Itty Bitty Baby Tips
HOW CAN I BRING THE HOLIDAYS TO MY BABY?

Many parents of hospitalized preemies struggle with ways to bring the holidays to their babies. Here is a short list of ideas which can brighten your holiday season in the NICU.

1. Find a holiday outfit for you baby to wear. Some baby stores carry holiday outfits, but the best resource is mail-order preemie catalogs. For a Special Baby sells cute ones!

2. You can buy the cute stick on transparent holiday stickers that cling onto the isolette or crib glass. Walmart usually sells these.

3. Bring in a holiday cassette and tape player and play for your baby on low volume

4. Tape a stocking to their bed.

5. Ask if the NICU can arrange for Santa to visit. If he does, be sure to be there to snap photos of the first Santa visit!

6. Plan how you want to spend Christmas with your baby. Some parents like to come during the night and share Christmas Eve. Some like to play Santa, drop off the gifts in the night, and open in the morning. Others like to come in the morning and bring presents with them.

7. Bring in a Christmas ornament to hang in your baby’s isolette. Some favorites... angels, Santas, teddy bears..

8. Buy a Christmas book and bring it to read to your child when you hold him or sit next to her. You can even tape your reading and have the nurses play it when you are not there.

9. Find a holiday gift with special meaning to give to your baby. Some good ideas... a personalized stocking, a first Christmas ornament, something that you want to pass down to them.

10. Be sure to wrap your gifts and take lots of photos of the opening. A good idea is to wrap in cloth or fabric so the rustling of the paper doesn’t startle or overstimulate the baby.

11. If you have to attend family celebrations, take lots of photos or a videotape of your baby for all to see.

12. Invite whomever is close to you to come visit your baby (if possible). They can even share a cup of coffee with you in the cafeteria afterwards!

13. It is always fun to give gifts to family members "from" your baby.

14. To bring a Christmas tree to the hospital, find a mini ornament that can hang in or near their bed.

15. Find a cute Santa stocking for your baby to wear as a cap.

16. Write down in a holiday memory book how special this first holiday is with your baby. Each year record your memories for that holiday.

17. Visit the hospital chapel for holiday services. Have a chaplain come visit your baby on Christmas.

18. Bring a special gift of food from your baby to their nurses. Even a candy bar or Hershey’s kiss is fun!