Gift Baskets for L&D Nurses?

Unknown · July 2013

Anyone doing a gift basket with granola bars, candy, waters, and other snacks for the nurses in L&D for their birth? I am thinking of what all and how much I will be putting in the basket. . . if you are doing one, what will you be adding in it?

Unknown · July 2013

Loppy19:
Just make sure it is all store bought, I know some hospitals can't accept homemade foods. We are ordering pizza or having someone bring donuts depending on the time of day.

They would be store bought. Pizza is a good idea too!

AppleMuffins · July 2013

I like this idea in theory, but don't really know how to go about it. I'm giving birth in a very busy hospital that I assume has a large staff. What if there's a shift rotation? Is it just in my room for staff to pick from or is it sent out to their desk/lounge area, or how does it work exactly? I'm all for a gift basket if it helps them be a bit more supportive and patient with me as I attempt med free birth.

ldkittel · July 2013

AppleMuffins:
I like this idea in theory, but don't really know how to go about it. I'm giving birth in a very busy hospital that I assume has a large staff. What if there's a shift rotation? Is it just in my room for staff to pick from or is it sent out to their desk/lounge area, or how does it work exactly? I'm all for a gift basket if it helps them be a bit more supportive and patient with me as I attempt med free birth.

I have heard that a lot of my friends like to keep it in their room so it is only for their nurses but also for them to come get something they would be checking on you so it would get you more attentive care.

I haven't decided what I'm putting in mine.

staceymack · July 2013

I found this on pinterest today.

https://in-the-corner.com/2013/02/19/nurse-gift-for-when-you-deliver-definitely-doing-this-and-these-are-great-things-to-include/

Lbear8 · July 2013

I did this with my first and had it in my room and when I left, I left it at the nurses station. It was all non perishable items as I was there for 3 days

Sa039ra · July 2013

I did this with my first and will do it again. We made 3 and gave them to the different shifts we encountered. We put granola bars, cookies, peanut butter crackers, wrapped chocolate, jolly ranchers, crystal light packets, a box of tea and a pound of coffee in each one. The nurses were really appreciative.

Unknown · July 2013

staceymack:
I found this on pinterest today.

https://in-the-corner.com/2013/02/19/nurse-gift-for-when-you-deliver-definitely-doing-this-and-these-are-great-things-to-include/

Those are cute ideas!

Unknown · July 2013

Sa039ra:
I did this with my first and will do it again. We made 3 and gave them to the different shifts we encountered. We put granola bars, cookies, peanut butter crackers, wrapped chocolate, jolly ranchers, crystal light packets, a box of tea and a pound of coffee in each one. The nurses were really appreciative.

That's a good idea, making one for each shift! Great items to include too, thanks!

Babybabybabyohhhhhhh · July 2013

staceymack:
I found this on pinterest today.nbsp;https://inthecorner.com/2013/02/19/nursegiftforwhenyoudeliverdefinitelydoingthisandthesearegreatthingstoinclude/

That's adorable.

Unknown · July 2013

dhaueisen:
I'm not an L and D nurse but as an RN it would be weird to me if a patient brought a gift basket in hopes of getting better care. Nurses aren't allowed to accept gifts from patients for obvious reasons. If a patient had snacks in their room I would politely decline so there would be no ethical concerns. It's generally ok to leave snacks and such at the nurses station as a thank you but as a nurse I would then be even more careful not to show favoritism as it is a gray area and we have to be careful. If your goal is to bribe your nurses to give better care perhaps you should be choosing a better hospital where bribes are not needed, lol. If you simply want to say thank you to them what means the most to us as nurses is when our manager shows us a card that a patient sent naming us specifically and thanking us. I don't know if it is the same for L and D nurses, but the majority of us are physically threatened, assaulted, screamed and cursed at, our lives threatened, families threatened, etc on a regular basis for trying to help people. So trust me, just being nice and saying thanks is all that is needed if you want to make your nurse's day.

Well, it is not for favoritism on my behalf, I love my hospital. I have a close friend that is a L&D nurse and I asked her about these and she said that the nurses always appreciate them. It's about the gesture for me, and if they don't want to accept it, then they don't have to. Either way, I will definitely have something in my room for my H, labor coach, and my nurses and doctors! It's just something I would like to do, but I will also be sending a thank you card to the managers as well.

SweetPeaK26 · July 2013

When I had my first, we got a big DQ ice cream cake. We didn't finish it, so my sisters took it to the nurses and asked them if they'd like to finish it. Apparently they were thrilled!

2sweetlilgirls · July 2013

Wow all you ladies are so nice. I feel like the 12 to 20 grand I am going to be giving the hospital is enough of a gift.

DonnaMartinGraduates · July 2013

I've never taken anything for the nurses when I give birth, but when I photograph a birth I bring a little gift bag filled with a couple boxes of Starbucks Via coffees and tea as well as cookies or chocolate from my favorite bakery. They love it! Plus it's all stuff I can buy ahead of time so I'm not scrambling at the last minute to get something to take.

foxyroxy · July 2013

dhaueisen:
I'm not an L and D nurse but as an RN it would be weird to me if a patient brought a gift basket in hopes of getting better care. Nurses aren't allowed to accept gifts from patients for obvious reasons. If a patient had snacks in their room I would politely decline so there would be no ethical concerns. It's generally ok to leave snacks and such at the nurses station as a thank you but as a nurse I would then be even more careful not to show favoritism as it is a gray area and we have to be careful. If your goal is to bribe your nurses to give better care perhaps you should be choosing a better hospital where bribes are not needed, lol. If you simply want to say thank you to them what means the most to us as nurses is when our manager shows us a card that a patient sent naming us specifically and thanking us. I don't know if it is the same for L and D nurses, but the majority of us are physically threatened, assaulted, screamed and cursed at, our lives threatened, families threatened, etc on a regular basis for trying to help people. So trust me, just being nice and saying thanks is all that is needed if you want to make your nurse's day.

I don't think anyone is approaching it as a bribe. It is just a nice thing to do. Of course everyone loves a thank you card, but this isn't an either/or scenario. You can write a note and leave a basket. It is just an extra way to be thoughtful. I don't see a downside, if this is your thing.

VitaLuna · July 2013

I'm also a nurse, and to be totally honest, while we are thankful to patients who bring stuff in, it's not like "oh my gosh that made my day". Things that do make your day are if a patient found you went above and beyond (or really appreciated you), and makes a point to send a thank you note and/or let your manager know.

The idea of keeping snacks in the room and offering them just to your caregivers is not great, in my opinion. I have never once taken something that a patient offered from their room, because it's awkward (and none of my coworkers do that I know of, either).

If you do want to bring something, non-sweets are preferred, because sweets get brought in more frequently. Also, like someone mentioned, no home baked stuff, because we have no idea who the heck you are. But again, a genuine thank you note beats food any day.

Nw967 · July 2013

Gifts are very common in the maternity ward. I agree, nurses typically will not eat homemade food unless they know the patient personally. It's always really nice to include all 3 shifts if you liked themtypically everything goes to the day and evening nurses and the night staff sees all the leftover packaging. Recently I had a patient wrap bath and body works hand sanitizer with mints in a little baggy. She handed them to her visitors and made a big basket for the staff. It was really cute but I'm sure it was expensive! I wouldn't include water bottles because they have ice and water machines on the floor.

tnt7409 · July 2013

Yes we did them last time and will do them this time too. One for day shift, one for night shift. Snacks, candy, gum, drinks, thank you note, I don't remember the exact items from last time.

Luckymomma4 · July 2013

I'm going to bring a fruit tray and probably some kind of granola bars. I'm a beachbody coach and a lot of my fellow coaches told me to take Shakeology samples but that just feels tacky. I also don't want to be promoting my business while having a baby.