Gift for parents of premie

[Accountant]

Friends just gave birth to their son 7weeks early. Any suggestions for a gift or service I could provide that would be especially helpful?

[katydid1971]

Food. They won't have the time or energy to take care of themselves. Bring them some home cooked, ready to go food.

[sariana]

Our son was born eight weeks early. I wanted to spend as much time at the NICU with him as possible.

Prepared meals that need only to be heated would likely be greatly appreciated.

If they have any other children, offers of childcare also would be great.

There's a good chance the baby's room is not ready. Is there anything you could do to help with that?

For the baby, preemie clothes are in a sense a "waste," but I sure appreciated those that we got as gifts. DS wore them for a very short period of time, but it was nice that he had a few things that fit him properly and that were his very own (as opposed to hospital-supplied t-shirts).

[TwoBees]

Gas cards. We were driving to the hospital every day (some times multiple times a day).

You can also offer to drive th eparents to the hospital (I was not allowed to drive for 2-3 weeks), or help set up the nursery or run errands (we were not prepared because DD was so early).

[TwoBees]

For the baby, preemie clothes are in a sense a "waste," but I sure appreciated those that we got as gifts. DS wore them for a very short period of time, but it was nice that he had a few things that fit him properly and that were his very own (as opposed to hospital-supplied t-shirts).


I personally loved the clothes. The moment the nurses let me dress DD, I did, and I changed her outfit every day or two. It made things seem less institutional. Plus, we needed all those clothes when she was finally discharged. She was still too small for newborn clothes, and she had bad reflux, was spitting up tons, and we had to change her clothes multiple times a day.

[TwinFoxes]

I recommend this book to everyone who's looking for a gift for the parents of preemies. It helped us understand the lingo and procedures, and just demystify what was a very mystifying and overwhelming situation for us:

http://www.amazon.com/Preemies-Essential-Parents-Premature-Babies/dp/067103491X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288810055&sr=1-1


I personally loved the clothes. The moment the nurses let me dress DD, I did, and I changed her outfit every day or two. It made things seem less institutional. Plus, we needed all those clothes when she was finally discharged. She was still too small for newborn clothes, and she had bad reflux, was spitting up tons, and we had to change her clothes multiple times a day.

I couldn't agree more. My dainty misses wore preemie clothes for a long time. In fact, the preemie outfits they first had were too big in the hospital, and finally DSIL got them micro-preemie clothes. I can't tell you how good it felt to put on little outfits that fit. (DDs were 29 weekers).

We also appreciated any sort of food we could either warm up, or grab and go (I still think lovingly of the large loaves of zucchini bread we got, it was the perfect food.) We didn't use was the gift certificate to a restaurant. Not a gift card, but a gift certificate for $200. I'm not sure when we were supposed take the time to have a $200 meal, but it was the thought that counted. :)

[Accountant]

Thanks so much for the great ideas! I was wondering if preemie clothes were worth the cost, so I'm glad to know at least a few outfits would probably be appreciated. I will bake up some bread tonight! Also-gas card-what a great thought!

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

If there is a place to eat in the hospital, a gift card would be great. I spent a lot of time in the Subway in the hospital!