Gift for mom with premie

June 28, 2023 12:52 PM

A work colleague just had an emergency cesarean. Mom is fine fine, her premature baby is fine. Mom was released from hospital yesterday, baby expected to go home on Saturday. This is the mom’s first child. What can I send my colleague to provide some comfort or pleasure or utility that speaks to her super stressful but also successful experience? The parents had a baby shower so presumably they have the usual stuff. Also, she is in the SF Bay Area while I am in Sweden so keep that in mind. Thanks!
posted by Bella Donna to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

Best answer: I was this mom. Gift cards for local restaurants or delivery (GrubHub or Uber Eats) were the best thing.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 12:56 PM on June 28, 2023 [10 favorites]

Best answer: Seconding food delivery funds for (any) new baby. Door Dash was a lifesaver for my family.
posted by token-ring at 1:01 PM on June 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Preemie sized diapers and/or clothes might be appreciated. But if the family or other friends are already organizing this, then I'd go with food or cleaning services.
posted by beaning at 1:10 PM on June 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: With a preemie, the usual clothes don't fit. I'd suggest a pack of preemie onesies, though you might want to check if they already have some. The day after we brought our preemie home, we found a gift of a box of preemie clothes on our doorstep; we were profoundly grateful. (A 6 pound baby wearing standard newborn clothes is roughly the equivalent of a 150 pound person wearing clothes designed for a 200 pound person. It works, but it looks silly and makes everything just that much harder.)
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 1:14 PM on June 28, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I once had a teeny tiny baby. I sign on to restaurant gift cards for delivery services (Grubhub, DoorDash, UberEats) and preemie diapers and clothes. I think I especially liked long-sleeved footie outfits with a zipper. Even though it's summer, in air conditioned interiors you want that tiny baby covered up, and zippered because who wants to deal with 15 snaps.

Even if the baby grows out of the clothes quickly, the feeling of your baby being properly clothed for those first few weeks is priceless, rather that the pathetic feeling of swimming in newborn clothes, same with diapers. And those itty bitty clothes will be treasured as a mark of how far they've come.
posted by Jenny'sCricket at 1:31 PM on June 28, 2023 [5 favorites]

Best answer: A basket/bin/box of Swedish snacks to fuel mom for midnight feedings; together with a personal note, it's thoughtful and far more memorable than onesies or diapers.
posted by headnsouth at 2:07 PM on June 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Nthing that when we had a smaller than expected, slightly earlier than expected baby, the appropriately sized jammies that a family friend had waiting on our doorstep the day we got home from the hospital will surely secure that wonderful lady’s spot in heaven. And grocery delivery!
posted by MadamM at 2:23 PM on June 28, 2023 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Edible arrangements. I’m not joking, it was the best gift I received after having my first child. Those chocolate covered strawberries did more for my mood than anything else.
posted by lydhre at 7:27 PM on June 28, 2023 [8 favorites]

Best answer: The one thing I remember about our preemie was being discouraged from buying many preemie clothes (28 years ago, no I don't believe it), on the theory that a preemie outgrows preemie clothes even faster than a normal-term infant outgrows standard baby clothes.

Besides the food delivery cards and preemie diapers though, we could not have had too many preemie-sized onesies.
posted by lhauser at 8:10 PM on June 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Edible arrangements seem silly in most circumstances, but a new mom can really use the ease of cut fruit. If she’s in the Berkeley/Oakland area, there’s a company called Three Stone Hearth that specializes in healthy nutrient dense foods that some of my friends used during this time. I would also be happy to try to help connect you with other nice local ideas if you’re sending to the East Bay. I was also a new mom who took home a sub-5lb baby. Old Navy and Carters both had nice preemie clothing but that’s a very temporary need.
posted by vunder at 9:00 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I didn't have a preemie, but I did have an emergency C section. I was in a lot of pain and had a hard time moving around. The pain medicine was awful on my digestion as well.

I appreciated foods I could ingest while lying down, even better with one hand. If someone had shipped me a box of premade Carnation Instant Breakfast shakes, with extra protein, I would have been grateful. Really, any form of easy-to-consume, calorie-dense food.
posted by champers at 4:47 AM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]