One of our favorite days of the year is coming in just over a week! Gwyneth will be turning four! And, while we love birthday parties and cake and ice cream, our favorite part about this grand day is what we like to call "reverse gifting".
For the past two years for Gwyneth's birthday we've asked our friends and family to forgo any birthday gifts for Gwyneth (really, she has everything a four year old could want/need already) and instead purchase new or gently used preemie clothes for us to deliver to the Intensive Care Nurseries at DUKE and CHKD (the two hospitals that have taken such great care of Gwyneth for us). Over the past three years we've delivered nearly 100 gift bags full of clothes.
Gwyneth is now old enough to begin to understand what we're doing, and we're looking forward to continuing this for many years to come. It's a lot of fun and a great way to teach our daughter that her special day doesn't have to be all about her. Collecting and delivering these gifts has truly become one of the highlights of our year.
We learned from our experience at Duke that every little detail for a family of a newborn preemie can be a huge mountain of stress, including (maybe, especially, considering how hard they are to find) finding preemie clothes. Finding clothes tiny enough to fit a 4lb baby can be very difficult.
Here is a blog comment from a mother who received one the gift bags:
I just wanted to say Thank You! I arrived at the duke NICU today and received our onesie and your letter!! My son keylan, was born 3 wks ago @ 24 wks and weighing 1 lb 8 oz. Your gift really touched my heart. With everything going on, I haven't even thought about clothes. At times I feel so alone, to know their are people that care is truly a blessing!! Christy
Last year, we extended the invitation for our "reverse gifting" celebration of Gwyneth's birthday to our blog readers, and we had several people respond! We'd like to again invite you to participate if you want to. Gwyneth's birthday party isn't going to take place for a few more weeks, which means we have plenty of time to gather as many preemie clothes as possible.
If you would like to celebrate Gwyneth's 4th birthday with us in this way, here are three ways to do it:
1. Donate new or gently used preemie clothes to your nearest hospital Infant Care Nursery in honor of Gwyneth and/or any other preemie that has blessed your life.
2. Mail new or gently used preemie clothes to us. We'll deliver them for you to Duke and/or CHKD. (see mailing address and instructions below)
3. Mail or Email gift cards to us from either BabiesRUs or Target and we'll do the shopping for you. (see email and instructions below)
Thank you so much for considering joining us as we bless other preemie families in celebration of our daughter's birth and life!
Nate
Mail to:
Nathan Lawrenson
105 W. Soundside Rd. (for UPS)
PO Box 302 (for all other)
Nags Head, NC 27959
Click Here for My Email
We have had the most success shopping for preemie clothes at BabiesRUs and Target. You can also find lots of preemie clothes at Online Retailers.
E-GiftCards can be purchased at BabiesRUs Here and Target Here.
Please, keep clothes unwrapped (as in, don't wrap them in wrapping paper). The hospital prefers for gifts to be unwrapped so there are no surprises...we'll make sure to put them in gift bags for you when we deliver them. Also, feel free to include a personal note to the preemie family(s) with your gift.
We'll be accepting donations until the end of January. If you have any questions, please email or leave me a comment. Thanks!
6 comments:
I didn't realise Gwyneth had been a patient at CHKD, they've treated my friend's son in the last year. Is there a way to pay for gift cards and have them sent to you directly?
@Laura
Gwyneth has been seen at CHKD for a few different things, and has had her eye and ear tube surgeries there.
You can use the address I posted to send gift cards if you'd like.
This is an amazing way to give back. We did't have preemies, but I have two who get care at our local Children's Hospital and all they do there is amazing for the kids and families! We will be looking for teeny clothes and donating them in honor of Gwyneth and showing our kids another way to give back to the community. Such a great idea :)
May I repost this on Facebook? I would like to get the word out to everyone about what you are doing.
Each of our 4 sons were preemies, but big babies for preemies except our 2nd son who was barely 3lbs at 36wks. He will be turning 13 in April and doing okay considering he was also born with VACTERLS Association.
I think we will collect preemie clothes to donate to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Glendale Adventist Medical Center where Sean was and is taken care of.
@Shelly
Feel Free to pass along to others.
Would I be able to donate at the end of January via Paypal?
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