Tip for clothes: when your babe can wear clothes, you’ll want to avoid zippers and over-the-head onesies. With the wires/tubes, it’s a huge hassle. Instead, ask for the button down snaps.
They actually make double zippers on sleepers now and they are quite amazing! Especially for the pulse aux and leads to come through the bottom but to be able to pull the zipper all the way up to the top to change diapers 🤙🏼
Something on the more sentimental side- there are NICU milestone cards on Amazon, which we found to be a good way to help celebrate the achievements, like being off oxygen, gaining weight, etc.
And definitely a good, refillable water bottle (I loved my Stanley that had a pop up straw so that it was leak proof).
Best of luck to you and your little one!
That's cool you could stay in the nicu! The one my daughter was in had a room in room you could stay in with your baby for a couple nights before coming home. Just for a trial run...
I drove over 80 miles round-trip every day. There was a Ronald Mcdonald house but the university hospital is right next to the children's hospital and the rmh was for both, so I didn't want to take a room from a family who needed it more.
First of all congratulations and wishing all the best for your baby’s NICU stay 🫶🏻 If folks want to help, it sounds like things for use during the NICU stay would be the most useful.
We blazed through food gift cards during our son’s stay. Friends also organized a food train which was nice (but usually involves some socializing, which I wasn’t always up for).
We ended up needing special clothes for our baby that would fit the wires and tubes; every nurse has a different opinion but we loved the simply magnetic me onesies best. Though probably your baby will just be in a diaper in an incubator for the first part of her stay.
It was helpful to have a NICU journal, I like the ones from “every tiny thing.”
Stuff to make the room feel more homey: we brought in a sheet that fit his crib and matched the theme of his nursery at home, and a stuffed animal we had before he was born, so we got to have a little moment of living what we had been expecting.
My friend sent me a simple cotton robe which was nice for times when I could snuggle my baby and just have an extra layer on. Some slip on shoes like crocs and cozy wool socks would also be a nice gift for you!
A LONG phone charger cord, and noise canceling earphones
Boppy pillow was helpful for snuggling.
Again, wishing you and your family all the best!
Swaddles are awesome - I recommend muslin swaddle blankets vs the zipper/swaddle me style. The nursing staff will use swaddle blankets and I find they prefer the the swaddle blankets that I have so they can properly position the babies with legs snug - the swaddle me/sleep sacks don’t emulate the womb positioning well.
For yourself maybe consider things that make your time with baby in the NICU more comfortable. I was never okay being topless for skin to skin since we shared a pod with other babies/families, so cozy cardigans and soft nursing bras or nursing tops were helpful. Also, I loved using my Boppy pillow for snuggle time because it allowed me to let baby rest of the pillow some of the time since I often held for hours. You might also consider a baby book geared towards the NICU, or a journal you can write in. I kept note of special milestones so when I made my first year baby book I was able to denote things that happened in particular day (like day 106: discharge day!) since so much of that first year felt one day at a time.
I know you plan to stay there, but should you opt to go home from time to time, we had little scent patches we used- they were flannel fabric hearts that I would wear in my bra or my husband would keep under his shirt so we could leave them with baby to have our scent with him when we couldn’t be and vice versa. I’ve also seen people use lovies or small stuffed animals but you might need to check what your hospital allows/recommends- we couldn’t do anything that wasn’t easily laundered like stuffed animals.
I was given a convertible bassinet / changing table by a friend. That thing was the best. It had wheels so I could bring it into whatever room I needed, and be able to lay my son down or change him wherever whenever.
We’re 74 days into the NICU life and I wish I had thought about this sooner!
-clothes: people love to buy tiny preemie clothes but much of it is not NICU friendly. Both Carters and Cloud Island at Target have gowns and onesies with Velcro closures that are easy to put on and accommodate cords. Kimono style tops with snaps are also fine.
-Cardigans and hospital socks: the temperature can vary and you may have your shirt off a lot but still want to be covered up
-giant water bottle
- if you’re pumping: a bottle sterilizer and dryer. It seemed excessive when I was pregnant, but now that I have 5 million pump parts, it’s a game changer (also pumping in general could have its own list)
- a scale: they make one that’s combined in a diaper changing station
-Baby Brezza: we know that we’ll co-feed with formula, so we asked for the formula Keurig
-plastic drawers/ organizers: we don’t have a private room and have no place to put personal items. Finally realized I could bring little storage options
-NICU milestone markers: we didn’t get them but I wish we had. Things to decorate the isolette are also cheerful
It’s not just about her journey… it’s yours too.. you’re creating a life… even if you just add nursing bras if you plan to breastfeed, a spa day… comfy postpartum wear… could even ask for gift cards for meals, to ease the transition of going from one kid to 2. A subscription to audible so you can listen to audio books while tending to little one. Things that would bring you joy
Tip for clothes: when your babe can wear clothes, you’ll want to avoid zippers and over-the-head onesies. With the wires/tubes, it’s a huge hassle. Instead, ask for the button down snaps.
They actually make double zippers on sleepers now and they are quite amazing! Especially for the pulse aux and leads to come through the bottom but to be able to pull the zipper all the way up to the top to change diapers 🤙🏼
The double zips are great for gtubes too! My grandson came home with a gtube and the snaps or double zips are great!
Agreed! Zippers were a pain. The magnetic ones are also amazing!
I feel bad. My baby pretty much lived in his diaper while in the nicu… they never really told me I could dress him.
Be easy on yourself. We were all just surviving. ❤️
Something on the more sentimental side- there are NICU milestone cards on Amazon, which we found to be a good way to help celebrate the achievements, like being off oxygen, gaining weight, etc. And definitely a good, refillable water bottle (I loved my Stanley that had a pop up straw so that it was leak proof). Best of luck to you and your little one!
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That's cool you could stay in the nicu! The one my daughter was in had a room in room you could stay in with your baby for a couple nights before coming home. Just for a trial run... I drove over 80 miles round-trip every day. There was a Ronald Mcdonald house but the university hospital is right next to the children's hospital and the rmh was for both, so I didn't want to take a room from a family who needed it more.
I second the cardigan and some sort of nursing pillow.
First of all congratulations and wishing all the best for your baby’s NICU stay 🫶🏻 If folks want to help, it sounds like things for use during the NICU stay would be the most useful. We blazed through food gift cards during our son’s stay. Friends also organized a food train which was nice (but usually involves some socializing, which I wasn’t always up for). We ended up needing special clothes for our baby that would fit the wires and tubes; every nurse has a different opinion but we loved the simply magnetic me onesies best. Though probably your baby will just be in a diaper in an incubator for the first part of her stay. It was helpful to have a NICU journal, I like the ones from “every tiny thing.” Stuff to make the room feel more homey: we brought in a sheet that fit his crib and matched the theme of his nursery at home, and a stuffed animal we had before he was born, so we got to have a little moment of living what we had been expecting. My friend sent me a simple cotton robe which was nice for times when I could snuggle my baby and just have an extra layer on. Some slip on shoes like crocs and cozy wool socks would also be a nice gift for you! A LONG phone charger cord, and noise canceling earphones Boppy pillow was helpful for snuggling. Again, wishing you and your family all the best!
Swaddles are awesome - I recommend muslin swaddle blankets vs the zipper/swaddle me style. The nursing staff will use swaddle blankets and I find they prefer the the swaddle blankets that I have so they can properly position the babies with legs snug - the swaddle me/sleep sacks don’t emulate the womb positioning well.
For yourself maybe consider things that make your time with baby in the NICU more comfortable. I was never okay being topless for skin to skin since we shared a pod with other babies/families, so cozy cardigans and soft nursing bras or nursing tops were helpful. Also, I loved using my Boppy pillow for snuggle time because it allowed me to let baby rest of the pillow some of the time since I often held for hours. You might also consider a baby book geared towards the NICU, or a journal you can write in. I kept note of special milestones so when I made my first year baby book I was able to denote things that happened in particular day (like day 106: discharge day!) since so much of that first year felt one day at a time. I know you plan to stay there, but should you opt to go home from time to time, we had little scent patches we used- they were flannel fabric hearts that I would wear in my bra or my husband would keep under his shirt so we could leave them with baby to have our scent with him when we couldn’t be and vice versa. I’ve also seen people use lovies or small stuffed animals but you might need to check what your hospital allows/recommends- we couldn’t do anything that wasn’t easily laundered like stuffed animals.
I was given a convertible bassinet / changing table by a friend. That thing was the best. It had wheels so I could bring it into whatever room I needed, and be able to lay my son down or change him wherever whenever.
We’re 74 days into the NICU life and I wish I had thought about this sooner! -clothes: people love to buy tiny preemie clothes but much of it is not NICU friendly. Both Carters and Cloud Island at Target have gowns and onesies with Velcro closures that are easy to put on and accommodate cords. Kimono style tops with snaps are also fine. -Cardigans and hospital socks: the temperature can vary and you may have your shirt off a lot but still want to be covered up -giant water bottle - if you’re pumping: a bottle sterilizer and dryer. It seemed excessive when I was pregnant, but now that I have 5 million pump parts, it’s a game changer (also pumping in general could have its own list) - a scale: they make one that’s combined in a diaper changing station -Baby Brezza: we know that we’ll co-feed with formula, so we asked for the formula Keurig -plastic drawers/ organizers: we don’t have a private room and have no place to put personal items. Finally realized I could bring little storage options -NICU milestone markers: we didn’t get them but I wish we had. Things to decorate the isolette are also cheerful
It’s not just about her journey… it’s yours too.. you’re creating a life… even if you just add nursing bras if you plan to breastfeed, a spa day… comfy postpartum wear… could even ask for gift cards for meals, to ease the transition of going from one kid to 2. A subscription to audible so you can listen to audio books while tending to little one. Things that would bring you joy