StephanieZ Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 We have a dear employee who is at the hospital now, likely delivering her baby imminently. . . and is about 5 weeks premature. This is her first baby. We were throwing her (and another PG staff member) a surprise baby shower Monday, but are obviously changing our plans. I have $100-$200 budgeted for a gift for her. I had intended to just buy stuff off her registry, but am now wondering if there are specific items that are important for a preemie? (They don't have a lot of $$, so practical is good, but I was hoping for some things a bit more fun than *just* diapers.) (And, yes, we've already made sure she has paid leave for a good while, and paid health insurance for a good while after that. . . so our basic employer duties are taken care of, lol.) Ideas so far: - diapers - hats, socks, sleepers TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Maybe meals or gift cards for take-out places, especially if her baby will be in the hospital after she's released? I would think clothes that fit a really little baby would be nice. With only being 5 weeks early, it's likely that the baby will be home fairly soon, right? But probably small; my large-ish newborns fit right into newborn sized clothes, so they'd swim on a preemie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Five weeks is likely not early enough, unless there are other problems as well, that the baby will have long term health needs or any special needs from being premature. Depending on how far the hospital is from her home, you might consider gas gift cards (for making the drive), restaurant gift cards (for eating out between hospital visits), a soft-side cooler and various on-the-go type foods/drinks she can take with her to the hospital, things of that nature. It gets expensive to be visiting a baby in the hospital. Much will depend on how healthy her baby is -- my oldest boys were 6 weeks and 5 weeks early, respectively. My first was in the hospital 2 weeks, and weighed 4 lbs, 14 ozs at birth. My second was only in the hospital a day longer than me and weighed 6 lbs, 5 ozs. So, it really can vary a great deal. Once you hear the baby's weight, I'd determine then if you need to buy a pack or two of preemie diapers, any preemie outfits, etc. Also, if she is home from the hospital before the planned shower on Monday, I'd consider going ahead with it. She might not mind a distraction and a way to celebrate, show off photos of her little one, etc. (if she's comfortable leaving the hospital). You might ask her or her husband about it, perhaps you could hold the shower in her absence (many people have likely bought their gifts already) and then having yourself or another co-worker deliver the gifts to her at the hospital if there's a waiting room/area that you could do that, or at her home if she's up for a visitor. One thing you might check into, if she's planning to breast feed, ask her or her husband if she has a pump, would like one, etc. Depending on the size/well-being of the baby, she may or may not need to pump and bottle feed for a while as the baby learns to nurse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn1129 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Mine was 3 weeks early and he was itty bitty. the only thing we rushed out to buy were clothes and preemie dipes. Good luck to your friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 And bear in mind, Baby will grow into any non-tiny items you buy. So don't just load them up with cute itsy-bitsy stuff. I second gift cards for take-out meals - esp. from places that deliver AND are close to where they live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I agree with JFS. My ds was 7 weeks premature, but he outgrew the preemie clothes fairly quickly, so I wouldn't go too heavy on those. It is nice to have some things that don't swallow up the little one, though! Other than that, I would get her things that she registered for because she'll need them soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 When I had a preemie, one of the best gifts I received was several loafs of banana bread, already sliced. I stuck some in the freezer for later. I made sandwiches with peanut butter out of the bread and packed them to the hospital, as I spent all day/every day at the NICU and the hospital food was awful. Ready made meals or gift cards for restaurants are great. I wasn't up to cooking for probably two months. I was so grateful for the preemie outfits we received. Even they were too big at first, but I was glad I didn't have to get out and shop for clothes. If you buy newborn clothes, think ahead to the seasons. We did receive many newborn sized winter clothes that were out of season by the time he was that size. We didn't receive any preemie diapers, but so wish we would have! They are so expensive - and they are sold in small packages and (at that time) you couldn't find coupons for them. Our preemie was ~7 weeks early and it was four months before he fit into newborn clothes/diapers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyinMD Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 If the baby is tiny a carseat that is rated for 5 lbs would be necessary. My youngest dd is a 29 weeker and discharged at 5 lbs. We wound up buying a new seat the day she came home because the carseat we had was rated for 6 lbs and up and the straps were too loose on her to be safe. Other than that there wasn't anything special we needed. It was very nice to have some preemie clothes that fit well but they were outgrew quickly so I wouldn't get many. My dd was fine with newborn pampers and we never bought preemie diapers. We just folded them down a bit. They are much cheaper than preemies plus they are more absorbant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 :iagree: about the preemie clothes. Dd had 2 premie outfits, one was indistinguishable from the newborn size and one was so tiny it was a bit small when she was born weighing 5.5 lbs. I wouldn't buy more than one cute outfit for pictures. I'd also say that 35 weeks gestation is pretty close to the full-term cutoff at 37 weeks, so the baby might not have many premie specific needs, although it might have other health concerns. I'd wait to talk to the parents before buying anything other than a gift card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Hmmm...my preemie was tiny (4 pounds 14 oz) and stayed that way for a long time (he was 16lbs at a year), so clothing was good for us, but if the baby isn't too small, I wouldn't go overboard with tiny clothes that s/he will likely outgrow quickly. I LOVE the idea of gift cards to places that deliver. That would have been an absolutely wonderful gift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 as the mom of a preemie (2 months early) I agree that some tiny clothes are great. I really appreciated a couple packs of teensy onesies. He needed them for a long time. While baby is still in the hospital, stuff like magazines are great. I couldn't read anything that took brain cells, so people magazine etc were my friend. The best thing a friend did was get into my apt (I have no idea how) and she cleaned it from top to bottom. She is a nervous cleaner so it gave her something to do, lol. But we were gone for weeks and weeks driving an hour to the hospital and back every day. A clean apt was a life saver. Oh, and when the baby is about 3 months old, consider a 'welcome home' party. That made me so happy, to sit there with my baby and be among friends. It can be very simple. Just a meal with friends. Dr Sears has a book about preemies and I would have LOVED that. If only to give me something to read. My mom rented me a hospital grade breast pump to use at home and that was wonderful. To be able to provide milk for my baby was such a wonderful thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Wait until you see how much baby weighs. I've had friends deliver babies 5weeks early who were much bigger than my full term babies. If baby is small, I'd get a bunch of preemie diapers. They don't come in big packs and can get really expensive because of that. My preemies were in preemie diapers for about 2 months after we brought them home and they came home at 3 weeks. My small full term baby was in them for over a month. We really appreciated my friend who brought them to us because we hadn't been expecting to need preemie diapers since she was full term and the newborn ones swamped her. Preemie diapers are not carried in every store so it can be hard for new parents to track them down when they need them in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 preemie clothes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 My granddaughter was 6 weeks early and my daughter was a new mom, too. She and her DH could not figure out how to swaddle my DGD so we bought them some of the Swaddle Me blankets. (http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-SwaddleMe-Microfleece-Green/dp/B0038JDLVU/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297452530&sr=1-3-fkmr0) Best thing she received! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 One of my premies, who was 3 lbs 13 oz at birth, came home around 5 lbs. I used the premie diapers for less than a week. Nearly eight years later, I still have unused packages of premie diapers that I saved for my dds to use with dolls. I was given a premie outfit for each of my boys, but they barely fit into them by the time they were discharged. The newborn clothes were still big, of course, but IMO it's so much easier to use something too big than too small. That's a long way of saying I probably wouldn't bother with premie clothes, though wait and see what the baby weighs. I vote for the meal cards, or, even better, meals dropped off that can be microwaved in individual portions. If the baby is in the NICU, after spending the day there it's nearly impossible to cook, due to the sheer physical/mental/emotional exhaustion. Every situation is a little different, but it's likely the 35-weeker will be fairly similar to a full term baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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