Blog
Hand to Hold Welcomes New Board Leadership
Hand to Hold is proud to announce and celebrate our new Board leadership team as we step into this next chapter of service and impact. As of January 1, Dr. Eva Wheatley has assumed the role of Board President, alongside newly appointed officers Machel Delange as...
Announcing the 2025 NICU Hero Award Winners
We are proud to announce the Hand to Hold NICU Hero Award winners for 2025! The Hand to Hold NICU Hero award recognizes NICU Professionals and NICU Units that deliver outstanding Family Centered Care. NICU Heroes encourage and support the NICU parent’s role as a...
Answering Your Child’s Questions About a Sibling in the NICU
Having a baby in the NICU is a difficult time in any parent’s life. Trying to balance your need to be with your baby in the NICU with responsibilities at home and work is challenging under the best circumstances. But when you have other young children at home,...
Navigating the NICU When You Have Older Children at Home
Having a baby in the NICU is painful. There is a special, additional, layer of hell when you also have other children at home.
My daughter, Lorelei, had just turned five when her brother was born two months early. She lost her only child status in grand fashion.
There is no way to protect your older children from the situation completely, but there are ways to help them through.
Supporting Siblings During a NICU Stay
Navigating the world of the NICU while caring for other children is hard. A NICU stay impacts the entire family, especially the siblings waiting at home who need reassurance, information and routine to feel secure. As the parent, there is grief in missing out on...
Strength Over Time: Enduring a Long NICU Stay
by Jordan Washington Patience in life ebbs and flows. It’s never completely consistent. Some days you have plenty, sometimes you may have just enough or none at all. A long NICU stay takes a toll on you where you start to feel like patience is nonexistent. You want...
Hand to Hold Letter Series: To the Parent Navigating a High-Risk Pregnancy
Dear parents navigating a high-risk pregnancy, Navigating a high-risk pregnancy can feel overwhelming and scary. It can feel like walking a tightrope – delicate, nerve-wracking, and often isolating. The medical complexities are just one piece of the...
Advocacy and Shared Decision-Making in the NICU
This article is sponsored by Prolacta Bioscience. At 11 weeks pregnant, Alexis and Keyon received news that turned their world upside down: their baby, Synclair, had developed an omphalocele, a rare congenital condition where the intestines and, in some cases,...
I’m Special Too: How to Support Siblings When Your Baby Is in the NICU
Having a baby in the hospital NICU is a very stressful time for all members of a family, including big brothers and sisters. Siblings often feel confused, anxious, or even left out during a NICU stay. Children look to adults for reassurance, so it’s important to...
Adoption, Foster Care & the NICU: Parent Perspectives Panel
In our recent NICU Parent Perspectives parent panel, we discuss the unique experiences of adoptive and foster parents navigating a NICU stay. Our panelists offered heartfelt stories, practical advice, and powerful reflections on the challenges and triumphs of...
Meet the Winners of the 2025 NICU Grad Then & Now Photo Contest!
The results are in! We’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 NICU Grad Then & Now Photo Contest. We received more than 970 entries of NICU grads of all ages into this year's contest! These incredible NICU grads have a story to tell and are living...