Kinder Keepsakes provided Preemie Babies 101 with a preemie cap & gown set and a Luvi blanket in exchange for this review.
Graduating from the NICU is a huge milestone for those babies and parents who have had the time to settle in. It’s usually commemorated with photos and maybe personal notes from your favorite nurses and doctors.
Looking back, I don’t have any real mementos to mark our graduation from the NICU. It was a busy day. Our beloved primary nurse had a meeting right before lunch time, so photos were hurriedly taken and hugs were not nearly long enough before we made our exit of our home away from home for the past five weeks.
Aly Porter is the founder of Kinder Keepsakes, an company that creates graduation caps and gowns just for babies, including preemies. Kinder Keepsakes also has hand made stuffed animal blankets, called Luvi blankets. All items are hand made and based on a graduation gown and blanket Aly originally made for her own daughter.
Preemie Caps & Gowns
A former 26-week preemie herself, Aly realizes what a huge milestone graduating from the NICU is for preemies and their caretakers, and how important keepsakes marking these milestones can be. The preemie graduation cap and gown set comes in 8 colors, with a “NICU grad” charm attached to the tassel. Gowns can even be embroidered with baby’s name.
Kinder Keepsakes was kind enough to send me a preemie graduation cap and gown in baby blue, which I donated to my local NICU. My hope is that they’ll pass it on to a family who whose little one has persevered through a long or difficult journey to come home. Or maybe they’ll keep in on hand, so many more babies can have their picture taken in it on their graduation day.
Luvi Blankets
Kinder Keepsakes also creates one of a kind Luvi blankets, adorable stuffed animals with customizable coordinating colors. The colorful fabrics are vibrant and oh so soft, perfect for that favorite toy it’s sure to become for many children.
Kinder Keepsakes provided me with this adorable monkey Luvi blanket, which I was able to give as a gift to one of my fellow Hand to Hold staff members, who just had a baby boy, but I now have a running list of people I want to give this blanket to as a gift.
Project NICU Grad
I can’t talk about Kinder Keepsakes without mentioning Project NICU Grad. Because she is a former preemie, Aly holds the NICU community near and dear to her heart, and Project NICU Grad is her way of giving back. Once a quarter, Kinder Keepsakes will donate a cap and gown set to a hospital NICU to a family in need. The gown comes with a diploma, where parents and NICU staff can sign their names and personalize with baby’s hand or foot print.
Start making memories
As a way of saying thank you, Kinder Keepsakes is offering our readers a 15% discount off of anything in their shop. Just use the code HANDTOHOLD15. The coupon code is good through December 2015, just in time for Christmas!
If you know a family who is currently on their NICU journey or a baby who would love a special, customized keepsake, keep Kinder Keepsakes in mind.