What should I put in an L&D nurse station gift basket?

[Comtessa]

I'm planning the list of things to take along with me to the hospital when I go into labor.  I'd like to bring a small basket of treats, or something, for the nurses there.  (My first birth was a HB transfer and I was NOT happy with the way the nurses treated me.  This time I'm at a different hospital and want to get off on the right foot with the nurses there, esp. because everyone says this staff is really good and wonderful with women planning NCB, and b/c I'm nervous about planning a hospital birth.)  So what should I put in the basket?  Advice or ideas?  Did anyone else do this for their birth?

[Graceie]

snack bars and mayb those starbucks instant coffies you can buy at costco

[tracymom1]

Chocolate. And lots of it.

[msmiranda]

Originally Posted by tracymom1 

Chocolate. And lots of it.

What kind of chocolate?  Hershey's kisses?  Lindt truffles?  Godiva squares?  Whitman's sampler?  :)

[tracymom1]

Little pieces that are easy to grab and go.  Our favorite in L&D was always the little Dove squares.  Yum!!!  Also, a variety of tea bags and little snack packs were always good, too - granola bars, pretzels, trail mix, etc... 

A couple of times, we had patients buy gift cards to a nearby restaurant so we could order some dinner.  That was cool, too.  

HTH!

[kcparker]

- unscented hand moisturizer. They have to wash/sanitize their hands a lot, and they can get really dried out. I like ones with beeswax in them, personally (I used to work as a potter, and my hands dried out terribly).

- Tea in bags, nuts, fresh fruit, fresh baked carrot muffins...

- My friend put together a book called Birth Movement (available on Lulu.com) with positions for laboring and birthing in the hospital setting (using the birth ball, squat bar, and sling for staying mobile and upright) that she gave to the L&D unit where we doula, and apparently the nurses and all the medical residents were passing it around and really liked it. Full disclosure: I took the photos, but I don't get any $ from the sale of the book.

[Beauchamp]

Respectfully...really? I've never heard of this! I mean, I am all for being polite and courteous to staff/nurses. It just never occured to me to pack gifts for the nurses in my hospital bag. I'm picturing myself in the middle of an excruciating contraction yelling to DH "don't forget the gift baskets!!!" I truly don't mean to make light of or joke about your question, OP. I'm mostly wondering if this is really common, and do you seem "rude" if you don't bring something for the staff? Last time (our HB transfer) we barely remembered to bring everything for ourselves (no food for DH, nothing for postpartum for me...we forgot it all....the nursing tanks, the boppy, snacks, the car seat, you name it, we forgot it!) I'm so scatterbrained lately...I'd think you'd have to be very Martha Stewart to show up in labor with a nice gift basket.

Dove chocolates sound like a good idea to me. Mmm...

[tracymom1]

We got lots of gift baskets on L&D.  Usually the husband or partner would bring something on the day that they were planning on being discharged.  Not everyone did this - but it is common.

[Graceie]

Beau. I don't think anyone expects an transfer to be prepared to be in the hospital at all or at least they shouldn't

[Comtessa]

Thanks, everyone, for the excellent suggestions!  Since I'm due right around Easter, I decided to pick up some Easter candy (including plenty of Dove chocolate eggs -- thanks for that suggestion) and make up a little basket ahead of time.  I never thought I'd be grateful for the fact that stores pre-empt the holidays quite so excessively, but this time I am, 'cause I can get it done early.  Plus, I bought rather a lot, so there's more than enough chocolate in the house for me to indulge a bit before I go into labor now, too...

Beauchamp, we were a transfer with our last birth also, and we forgot pretty much everything we needed, too.  The L&D nurses at our transfer hospital were not particularly friendly about me being a HB transfer, and most of our exchanges were fairly hostile.  (They were very old-fashioned about their birth and newborn care policies -- baby going straight to a warmer in the nursery for a period of time right after its birth is still standard there, for example.  They didn't take to my "newfangled" ideas about appropriate care for newborns.)  I'd rather start off on a different foot this time, especially because I know I'm going to spend some time in the hospital when I'm in labor, YKWIM?  I think this is my way of dealing with my fear of having to birth with strangers around -- if I bring them gifts, they aren't strangers.  Sigh.  I really don't like hospital birth...

[msmiranda]

One question to add to this: would you bring a basket for L&D and a basket for postpartum nurses too?  From what I remember from the hospital tour, I think there are sort of two separate nurses' stations because there is some physical space between where the L&D rooms are and where the postpartum rooms are.  Does it depend on the hospital?

[Comtessa]

I think so.  I'm delivering at a hospital where most moms don't transfer to a postpartum room; if all's well, they just send you home a few hours after delivery.  I'm NOT planning to stick around, so I'm only planning to bring treats for the L&D nurses! 

However, I think at most hospitals it is normal to have one set of nurses for L&D and a separate group for PP (plus nursery nurses for the baby).  In that case, it might make sense to consider the various groups of nurses with whom you'll be interacting while you're there.

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by msmiranda 

One question to add to this: would you bring a basket for L&D and a basket for postpartum nurses too?  From what I remember from the hospital tour, I think there are sort of two separate nurses' stations because there is some physical space between where the L&D rooms are and where the postpartum rooms are.  Does it depend on the hospital?

my hospital has a birthing center within it on the main floor (somewhere-haha i have no idea how to get there but hubby does) and a maternity ward upstairs. 

i think this is a great idea! thanks OP! my husband's benefits only cover semi-private (our provincial health care covers ward rooms so i AM thankful for semi-private but i WISH i could have private for this last babe) so i think if i give my nurses a gift, maybe if my roommate(s) suck AGAIN, maybe they'll move me to another room! i would just keep the basket with my hospital bag or stash it in the car depending what i put in it. the nurses are really great. too bad i don't know if we'll have the presence of mind to remember a gift for the labour nurse. they are so valuable. they do ALL the work in my experience, though a med student did a lot last time...

[tracymom1]

At my hospital, we had separate winds for labor and delivery and postpartum, but we all shared a break room - which is most likely where a gift basket would end up. From what I remember, most folks just brought one for everyone to share.

[Lisoula]

Originally Posted by Comtessa 

I think so.  I'm delivering at a hospital where most moms don't transfer to a postpartum room; if all's well, they just send you home a few hours after delivery.  I'm NOT planning to stick around, so I'm only planning to bring treats for the L&D nurses! 

OP - I live an hour south of Cleveland....where are you delivering where they send you home a few hours later from L&D if there aren't any issues?  That's pretty cool!

[Comtessa]

The holistic birthing center at St. John West Shore Medical Center.  It's the closest thing to a FSBC we have in the region at the moment!

[~Amy~]

Originally Posted by tjjazzy 

my hospital has a birthing center within it on the main floor (somewhere-haha i have no idea how to get there but hubby does) and a maternity ward upstairs. 

i think this is a great idea! thanks OP! my husband's benefits only cover semi-private (our provincial health care covers ward rooms so i AM thankful for semi-private but i WISH i could have private for this last babe) so i think if i give my nurses a gift, maybe if my roommate(s) suck AGAIN, maybe they'll move me to another room! i would just keep the basket with my hospital bag or stash it in the car depending what i put in it. the nurses are really great. too bad i don't know if we'll have the presence of mind to remember a gift for the labour nurse. they are so valuable. they do ALL the work in my experience, though a med student did a lot last time...

You should check into what the out of pocket difference would be between the semi-private & private room.  My DH's benefits only over semi as well, but there's only a $10/day difference between that & private, so we only have to pay the $10/day.  I just went with semi-private with my first birth without even looking into private & then was kicking myself when I found out how little the difference actually was.

To answer the OP, the L&D nurses I had were UAV-worthy  The post-partum nurses were absolute angels.  I look the PP ones a sweet tray from a local bakery when I went in for my 6 week check-up.  

[EmTheWife]

Gift baskets are always greatly appreciated by L&D nurses, and yes - it can get you better treatment! (gasp!)

As an L&D nurse (who doesn't need to be bribed to support NCB), I'd recommend including some healthy snacks rather than just sweets.  Bagels and cream cheese, granola bars, flavored teas and/or coffees are always appreciated.  Flowers in a vase can be a lovely gesture.

Best wishes on a happy birth!

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by ~Amy~ 

You should check into what the out of pocket difference would be between the semi-private & private room.  My DH's benefits only over semi as well, but there's only a $10/day difference between that & private, so we only have to pay the $10/day.  I just went with semi-private with my first birth without even looking into private & then was kicking myself when I found out how little the difference actually was.

To answer the OP, the L&D nurses I had were UAV-worthy  The post-partum nurses were absolute angels.  I look the PP ones a sweet tray from a local bakery when I went in for my 6 week check-up.  

we did last time but hubby did the math and i tend to have long stays (6 days with ds1 bc i'd lost too much blood and then he was jaundiced) and about 4 with ds2 (i just wasn't ready to leave-i like having the nurses there and actually like the hospital stay besides the crappy roommates) and decided it was too pricey as a whole :(

[Beauchamp]

Originally Posted by Comtessa 

Beauchamp, we were a transfer with our last birth also, and we forgot pretty much everything we needed, too.  The L&D nurses at our transfer hospital were not particularly friendly about me being a HB transfer, and most of our exchanges were fairly hostile.  (They were very old-fashioned about their birth and newborn care policies -- baby going straight to a warmer in the nursery for a period of time right after its birth is still standard there, for example.  They didn't take to my "newfangled" ideas about appropriate care for newborns.)  I'd rather start off on a different foot this time, especially because I know I'm going to spend some time in the hospital when I'm in labor, YKWIM?  I think this is my way of dealing with my fear of having to birth with strangers around -- if I bring them gifts, they aren't strangers.  Sigh.  I really don't like hospital birth...

Same here with the transfer being less than rosy. Mine was not as hostile as you described, but it was not pleasant. I'm going to a hospital again this time, voluntarily, but one that is much more NCB friendly and has a MW practice. DH sees gifts as a "bribe" and doesn't like the idea. He says patients should get good treatment regardless, a thought which, in a perfect world, I agree with. I guess I will have to go shopping and put even more in my hospital bag.

Originally Posted by EmTheWife 

Gift baskets are always greatly appreciated by L&D nurses, and yes - it can get you better treatment! (gasp!)

As an L&D nurse (who doesn't need to be bribed to support NCB), I'd recommend including some healthy snacks rather than just sweets.  Bagels and cream cheese, granola bars, flavored teas and/or coffees are always appreciated.  Flowers in a vase can be a lovely gesture.

Best wishes on a happy birth!

My opinion is probably colored by what happened when I transferred, as in, I haven't had a real chance to experience nurses who treat me with real respect. I'm a little disconcerted about a need to present gifts up front to receive good treatment. I'd much rather get caring, hardworking nurses who do an awesome job and THEN give them a really nice goodbye gift, rather than presenting a gift up front to grease the skids, KWIM? More like tipping for excellent service. Splitting hairs? Maybe. I'm just nervous about being in a hospital, I guess.

p.s. the tea sounds nice. Bagels would be harder, because for me, I'd prefer to pack ahead, so something without an immediate expiration date would be better. I'm loving the chocolate and tea combo. Mmm...some for me, some for the nurses...