So, a friend of mine gave birth this week to her first baby, and there have been complications, so they are still in the hospital. They were transferred from a hospital with a level 2 NICU to a hospital with a level 3 NICU, I'm guessing it's pretty serious.
They have family visiting from out of town to help, and I've already made a cassarole that I brought over prior to the baby's birth. If they end up having an extended stay, I'd like to offer help, but I know that nebulous "Call me for anything" doesn't work.
If you have been in the position of an extended hospital stay because of a baby in the NICU, what were the things you needed help with outside of those walls? Basically, what can I offer to help with so that they can focus on the care of their baby?
I'm a lurker, but wanted to comment on this one - I read "The Spohrs are Multiplying" blog, and the author and her husband had a preemie who spent time in the NICU, and this is from her blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thespohrsaremultiplying.com/family-and-friends/nicu-eff-ay-que/
Thinking good thoughts for your friends, I'm so sorry anyone ever has to go through that. My heart breaks for them.
A few thoughts, depending on how well you know them and stuff:
ReplyDeleteSnack bags for the people at the hospital;
Communication is hard -- lots of people want to know what is going on and keeping people updated is exhausting. You'd have to know them well to fill this role, but offering to field emails or phone calls;
How close/ far are they from the hospital? Depending on who is helping them, and their comfort with the local area and with driving around, there are lots of potential driving errands. My relatives were not all comforatable driving in the city between the hospital and my place, so getting clean clothes to and from home, dropping off groceries for the family members who are helping, or taking the helping family to the nearest grocery store so they don't have to find it themselves.
I'll think about more.
http://actualjenny.com/nicu-2/
ReplyDeleteCheck out this blog. This lady had triplets in the nicu and wrote a guide for other nicu parents as well as friends and family. Good luck to you and your friends! You are a great friend to want to help them like this. Suzanne
Do they have pets? I know when Will was in the NICU it was tough because someone always had to be home in the morning and at night to take feed the dogs and let them out for a bit. I don't know what else to suggest. Having a baby in the NICU is awful. Bringing food to them is a huge thing. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.
ReplyDeleteThis probably sounds silly, but having someone do a load or two of laundry once in a while would have been a huge help. I agree with the snack bags, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry they have to deal with this. Having a baby in the NICU is really hard.