if you don't get to it or are to stressed don't add something else to your list. You are the patient and the nurses love what they do and don't necessary need thank you baskets for what they love to do.

MommyMelRN

I'm a nurse, and it is nice when patients take time to thank you, but totally not necessary...you will get the same care even if you don't bring treats

When my dad was in the hospital after surgery I collected my coupons and bought healthy-ish, non-perishable snacks from Walmart.  I filled a huge basket for about $30 with 100 calorie snack packs, crystal light on the go, nuts, sun chips, peanut butter crackers, etc.  Hand lotion is always appreciated too

Any nurse will tell you though, that the best thank-you is a letter sent to the president/CEO of the hospital specifically naming them as providing quality care, so if someone stands out, don't hesitate to do this! 

DemoDoll

I was planning on doing a big box of bagels and cream cheese from Einstein Bagels but that only seems practical if I happen to go into labor in the morning. My second thought was buying a basket and filling it with goodies. I'd go to Sam's Club and buy snack size portions of chips, trail mix, candy, gum, etc. 

My question is if I have the gift basket, do I have it in my room so the nurses can grab a piece here and there throughout their shift? Or do I put it at the nurses station??  

jfgreer

I got a box of Jelly Belly's (about $10 worth) and wrapped a pink ribbon around it and attached a thank you card signed me, DH, and baby.  It's all packed and ready to go so it's one less thing to worry about, since I'm a FTM and I'm probably going to be freaking out as it is!  DH knows it's there to drop off at the nurses station.  I think nurses are some of the nicest and caring people ever.

Msbean22

There's a Tim Hortons on the way to the hospital, we plan on going through the drive-thru and picking up at least donuts. Maybe a tray of coffee, we'll see.

I know me pretty well, and I can't have a basket of delicious stuff just lying around here; I'll totally bust into in a moment of weakness  

ChibiMommy

I'm going to wait and see how it goes before I send a thank you gift.  Last time my nurses were total betches to me so what would I have thanked them for? Making me feel like a shitty mom or trying to force me to stay in the bed attached to their stupid machines?  <still bitter. Can you tell? lol

mollyxcate

MommyMelRN:

I'm a nurse, and it is nice when patients take time to thank you, but totally not necessary...you will get the same care even if you don't bring treats

When my dad was in the hospital after surgery I collected my coupons and bought healthy-ish, non-perishable snacks from Walmart.  I filled a huge basket for about $30 with 100 calorie snack packs, crystal light on the go, nuts, sun chips, peanut butter crackers, etc.  Hand lotion is always appreciated too

Any nurse will tell you though, that the best thank-you is a letter sent to the president/CEO of the hospital specifically naming them as providing quality care, so if someone stands out, don't hesitate to do this! 

I will absolutely keep this in mind! Thank you!  

mamahawk12

Cheerilee:

meaknigh:

I don't think it's flameful - I think it's sweet. People who do it in hopes of getting special treatment is one thing, but doing it purely as a "thank you" I think is great. And I know from my nurse friends that they are HIGHLY appreciated, regardless of what it is. 

I made little boxes filled with truffles and ghiradelli squares - all kinds with blue wrappers. Like you, I wanted to make cookies or something but it just didn't seem realistic considering there is really no way to know when baby will come. 

I love the boxes idea!  How many boxes did you make?  Did you drop them at the nurses station or have them in your room?  If in your room, was it the delivery or recovery room? 

I didn't do this last time around, so I haven't 100% decided how exactly I'll hand them out, but I'm thinking I'll set them up on a table in my room and all the nurses who are involved in L&D can grab one - and I'll make sure my mother/baby nurses in post-partum grab one too. I made 20 boxes, which I'm sure is many more than I'll need but I figured I'd rather have too many than not enough. I can give extras to friends and family who come visit  

I got the idea on Kelle Hampton's blog, from Nella's birth story (if you're familiar...) here's the link with a picture... mine are similar.

https://www.kellehampton.com/2010/01/nella-cordelia-birth-story.html 

AJG2009

I bought a candy jar and filled it with assorted bite-size candies (reese's pb cups, snickers, twix, assorted hershey's, etc.) and packed a blank TY card to fill out once I'm there. 

bigbootyjudi

We usually get coffee and donuts or wrapped boxes of chocolate (Whitman's, Russel Stover's, whatever). Once in awhile, we'll get some flowers to pretty up the nurse's station. We keep whatever we get in the nurses station or in the breakroom. It's awkward for everyone to go in and out of a patient's room to grab a piece of candy.

But, the most important thing you could do is mention them in the survey you receive at home (by name!) and to the managers/administration personnel that do rounds and ask how your stay has been. Not a lot of people take the time to do it, and it really makes the day so much better than a box of chocolates. 

peterlin83

I'm a nurse and truly the best thank you would be a mention in the survey you will get after discharge.  Or you could send a nice thank you letter to the manager on the floor mentioning the nurse by name.  If you do want to do something nice good coffee is always appreciated : )