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XP - To help a friend..

JennyTomJennyTom
in Preemies

I hope it's okay to ask this here... My dear friend just had her baby early due to Pre E.  She was due in June.  The baby needs to stay in the hospital and she is getting ready to go home.  What can I get her to help during this time?  (She lives pretty far away so I can't do the "normal" things like make food or clean her house or just sit with her). 

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Re: XP - To help a friend..

  • jennigator3jennigator3

    Google Map the hospital and get her gift cards for food in the area.

    Send her some practical preemie clothes, I liked the button-up kimono shirts and soft pants for my son since he had wires hooked up to him. Socks and hats are nice too and so are nice fluffy blankets for their isolette.

    Call her often and encourage her to talk to you about how she is feeling, that can be so therapeutic to someone going through the NICU rollercoaster. 

    It's wonderful of you to want to help your friend, I hope things go well for her and her baby :)

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  • kcswifeykcswifey
    One of the best gifts I got was the book, Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies.  A calendar for babies first year or a journal would be nice for her to document her babies NICU stay.  Staying in touch, asking about the baby, and making sure she is taking care of herself would really help too! 
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  • mommamorrismommamorris

    i've got a few blog posts i did on this subject... under the link in my siggy "new to the nicu". one is what to get the parents, and one is what to get the baby.

    you're a great friend for asking! what the other moms said are great ideas. we used food giftcards daily... and even if she lives close to the hospital the amount of gas from going back and forth at least once a day adds up.

    i really wish i would have kept a journal... and disposable cameras to put under the isolette (so the nurses could take pictures when we weren't there if she did something cute... which at the beginning was mostly just laying there. :) 

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  • beachykeen1723beachykeen1723 member

    Ditto all the PPs. Emotionally, I recommend congratulating her, telling her how beautiful her baby is, but not being overly enthusiastic or falsely positive. Don't say baby is "so tiny and cute."  That really stings. But give her a shoulder to cry on, and offer to be there if she needs you. I had one friend who would come sit with me in the hospital at least once a week, and just having her to talk to really kept me sane.

    Thanks for asking!

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