My answer for the best gift for a baby in the NICU: Dr. Suess's "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" It's the book my friend Wendy brought while Max was in the NICU. I needed hope. I needed something to do as Max lay in the incubator and I sat beside him, despairing and feeling helpless.
The first time I read the book to Max, speaking through the holes on the side of the plastic box that held him, I could hardly get the words out because I was crying. But I forced myself, in a whisper:
Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!
After that, I read the book to Max a couple of times a day during the two weeks he was at the hospital. Once, I read it so enthusiastically that a nurse told me to keep it down and I said, "So I guess you don't want me to bring a mic next time?" That made both of us smile. Laughing felt good.
What meaningful/helpful gifts did you get while your child was in the NICU?
The first time I read the book to Max, speaking through the holes on the side of the plastic box that held him, I could hardly get the words out because I was crying. But I forced myself, in a whisper:
Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!
After that, I read the book to Max a couple of times a day during the two weeks he was at the hospital. Once, I read it so enthusiastically that a nurse told me to keep it down and I said, "So I guess you don't want me to bring a mic next time?" That made both of us smile. Laughing felt good.
What meaningful/helpful gifts did you get while your child was in the NICU?
