Advice from Preemie Mom's

[kare.bear]

I have a dear friend who gave birth this weekend to a 3 lb 5 oz little girl. She is doing well, but they expect her to be in NICU for approx 4 weeks. I'm looking for advice from Mom's of preemies... What gift items would you have found to be most helpful as a preemie parent? Were there some items that made your life much easier? I already had a gift purchased with nb size diapers and clothes (which she won't be able to use for awhile yet), but may go pick up something else if I get any good ideas of what may help them out now....

Appreciate the advice. Thanks.

[Eje]

My baby was born premature. From my experience, the best gifts we received were definitely clothes (I had everything prepared except clothes for premature baby) - I remember at the beginning we could put on him socks and cap only. Then bodies - I liked the ones which looked like kimono dress - it could be opened in front without need to pull it over the head, which made it incredibly easy to change the clothes on Gabriel (with the tube sticking out from his nose)... then, soft receiving blankets with beautiful imprints were our favourites - we used to put them inside his tiny bed and whenever we'd hold him we would wrapp him into one of our receiving blankets. Later on, when we were discharged from hospital I received a medela breast pump, which I appreciated very much - but that was from my close friend who knew well about my problems with breastfeeding. I guess, that's all what I would miss otherwise.

[big-mouth-burgher]

My oldest was 5 weeks early and was under 5 lbs when we left the hospital, no NICU time for him though. I have to agree that the preemie clothes are a God send, he was swimming in all the newborn stuff. So for the few weeks that he wore them, they were great! I wish I had more than 5 or 6 outfits, I was always washing them.

[Mommy2Angels]

My youngest son was 11 weeks early and weighed 1 lb 3.7 oz at birth. He was still only around 4 lbs when we took him home. He was in preemie cloths for what seemed like forever. I had freinds that gave us preemie diapers, preemie clothes, and wipes (I recommend fragrence and dye free). This really helped us out alot. Just like Eje we had all the necessary euipment you need for any baby, but were not prepared for the clothing needs of a preemie. I will be praying for your friends family.

[zillymom]

I almost hate to say this, but Target gift cards were my favorite gift. I just never knew what I truly needed until I actually needed it, so those gift cards were a HUGE help for all of the unexpected things we had to get in those early weeks at home after leaving the NICU.

[mamaj120]

Honestly, I think the best gift you could give to a preemie parent is emotional support. My daughter was in the NICU for 3 months, the longest 3 months of my life. I wished more people were there for me, I felt very alone and depressed during that time.

Other than that, I would say either preemie clothes or maybe a book about premature babies? Someone got us Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies and it really helped a lot. It was very informative and supportive.

Hope that helps!

[angel_marie1221]

My son was 1 pound 9 ounces when he was born. Very unexpected. But to me, the best gifts that we received for him were gifts to decorate his room and his incubator when he was in the NICU. We loved getting stuffed animals and blankets and stickers and card we could put everywhere. It made his somber hospital room a bit more lively and like home.