MetaChat - Gift ideas for a creative friend stuck in the hospital?

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21 March 2007

Gift ideas for a creative friend stuck in the hospital? One of my best friends is pregnant, and she isn't due for 5 weeks... But, her water broke today and now she's stuck in the hospital until the baby (which, of course, the doctors are trying to keep inside her as long as possible) is born. She's an elementary school art teacher, and one of the most energetic and creative people I know. I think she's already going stir crazy (she's called me three times today), plus she's got 3-year old twins at home and she'll be missing them terribly, which will make her stay in the hospital that much more difficult. So, what to bring to a bedbound artist? →[More:]She's already got any art supply you can think of, but I thought I'd take a stroll around a crafts store to see if I can find anything that she might not already own. I come to you, mechazens, because you're a creative group and at least one of you has been on pregnancy bedrest (although I'm guessing jrossi hasn't been around here much lately) -- any ideas? She's not a reader, so books are out, although I'll resort to magazines if I can't think of anything more original. I would just like to give her something that will temporarily take her mind off being stuck in bed away from her family.

post by: amro at: 18:26 | 12 comments

Does she knit or crochet at all?

posted by fluffy battle kitten 21 March | 18:57

embroidery? puzzles (crossword and jigsaw)?

posted by fluffy battle kitten 21 March | 18:58

No, she doesn't knit or crochet, but the idea of getting her some knitting supplies had crossed my mind, too. She could knit a baby blanket.

posted by amro 21 March | 19:01

I'm here! I'm here! My bedrest was nothing compared to the hospitalized kind! But my sister was in the hospital for a month before delivering my niece, so I'm going to draw on that experience.

The best thing I brought her was, oddly, a backscratcher. Laying in that bed makes you damn itchy and it's hard to reach certain places. She also liked stupid handheld electronic games--the real simple puzzley kind like Simon or Lights Out. And really, really stupid magazines that she normally wouldn't be caught dead purchasing, like The Weekly World News and The Star, as well as the usual light stuff like People and EW. Food was good too--it was pretty much the only decadence she was allowed. (I think I brought her 7 million chocolate-covered pretzels.)

But mostly she just liked visits. The solitude can be maddening.

posted by jrossi4r 21 March | 19:19

jrossi, you are a genius as usual. One backscratcher/electronic game/Us Weekly/junk food gift basket coming up!

posted by amro 21 March | 19:45

Where does one acquire a backscratcher?

posted by amro 21 March | 19:46

Also - how are you? How is baby Charlie and his big sis?

posted by amro 21 March | 19:50

How sweet of you to want to improve her stay. I'm going to nth the suggestions of puzzles, fluff magazines and crosswords/wordsearches/sudoku. Phone calls and visits are awesome. Also, in my experience, some moms have been interested in keeping a journal in the days leading up to the birth, so maybe a small notebook would be an option. Could she do origami? You could get a book from the library. I think that'd be fun to learn, is portable, and you can do so many little characters with it. Any little things from home, too. A picture in a frame, a favorite blanket, her own pillow. These are some of the things I've seen moms utilize during their stays. Hope this helps & best wishes to your friend!

posted by viachicago 21 March | 20:02

Needlepoint? Do you have an Asian gift shop near you? That's something I remember from Beverly Cleary's Fifteen--Stan buying Jane the backscratcher.

posted by brujita 22 March | 00:39

Try an issue of Games Magazine. The last time I was in a hospital for a protracted stay, I really appreciated the Sudoku book, but I got really tired of it. The variety of puzzles in Games is great.

posted by plinth 22 March | 09:09

Back scratchers can usually be found at dollar stores. Which is another idea - just cruise one. You're bound to find some silly/fun stuff for her to occupy herself with.

posted by deborah 22 March | 12:07

I don't think that "with" needs to be there. You're bound to find some silly/fun stuff with which she can occupy herself. That's better grammar. Right?

posted by deborah 22 March | 12:09

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