Gifts for the Hospital Care Team

Aside from packing my own hospital bag, I wanted to prepare some goodies for nurses/Doctors/care team at the hospital. After all, they are such a key part in the labor/delivery and postpartum process – I feel that they certainly deserve some recognition! Is it also an effort to suck up to them so that they like me best? Sure. But at the end of the day, it’s the thought that counts, right?

I wanted to create to big gift baskets for the nurses to share. Initially I had planned one for the L&D team, and one for the postpartum team. Turns out that my hospital has a combined labor and recovery unit so we won’t actually have to switch rooms or anything. The new plan is to bring one basket at the beginning for pre-baby, and the second basket will wait in our car until after baby has arrived, and then we can bring it in. I may have gone completely overboard, but they can always keep the snacks after we leave at the nurses station and share with whomever they please! Everything is non-perishable, so they can enjoy for as long as it lasts.

I made two of the large snack baskets which include:

• Skinny Pop Popcorn
• Trail Mix Packs
• Peanut Butter Crackers
• Cliff Bars
• Assorted Candy (mix of fruity and chocolate)
• Crystal Light Packets that can be added to water bottles for some flavoring
• Assorted Starbucks coffee drinks (cans/bottles)
• La Croix

I also wanted to include some practical items, but these didn’t quite fit in the food bin well, so I found a smaller box in my craft supplies and filled it with:

• Pens
• Chapstick
• Hair Ties
• Hand Lotion
• Gum

I only made one of these and just combined the items I was planning to split between the two bins.

I’m planning to make a little sign for the front of the gift baskets that says something along the lines of: Help Yourselves! Thank you for taking such great care of the Stoops Family!

It might be totally cheesy, and poor Mike will have some much stuff to carry in, but I have had some much free time, and I just enjoy doing little things for others that can brighten their work day, so hopefully they can enjoy!

Laugh Often – Rachel