midwife gifts?

[alisonsage]

are you getting, or did you get, your midwife a gift? if so, what?? i really want to get my mw something and i am stumped!!

also, if you gift to your midwife do you also give a gift to her assistants and other birthing attendents??

tia

[~Kristina~]

I'm looking for ideas as well.

[mamada]

For ds's birth we got our midwives gift certificates for a health food store that sells a lot of health foods & organic produce. We also got the assistant (a midwifery student) the same gift, as well as the receptionist at their office. Basically, anyone who was involved in our care got a gift certificate (it amounted to 5 people). We didn't go overboard - the gift certificates only amounted to about $25 each, but I stuck each one in a nice (new) mug filled with hard candies. Oh, and I wrote thank you cards to each of them. $25 isn't much, but all together it came out to $125....well, more, actually, if you count the cost of the candies, mugs, and thank-you cards.

We will probably do the same thing or something similar after this baby's born (if she ever decides to make an appearance).

Anyway, I like to think it's the gesture that counts!

[Kam]

Some of my midwife's favorite gifts have been photos of her with the babies at the birth. ONe, done by a professional, is in black and white with her hands holding babe in sharp focus and her loving face in the background. She says, "It's the midwife's hands that make all the difference, anyway." So true.

I gave her a "Bikes for Midwives" gift from this UK foundation. http://www.goodgifts.org/goodgifts/p...roducts_id=158 She loved it. And I felt good about the gift, too.

Good luck!

[sambelina]

I gave my mw a new bag that has rollers on it and lots of pockets on the outside. It's something she needed and I felt good giving her something that she'll use for a while. I'll give her photos too. I don't know yet what I'm going to do about the assistants.

[alisonsage]

thanks for the ideas ladies!

Originally Posted by Kam

Some of my midwife's favorite gifts have been photos of her with the babies at the birth. ONe, done by a professional, is in black and white with her hands holding babe in sharp focus and her loving face in the background. She says, "It's the midwife's hands that make all the difference, anyway." So true.

I gave her a "Bikes for Midwives" gift from this UK foundation. http://www.goodgifts.org/goodgifts/p...roducts_id=158 She loved it. And I felt good about the gift, too.

Good luck!

wow! that's awesome!!

[GinaRae]

Originally Posted by Kam

I gave her a "Bikes for Midwives" gift from this UK foundation. http://www.goodgifts.org/goodgifts/p...roducts_id=158 She loved it. And I felt good about the gift, too.

Oooooh I like it! There's this one too. http://www.goodgifts.org/goodgifts/p...roducts_id=269 So I could give a gift like this for both my midwives.

[greenthumb3]

Originally Posted by alisonsage

are you getting, or did you get, your midwife a gift? if so, what?? i really want to get my mw something and i am stumped!!

also, if you gift to your midwife do you also give a gift to her assistants and other birthing attendents??

tia

This was easy for me. I go to my MW's house for each prenatal, and I know her "likes" from seeing her home. She is a raw foodist and I know she'd love a gift cert. to Whole Foods or a natural foods store in town. She would also like a gift cert., any midwife would, to www.1cascade.com, for midwife supplies, jewelry, birth videos and books, etc. She also likes to garden, so a gift cert. to a garden center or nice pots would do the trick. A journal would be nice, too, or something inspiring for her in her personal life.

In the end, I chose to give her wind chimes as she really likes them and always has some hanging outside the window she does prenatals in. They had a butterfly on them, and she really loves them for the symbol they represent, rebirth. I gave her this at my last prenatal, before baby has arrived. This really surprised her, and I know it only adds to our MW/client relationship prior to baby's birth. I plan to give her a placenta print done with acrylics on canvas for her office, after baby comes out.

Good luck thinking of something for your MW!

Edit to add: I also have a baby announcement outline ready, with us listed as parents, the older siblings, and at the bottom: the midwife's name! I'll include a photo of the baby when he is born and I think she'll like being a part of the announcement.

[snugglebug14]

Since I'm an herbalist and LOVE making medicine I'm going to make up a bag of women's herbal stuff for each of my midwifes. I made a hug think of shephard's purse tincture and motherwort tincture. plus I'll probably make up some other ones that they'll be able to use for personal use. Tinctures are so expensive to buy retail I'm sure they'll appreciate the savings and I love to make them and it's at very little cost to me.

[wannathird]

I am giving a birthing statue to my midwife. I will give her aprentice 10 % of what i paid the midwife and a necklace.

I will give my doula a necklace.

[Madeleine'smom]

Last homebirth we gave the MW and assistant massage gift certificates. Not sure what we will get this time? Will be looking at the postings for some ideas.

[musemor]

My MW is into ornamental gardening, so we sent her a special orchid. My SIL used the same midwife and she gave the midwife a big basket of veggies from her garden.

[Max'sMama]

I had two midwives and an apprentice at my daughters birth. I gave each a made by me knit and felted bag. Filled with homemade soaps, yarn, patterns and a letter from me about my brith. All are knitters, so I knew a knit item would be a hit and the stuff inside just went with it so well. I spent more time than $ and I think each bag and inserts amounted to about $30-$35 dollars. It was worth it and I enjoyed making the bags. So, it was a win-win!

[lachingona1]

I'm looking for a gifdt for my midwife as well and I came upon this site with neat things

http://www.cafepress.com/motherdoulacare

[Kam]

Knit bags and gardening stuff sound great!

Here's another present that keeps giving (and is certain to bring tears to your dear MW's eyes):
https://secure.democracyinaction.org..._page_KEY=2666

[gratefulmum]

I will give my mw some charms for the many pairs of Crocs that she owns. http://www1.jibbitz.com/
They aren't vey expensive, so I feel like I should give her something else instead, but I don't know what. Also I am at a loss for the assistants. She has several apprentices and I am still not sure which one will come to the birth. The main assistant I know well, though and I am still thinking of something for her.

[Elsaraw]

greenthumb3

Dixie?

If I guessed right.. I'm thinking of a present for her.. I won't copy you

[cal195]

I make jam in the summer and fall, and I was thinking that I'd probably give my midwife a basket filled with some homemade jams, maybe a loaf of homemade bread, and... I have been wanting to try soapmaking for while. I have several bottles of really good-smelling essential oils in my cupboard for that purpose. So if I've figured it out by January, some homemade soaps too. Plus maybe a giftcard to Barnes&Noble or something--I guess how much effort and money I spend will at least partly depend on how I feel about her after it's all over. I expect we'll have a wonderful relationship and I'll have a fantastic homebirth and I'll want to spend some $ and time on getting her a gift she'll really like.

Catherine

[HairyArmpits]

Good ideas here!
Hope I'm not spamming, but I make gifts especially for midwives and doulas, and also take custom ideas, so please let me know if I can be of service!

[waiting4it2snow]

I like the idea of doing something like this:
http://shop.thehungersite.com/store/...ctgSource=null

from The Hunger Site

in my midwife's name...