My friend Heidi and I were talking this morning, and she asked me about two things I'd never heard of regarding gift-giving when babies are born. I've heard of the "push present" and have some pretty fun ideas, which I will share with Mike soon:) However, does Daddy get a present when the baby is born too? Heidi said some of her friends have bought their husbands gifts as well. I understand that our husbands have been great to put up with support us during pregnancy, but I've never thought about buying Mike a gift. I'm not opposed to it; I've just never heard of it. I don't want Mike to miss out in any of the new daddy fun. Did any of you moms buy your husbands gifts when you had babies?
On to the next gift question... what about hospital nurses? Heidi said a girl in her birthing class asked the nurse what gifts they prefer, and the nurse recommended bringing food. I never really thought about buying anything for the nurses; but again, I'm not opposed to sending Mike or my mom out for snacks to show a great nurse how much I appreciate her help. Has anyone heard of nurse gifts?
On to the next gift question... what about hospital nurses? Heidi said a girl in her birthing class asked the nurse what gifts they prefer, and the nurse recommended bringing food. I never really thought about buying anything for the nurses; but again, I'm not opposed to sending Mike or my mom out for snacks to show a great nurse how much I appreciate her help. Has anyone heard of nurse gifts?
Trent is due in 36 days!! I will be 35 weeks pregnant tomorrow. I only have 5 more days of work before I will be off for Christmas vacation then maternity leave. Here is a picture of my large belly taken this week...
Am I really going to keep getting bigger for 5 more weeks?
14 comments:
I can't wait to see what the concensus is on the gift etiquette. You know me, I just really like to have everything all planned out.:) Also, I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Geez... I feel bad - I didn't buy gifts for my hubby or the nurses!! A gift for your husband might be nice. One of our friends got my husband a 'Dad's Survival Kit' - it was a toolbelt full of baby/diaper supplies so he wouldn't have to carry the frilly diaper bag. It wasn't really a practical gift, but we thought it was funny. And in my case, there were a lot of nurses in and out... if there had been ONE nurse who stayed with me throughout my labor and was awesome, I might have sent my husband out for flowers or a box of chocolates or something.
Enjoy your last few weeks!
Shane got nothing, I got nothing and the nurses sure didn't get anything. I really didn't bond with any nurse since everything happened so fast when we arrived at the hospital and I had a c-section. I have never heard of gifts for the nurses or even for the daddies. I say, get something of Mike if you want. I think getting something for the nurses is extreme. Just my opinion though. I may be totally off base.
Oh if not too much trouble, YES, YES and YES!! :)
I got Keith a tiny book on raising girls to give him after she arrived and I wrote him a letter in the front. Nothing huge.
Being a nurse myself and remembering how thankless people can be after you just wiped their hiny & held the emesis basin for them (sorry if I am grossing yall out)- I buy them gifts. Nurses are so underpaid and underappreciated, yikes I didn't mean to get on my soapbox. :O With Lilly Kate,
I had one primary nurse and two in and out. I got my primary nurse a pedicure. She was Awesome!! With EM, I had a million nurses and I know I sent them food, cannot remember if I ordered pizza or doughnuts. However, a heartfelt thank you is all they desire or even a card with a pic after with the baby makes their days.
April, when I had Carter, I received excellent care in the hospital, so before we left, I got the names of all of the nurses that cared for me. I then wrote them each individually a thank you note to let them know how much their care made a difference to a new mom (who had just had surgery and had no idea what she was doing caring for a child!). Also, I did get Nick something. I got him a pair of cufflinks--one of them is engraved with Carter's initials and one has his birthdate. I thought it might be something cool that he could pass down to Carter at some point.
We didn't do any gifts for anyone!:) But, I think it's a great idea-I did have one nurse who I thought was wonderful-I obviously thanked her a ton for her help and taking care of me, but did not do a gift. Jamie and I aren't big gift people anyway, so we didnt' do anything for each other. Next time I will consider all this though:) Love the ideas!
Okay, my thoughts are the greatest gift for a husband is a wife that takes care of her body for 9+ months (before, during and post child birth) and serves as the designated driver for practically one year - that is a huge gift. Tom gave me a sweet watch with the twins and I think of my family multiple times of the day and will never forget. As for the nurses, we were in the hospital for several weeks as I had every intention to bring muffins or something, but never got around to it. I did take lots of pictures with the NICU staff and did write notes to those special individuals and many made our website, which they loved - I hope this helps!
Oops, no one got gifts! Wes got a precious baby that is named after him! All my nurses were great but none really stood out to me. I like Ashleigh's idea about sending pizza or something. When we go to visit friends in the hospital, Wes always insist on taking the husband a basket of junk food and magazines. Rozi brought this to us in the hospital and it was great.
I don't know anyone that has bought the dad a gift and the only people I know that bring the nurses/staff gifts are people who have babies stay in the NICU for extended periods. We probably had 12 different nurses when we were in the hospital having Lucy. Parents often bring the NICU staff cakes or baked goods when their babies are d/c'd but I wouldn't worry about it with Trent. You have enough shopping to do for Christmas! : )
So, I {definitely} got a "push-present" then Kevin and I {sort of} bought a "shared" gift, but I didn't get the nurses anything...except a big THANK YOU every time I saw one come in/out of my room. I had one nurse during delivery {and she really deserved a gift} but 3 or 4 during after care. If you remember/can think of something during all that craziness, you're not only the best mommy in the world...but the NICEST person EVER!!!! BTW...you are SO stinkin' cute! Don't worry about getting bigger...I actually lost a few pounds the last 2 weeks bc there just wasn't anywhere for anything to go!!
First things first. . .you look fantastic! And you (actually Trent) will get bigger, but it's all for an amazing cause and so worth it. It'll fly off later. As for the gifts, neither Brett nor I bought each other gifts but it's not a bad idea. I have meaning to write a thank you note to my main two nurses at the hospital (one for L&D and one in postpartum) but have yet to do it. This might be my motivation. But the pizza/food idea sounds like a great one!
so so so cute! you look great!
daddy gift? not me. never heard of such!
nurses. no that is something i know about. we don't expect it. most don't hope for it. there are not many given. but it is a remarkable feeling to recieve a gift when we know it was for doing a great job on your special day! food is always a great idea for those long shifts! although, i have a co-worker that got a bikini once. i don't recommend that route though!
oh, and i'd love to hear about your push gift! i did not think to ask or expect one, but i was surprised with a new camera and digital picture frame!
April...you look great!!!
As for gifts...did not get one for Jeff or the nurses. I do think that is a pretty good idea though.
I have gotten presents for each child to commemorate their arrival into our family...they are each small pieces of jewelry that we plan on giving to each child probably when they get married or some other special occasion(i.e. the necklace I got for Samuel...he can give his wife and the girls can keep theirs to wear that day).
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