A NICU stay is something that a parent never expects to happen to them until it does.
This is my list of things to bring to the NICU. Even though your NICU stay may happen immediately I made this list to help you out and be prepared. My daughter stayed in the NICU for 15 days, but I was a patient myself for 6 of those days. The days in the NICU are long. Depending on the condition of your baby, you may be limited on what you can do.
We were lucky.
Most of the day, when nurses would allow us to hold her, my husband and I would take turns on who held her and fed her. She was so small that we needed a pillow underneath our arms to ensure we weren’t accidentally cut off her ability to breathe.
In between participating in care, pumping/nursing (if that’s what you choose to do), going to work/school, or going home to take care of yourself or other children, there is a lot of time to fill up.
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Here’s a list of the top 10 things to bring to the NICU during your baby’s stay.
- Feeding
You want to make sure you bring whatever you need to feed your baby with. While Cora was in the NICU I exclusively pumped and supplemented with high-calorie formula and her feedings were fortified. To do this I needed to bring my pump with me, all the pump parts, containers to fill with the milk, and labels. The NICU provided me with the containers they wanted to be filled with the pumped milk and label that I put all them with my information.
- Clothes from Home
The NICU nurses at the hospital my daughter was at made hats for all the babies. Even if the baby can’t keep a stable temperature (which is a requirement to wear clothes) they can wear hats. It was such a sweet gesture to me and I still have the hats saved, but I wanted my daughter to have something that I bought for her. I brought 2 hats in and I put them on her. It made me feel better and develop some sort of connection to her. The nurses LOVED them as well.
- Laptop
While I was waiting to be discharged in the Mother-Baby Unit, my favorite day nurse told me that I needed to bring in my laptop so I could watch movies and TV shows. She said that preemies seem to grow slow and I needed something to entertain me while I waited for her to grow. The hospital had free internet that I could use and I had an outlet close to my hair that I would plug it in.
- Phone
Make sure to remember your phone because you will use it to update your family and friends. You also will use it to take all the pictures of every milestone. You’ll want to remember the first bottle your preemie had without an ng tube or the day they got off oxygen. You also want to make sure you take your “dollar bill” picture. This is a picture of your baby next to an object that is the same size as them.
Our dollar bill picture was of a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal because that is how big she was at birth. A nurse told us taking a picture like this was a good way for us to measure how she grew. I still try and take the dollar bill picture every 2-4 weeks to compare her growth.
- Books
Books for you and baby. Again, you will have SO MUCH time. Books are a good way to pass the time when watching a screen is getting old. Reading children’s books to your baby is another way to bond. I didn’t do this but I have heard of others doing this with their children. Cora’s current favorite book is
- Diaper bag/backpack
You need a place to store everything you need. Both my husband and I carried a diaper bag. Mine was full of baby stuff and he was our stuff (electronics, books, snacks). It was so easy to have everything in one place and easy to carry. This one is very similar to the one I use. I love it.
- Video Camera
My husband’s father’s day/birthday gift was a video camera. The camera didn’t show up until a week after she was born (wasn’t expecting her that early). But once we got it, we used it. It was great to record the area we spent our first 2 weeks as a family in and someday, Cora will watch it and see where she was.
- Notebook
You will have questions. Tons of them. This is a good place to record them and to write down what nurses and doctors tell you. Our daughter had rotating nurses and they would also do the bedside report at shift change to tell you and new nurses about the baby’s progress. She also had her peds (that we chose) and then a neonatologist that came once a week to check on her. You want a place to record questions you have for when her doctor or nurse comes by.
- Baby Book
This is a great way to record all the progress. There are some preemie-specific baby books that I wish I had, but I got a typical baby book. At the link below is a preemie-specific baby book that I wish I got. I also didn’t get this book until several months after she was born. I wish I was more prepared and got it ahead of time so I could record those moments.
- Food
Hospital food is going to get really gross and old. Before she was born we went shopping for snacks for my husband because I would be fed by the hospital (while inpatient). It was nice to have some comfort food like chips or healthy food to eat.
I hope this list gave you more insight on how what to bring with you when you visit your baby in the NICU. Having a baby in the NICU is rough but the items in this list should help it not be so hard.