Hospital Swag

As my due date approaches, I thought it would be fun to prepare a few tokens of appreciation to hand out at the hospital, kind of a modern day cigar. For the past, oh...nine months or so, I've been doing something that is probably not in my best emotional/mental interest (other than eating French fries, peanut butter, and any dessert within a half-mile radius). I've been watching those birthing shows on the Discovery channel. I tell myself I'm "educating myself" but really I think I'm just working myself up into a lather on all the things that can go wrong. Like the epidural not working. The baby gets stuck in the birth canal. You get the drift. My husband just shakes his head at me. (In fact, I've caught him deleting several episodes off of Tivo because they were "too intense.") Anyway, what I've picked up on in these shows is how the labor and delivery nurses are the ones who seem to do most of the work and provide most of the care. The doctor just breezes in when the baby's head is crowning and does his or her thing, but the nurses are the ones who are around to encourage and support and, more importantly, page the anesthesiologist when it's time for drugs. Let's just say I want to have a nice, friendly relationship with my nurses.
One of my favorite gift ideas for someone I may not know very well is a really fun pen. I love these Tornado Retro 51 pens and have given them as gifts many times over the years. They come in all kinds of colors and designs. I actually buy them at a local store (at a better price) and keep them on hand in the gift closet. And they come in a cool metal tube with the motto, "Life's too short to carry an ugly pen."
Since Baby A should arrive in February, I thought a box of Mrs. Field's chocolates might be fun to give as well. I hope the hospital staff will enjoy these. They have such an important job and they affect so many people's lives (when they're at their most vulnerable!) that they deserve to be thanked and appreciated on a daily basis. If anyone deserves a little swag, they do.