When I first started thinking about my hospital stay, I knew I also wanted to bring something for my nurses. Nurses in general are some of the hardest working people, but labor and delivery nurses are a whole other breed! The things they have to do for you during your stay, they really deserve a medal. The least you can do is bring them a little pick-me-up to say thank you for everything. Let me show you what I think are the best gifts for your labor and delivery nurses!

I figured a gift bag with a mix of things would be best. That way I could fill it with snacks and different items that I knew they would use either at work or once they got home. I saw some cute ideas on Pinterest that used plastic tumblers as the “bag”. However, that didn’t give me enough room to fill it with everything I wanted to. Actual bags might not be as cute, but they allowed me to give them everything I wanted do.

Thankfully, I had several people I could ask about the number of nurses that you actually see during your stay. The average number was 10 or so. That can also depend on how long your stay ends up being of course. Because I was induced and spent some time down in triage, I actually saw more nurses than I thought and ended up running out of bags. My last two nurses in recovery ended up sharing my last bag but they didn’t mind.

My first stop was the dollar store to stock up on gift bags, filler and ribbons. You could also use the clear party bags as well but I liked the size of these white shopping bags.

The other items I got from the dollar store, were the lotions and face masks. The mini hand sanitizers were left over from my baby shower. And what nurse doesn’t love some sanitizer!

For the snacks I just went to the grocery store and bought a few ten packs of snacks I thought they would enjoy. Something sweet, something salty and some caffeine of course.

So you may be thinking, how do I get all these damn bags to the hospital?! Of course, some people have no idea when they will go into labor and you can’t just leave all those snacks in the car for a few weeks. The best thing you can do is give a family member your house key and have them bring them to the hospital for you. No need to carry them all around when you will also have your overnight bags as well.

Now that we are home, (with a seriously cute babe), I wish I would have made a few more bags. We didn’t realize how many floors we would be staying on and different nurses and doctors we would be seeing having an induction.

Overall, all the nurses and techs that got a gift bag were surprised and very happy. And let me tell you, they deserved way more than some snacks and face masks. I had the most amazing, supportive and understanding nurses. They were seriously amazing. My labor nurse, Beth, and my midwife, Jennifer, really went above and beyond during our time at Winnie Palmer.

Just remember, a little bit of love and appreciation goes a long way. It doesn’t take much to create a little gift for your labor and delivery nurses but it really means a lot to them.

Side note: while you’re making gift bags, make a few extra for your OB and the nurses at their office! I ended up doing a small basket for my doctor, a bag for my ultra sound tech and my regular nurse, and then a large basket for the entire office. After all, I spent a LOT of time there over the last 10 months. Especially at the end having to do weekly NST’s.