Mums of preemies - help!

[Yarnie]

My good friend had a baby girl at 25+4 and she's doing well after three weeks, under the circumstances. I want to send a parcel of goodies and wondered whether you had any tips for what might be needed/appreciated? I was thinking of sending things for mum and baby. Thanks!

For the baby maybe some nice premature baby sized body suits/vests and a small toy/comforter they can put in the incubator. for the mum maybe an easy to read escapist novel for sitting around for hours on the NICU?

hand cream - the alcohol solution leaves your hands so dry and she'll be using it a lot!

Lots of cake and chocolate for the mum to keep her going, or her favourite snacks
For the baby - nice knitted hats, preemie clothes (Mothercare does them, they are big for sizes so go for really small ones), knitted blanket
If buying books, I would avoid anything that is sad, dramatic or to do with babies/disease/death as her emotions are possibly all over the place already.
You are a really good friend!

Yarnie, prem baby clothes from the high street are aimed at 34+ babies which are a good 2lb heavier than your friend's baby will be.
There is an online shop with the name from hell (peeny weeny!! wtf) which do very prem baby clothes, you will need to go to the micro premmie section LINK any of the body suits/hats/socks/mitts look good but a lot of the other stuff is impractical like baby blankets, nappies dummys etc.
What you have to remember is your friends baby will be in hospital for a long time (at least the next three months) little things will be much appreciated. Hand cream, a nice one would be very appreciated I can tell you.
Good luck,

Hope your friend and her baby are ok. I agree with lots of nice hand cream, my hands were so dry and cracked they bled. I wouldn't worry too much with really tiny baby clothes as she will be so small I suspect she will still be in a heated incubator, in which case some small vests, my son just had a vest, and sometimes just a nappy on in the heated incubator, but definitely a little outfit with a hat for when she gets a bit bigger and is out of the heated incubator, both Mothercare and Boots do a good range now. For your friend maybe some nice snacks and some magazines, always helpful :-)
X

I also agree with lots of handcream, my hands ended up with an alergic reaction. I would also think about other stuff is the mum still in hopsital, if so shower gel, smellies anythign to make her feel more human. Chocolate, sweets, cakes snacks. Also can you do anything practical, lifts, cooking etc. that is really valuable.

I personally wouldn't buy anything in the way of clothes I didn't want anything in the way of clothes for my ds until he came home. Little teddies and things to put in the incubator can be nice though.

I'd be careful with clothes. When my ds was in a heated incubator he only wore a hat and a nappy (although it was nice for him to have his own hat), and then when he was in a cot we could only put him in babygros with poppers in the right place for all the wires. Maybe a bright cheerful blanket would be nice, as the baby can lie on them in the incubator and then under them in the cot.

Teddies going in the incubator in our hospital had to be washable at 60 degrees. Ds had one from Mothercare that was.

Definitely agree with the handcream and chocolate, although to be honest if you live anywhere near I think I would have preferred a casserole! Also got through a lot of crappy magazines - don't normally read them but I was too stressed and sleep deprived to read an actual book.

My good friend ordered dh and I some stuff from Cook - it was great cos we had such little time and when we got home we were too knackered to cook.

I also got some lovely Clarins stuff and it was so nice to put on good face cream and hand cream. Made me feel a bit more human!

People differ wrt the baby clothes thing. Personally, I loved buying dd clothes but she was a bit bigger than your friend's baby cos she was born at 30 weeks and it was a few weeks after that that I started dressing her. From memory, Petit Bebe and Mamas & Papas did some lovely premmie clothes. Though I suspect it will be a while before your friend's dd is big enough to wear them.

Boots do lovely 2lb sized stuff, my ds had quite a lot of it. A good book would be appreciated if she reads or a audio book if not, sitting by an incubator is BORING. Chocolate and sweets, especiay if expressing. Hand cream is a really great suggestion too :)

Hand cream definitely a great idea, a nice blanket to go over the incubator or around the baby if it can come out for a cuddle. I found very small baby clothes upsetting tbh as i wasn't sure DS1 would be able to wear them and some of the comments that accompanied them (you could always give them to your niece to use as doll's clothes.... + ).

Food is definitely a lifesaver - my mum cooked up a load of food that she put in our freezer so we just had to get it out in the morning and heat it up in the evening. Highly recommend this.

Other than that a shoulder to cry on - let them say anything they want to say and try to understand tha tthey might feel very bitter or angry not just upset.

Perhaps books to read to the baby while they are in the incubator so they can hear their mum's voice.

good luck to your friend - hope all goes smoothly for her.