Today, Baby Ike is a healthy, active, curious, inquisitive, social, and happy little boy. This certainly helps me to reflect on the first few weeks with some positivity.
Exactly one year ago, Baby Ike underwent surgery and had approximately 10 centimeters of his bowel removed. It was a terrifying experience trusting doctors with our newborn son, just 5 weeks old at the time.
Although he looked pale and groggy when we met him in recovery, it was such a relief to see him, touch him, kiss him, and know that the surgery had been classed by the surgeons as a best-case scenario.
Two weeks earlier, Baby Ike had been in a newborn intensive care unit, known as the Butterfly Ward at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) in Melbourne. Even during a harrowing time of fear, uncertainty, and heartache, there was something that brought us great joy and emotion.
It was this library bag and book that had both been made by Tahlia, another patient in the hospital. When a handful of library bags were delivered to the ward a week before Christmas, Ike’s nurse specifically chose this one for him as she believed he had the traits of a tortoise; although his progress was incredibly slow she knew he would come out of this life hurdle a winner.
These library bags and books had been created specifically for the babies in the Butterfly Ward by older children in the hospital as part of the learning program offered by the RCH Education Institute. I love that the children were given the opportunity to develop a story, create illustrations and learn how to use technology to publish their own books. These items will forever be treasured by Baby Ike and our family. The library bag is already well-used during our library visits. I truly wish we had been able to thank Tahlia personally.
Although our experience wasn’t all smooth sailing, I am thankful every day for the care provided to my Baby Ike by the doctors and nurses at the RCH. As I reflect on Ike’s surgery, I can’t help but shed many tears for the unfortunate children who must undergo any time in a hospital, whether it is for a day stay or for ongoing treatment. I find it heartbreaking to think of seriously ill children who are confined to a bed when other children their age are active and playing.
I wanted to share the importance of this library bag and book for us, and how powerful items like these can be for a child and their family when in hospital.
I wanted to share some ideas with you for creating a care package for children in the hospital. This list of ideas is not definitive, but each item here can be used when confined to a bed and helps a child to use their imagination while providing them with the opportunity to play and create without exerting too much energy.
How to Create a Hospital Care Package:
1. Start by decorating your own library bag (if you can’t sew your own calico bag, you can find them at craft or haberdashery stores). Try:
- Drawing on the bag with fabric markers
- Decorating the bag with fabric paints (freehand or stencils)
- Decorating the bag with fabrics and fabric glue.
- Ironing an image transfer onto the bag
2. Fill your library bag with fun and engaging items. Here are some age-appropriate ideas:
For Babies and Toddlers:
- Picture books are suitable for babies or toddlers.
- Puppet books
- Interactive (e.g. Press Here)
- Easy grip or chunky crayons
- Sketch pads
- Puppets
- Nesting dolls
- Small building blocks (e.g. Little Golden Book Baby Blocks)
- Playdough and cookie cutters ( or make your own playdough gift set to include)
For Pre-schoolers:
- Wordless picture books
- Visual puzzle books
- Joke books
- Interactive books
- Books about hospital
- Non-fiction books on topics of interest
- Activity or coloring books
- Sketch pads
- Crayons or pencils
- Children’s magazines
- Magnetic or travel games
- Homemade games or activities (e.g. story stones or pre-writing practice cards)
- Board games that don’t require too much space to play (E.g. Sleepy Princess or Barrel of Monkeys)
For Children in the Early Years of Primary School:
- Picture books
- Humorous picture books
- Interactive or puzzle books
- Craft or instructional books including materials (e.g. Fabric, cotton thread, and needle). Owl Know How is shown here.
- Activity books
- Tongue-twister books
- Notepads or sketchbooks
- Gel or metallic pens
- Small jigsaw puzzles
- Word games
- Magnetic or travel games
- Children’s magazines
- Homemade games or activities (e.g. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activity Set)
- Magic tricks
For Children in the Middle to Upper Years of Primary School:
- Non-fiction books on topics of interest
- Short story compilations
- Books from series
- Activity or interactive books
- Books that have been adapted into film
- Brain teasers
- Notepads or journals
- Gel or metallic pens
- Magazines
- Magnetic or travel games
- Board games (e.g. Scrabble or Balderdash)
- Postcards or letter-writing sets
- Magic tricks
Purchase the books:
Below you will find affiliate links to the books shown in this post. They are all available through Booktopia.
Remember you can also download our bookplates for free, which are perfect for writing personal messages inside the books you give as gifts.
