In honor of NICU awareness month, I compiled a list of 5 NICU gifts that helped us through our stay. My first set of twin girls were born at 33 weeks and 1 day. The girls were fighters and managed to “only” stay 10 days. No matter if your NICU experience is 1 day or 90 – the sight of seeing your brand new little one attached to all the monitors and tubes is not for the faint of heart. If you know someone who is enduring a NICU stay with their child or multiple children, here is a list of practical and thoughtful gifts that make the experience a little easier.
Giftcards
A stay in the NICU is expensive not only from a medical or insurance perspective, but from a day to day as well. Many hospitals charge daily rates for parking or parents must travel far depending on the level of NICU needed. Giftcards towards gas, food, or coffee are always appreciated. UberEats or DoorDash are great suggestions so the parents are not stuck eating hospital food all the time. The food delivery services were not available during our NICU stay and I know that is something we would appreciate.
Photo from Amazon
Travel Cooler
Say what? Yes – a travel cooler! If mom pumps or breastfeeds, a NICU parent knows exactly what midnight milk runs are. Most NICU mom get discharged before the child. If mom plans to breastfeed or pump, middle of the night milk deliveries to the hospital are very common. For me, I strived to give the girls as much of my milk as possible and limit the amount of formula they received. This means pumping every 2 hours around the clock. My husband made a couple trips to the hospital over the night to deliver my milk for the babies. A travel cooler like this one created specifically for carrying breastmilk makes for a great gift. I have this specific cooler and really like how the icepack is contoured. It is also a square shape so it does not tip easily during transport.
Photo from Amazon
Shirts for Kangaroo Care
Skin to skin kangaroo care is crucial to a developing NICU baby. My husband and I spent hours just snuggling and holding our babies each day. At the time, I wore pajamas mostly to the NICU. In hindsight, I realized it was because wearing a button down shirt was so much easier for kangaroo care (and pumping / nursing). In my opinion, gifting a button down shirt or cardigan makes for a practical gift for mom. Mom is likely thinking about herself last, but I promise this will make her day to day easier!
Photo from Amazon
NICU Gifts for Baby
Documenting some of their “firsts” was certainly something I missed out on. I really like these NICU milestone cards. Again, this is something I came across after the girls were discharged. There are SO many important milestones such as breathing room air, removing feeding tubes, or passing the car seat test! These cards are a cute way to document such milestones.
Photo from Amazon
Another cute idea for baby is a NICU graduate onesie. I know we felt like the proudest parents on the planet when our girls were finally discharged. The wonderful doctors and nurses truly made it feel like a graduation! These NICU graduate onesies some in a variety of colors and sizes.
Photo from Amazon
Help at Home
Finally, help around the house is always appreciated. Stock the NICU parents’ freezer full of cooked meals, help watch any other older children, or even send a cleaning service to their home! Our dear friends took in our dogs while we had our NICU stay. This was hands down the BIGGEST stress reliever. We knew our pets were well cared for and we could focus on our babies. In my experience, do not ask, “What can I do?” NICU parents are in such a fog. Instead, make a suggestion. Would it be helpful if I mowed your lawn? Can I pick up groceries? Do your dogs need a walk? Anything that keeps a household moving forward is helpful!
Our NICU experience was the foggiest time of my life. It was difficult to not only navigate day by day, but even hour by hour. There are days when you have 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. I am so thankful for our friends and family who helped near and far to get our babies strong and healthy to come home. I hope this list of NICU gifts provides a light to someone struggling through the same journey.