A few days ago, my husband and I were thrilled to join the most amazing club: The Grandparents Club!!
Our precious little granddaughter arrived at 31 weeks, weighing 3 pounds 3 ounces of pure miracle!
As we’ve walked this new-to-us road with our son and his little family, we’ve been learning a lot about premature babies and their care.
And of course, we want to do everything we can to help them and shower them with love and practical help during this exciting (yet sometimes scary) time!
Our granddaughter went straight into the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) after her birth. There, she’s being cared for by an absolutely amazing team of nurses and doctors.
The NICU journey is often long and winding for both baby and parents, and it comes with very specific needs and challenges.
Although I don’t claim to be an expert in any way (since this is all new to me), I turned to my Instagram community for advice. My friends there didn’t let me down!
Many of them have personally spent time in the NICU as moms, or been grandmas to NICU babies.
Here’s the list of ideas they shared for thoughtful gifts and ways to help a preemie baby and parents.
Newborn Gifts for Preemie Baby
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.
1. Preemie baby clothes
Although the baby probably won’t be decked out in designer wear right away, there’s some very specific clothing that’s helpful while in the NICU.
- Preemie button-up sleepers make it easy to access the wires and monitors they may be wearing. (You may want to choose the kind without feet if they have an ankle monitor.)
- Hats for preemie babies are practical, since they have trouble regulating their own body temperature.
- Preemie baby socks can help keep those tiny toes warm!
- One mom suggested saving some cute little preemie diapers so your little girl can use them when she plays with baby dolls later. I thought that was such a sweet idea!
- I imagine a preemie baby carrier would come in handy eventually. I found this article on the best baby carriers for preemies, which might be helpful if you’re looking for one.
- Of course, when a baby graduates from the NICU, there’s lots of celebrating. One of my Instagram friends clued me in to this darling NICU graduation cap crochet pattern that melted my heart! (If only I could crochet…) But if you don’t crochet (like me), there are also some great options for NICU graduate clothes!
- Preemie mittens can be found at the Preemie Store (in the US). They can be especially helpful when babies start pulling at the tubes and wires that need to stay in for their health! After some searching, I found a great source for preemie clothes in Canada: the Itty Bitty Baby Boutique.
2. Milestone Cards
A NICU baby has a whole list of milestones to reach before going home. This set of darling milestone cards is a perfect way to celebrate and document every step.
3. Books
We’ve always been big readers with our kids, so we started reading to them very early. In fact, we still have the collection of children’s books we read to our boys. Now we’re having fun buying books for our grandbabies. Since our granddaughter lives so far away from us, we’re recording videos of ourselves reading to her so she can have story time with Grandma and Grandpa.
We love the book A Hand to Hold by JJ Heller. It was the first book we recorded reading. You can see it here.
The other two we just got are so cute as well: Twirl by Emily Lex and Don’t Forget to Remember by Ellie Holcomb.
4. Amazon Baby Registry
Check with the parents to see if they have an online gift registry set up. If they do, you can see the specific items they need and choose what you’d like to gift. Then it can be shipped right to their home!
Thoughtful Gifts for Parents of a Preemie Baby
Having a newborn can be stressful and exhausting at the best of times. Add a precious preemie in the NICU to that, and it can mean a whole different level of stress, worry, and strain.
As those of us who want to come alongside and help as much as possible, I’ve put together a list of ideas and suggestions for gifts and ways to support parents of preemie babies. (Again, many of these ideas come from parents and grandparents who’ve had firsthand experience.)
- Gift cards to restaurants, fast food places, gas stations, grocery stores, and department stores (like Walmart or Target). Having a baby in the NICU often means weeks or months living in a city away from home. In the case of our son’s family, the hospital is 3 hours from their home. Expenses add up quickly for food, gas, parking, and everyday living costs. If it’s available in their area, DoorDash and Uber Eats cards are so helpful, too.
- Bring them food that can be easily heated up from the freezer or that travels well. (If they have access to a kitchenette.)
- Take care of simple tasks for them, like laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, or walking the dog.
- If they have a dog, they might need a great dog sitter for a while.
- Gift baskets with fruit, water bottles, treats, and hand lotion. (Their hands will dry out quickly from so much hand washing and hand sanitizer.)
- Call or text them to let them know you’re thinking of them. It can get lonely in the NICU!
- A new pair of cozy slippers and comfy clothes for the new mom.
- Pray for them and send them a card saying you are.
- Start a GoFundMe to help with extra expenses.
I’m sure there are many other ideas that could be included. If you have ideas or advice for this kind of situation, please share them in a comment below. I’ll keep adding to this post as more ideas and suggestions come in!
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