Favorite gifts in the NICU?

[sbrinton]

Here's a fun question. I love to sew and craft and I'm hoping to make some things for the NICU where our sons were hospitalized.

Did you have any favorite gifts you received while your baby was in the hospital? Clothes, blankets, frames, booties, hats?

I'd really like to make things that are both useful and pretty...any ideas?

[squeekybuddha]

Because Maggie was unable to wear clothes for SO LONG (due to IVs, PICC lines, sensors, etc.) the only thing she had on was a knit or crochet hat. We have several that were made for NICU babies by local women. As she grew the nurses made sure to give me the small one for her keepsake box. I treasure these and am sure that they are something that would be wonderful for other parents of NICU babies.

Thanks for doing this.

[~bookcase~]

knitted or crocheted blankets, totally.
i kept the ones they used for a long time.
so precious to me.

[OGirlieMama]

The hats and blankies were definitely the most lasting ones. I particularly love the hats because they give me a tangible reminder of how tiny and precious their little heads were. I kept the blankies in their cribs for a long time, and now they use them for their dolls.

Knowing what I know now, I would also have loved isolette covers.

[sbrinton]

I'm not a knitter. Around here I leave that to the grandmas! My mom made Zephan 3 lovely hats while he was in the NICU. We loved these before he could wear clothes.

I think I'm going to make isolette covers made out of 2 layers of flannel, one print and one in a dark color. These should work in the NICU to give the baby some peace and then at home as a swaddle blanket.

I'll also make cuddle blankets that fit in the isolette and can be used for transitions to kangaroo care. We had something like this that the nurses just loved. I think it was a comfort to Zeph too...since we used it for kangaroo care it smelled like me even when I couldn't be with him.

[jlovesl]

In the NICU we were in we were not allowed knitted objects in the isolet. I guess there was a case where a baby's finger got stuck in a knit over night and the baby lost blood supply to the finger. But I saw many pictures with prems with knitted hats on and they were ever so cute. But I loved the prem. hat a friend gave me. It was sewn not knitted. It is now in his keepsake box.

[Zan&Zav]

definitely the precious little hats , and you are so sweet to do that

[Fyrestorm]

I'm not sure if you are looking to do things solely for your NICU, if not, you might want to look into the Yahoo group All Crafts 4 Charity.

We do a project (or 2) each month for different charities. This month we are doing WRC in Texas and Balboa Children's hospital in CA.

If you are interested in doing something like this, PM me and I'll give you the info.