Blog
We Love Our Volunteers! National Volunteer Week, April 15 – 21
This week is National Volunteer Week! Volunteers are essential to our organization, and Hand to Hold simply could not function effectively without them. Volunteer Peer Mentors provide the backbone for our successful peer support network. Community volunteers assist us...
Celebrate a NICU Mom This Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day can be a very emotional day for NICU parents, parents of preemies, and those who have suffered a loss. Some will be celebrating at home with their newly-discharged baby. Some are years out from their NICU experience, having tucked several Mother’s Days...
Self Care in the NICU
The NICU can feel overwhelming, so much so, that self care goes by the wayside. Here's the thing about self care, we can't take care of our baby/babies if we aren't taking care of ourselves. This doesn't mean we have to do it all ourselves, but it does mean that we...
Navigating Claims and Insurance Companies
There's no doubt that having a baby in the NICU is overwhelming. Adding to the stress can be the mountain of paperwork that starts accruing: insurance claims, explanations of benefits, bills, and more. Preemie mom Kathryn Whitaker shares her best tips for...
Meet the Professional: What Does a Child Life Specialist Do?
Babies who have spent time in the NICU have higher rates of rehospitalization than other infants. Even if your child was only discharged from the NICU a few days or weeks before needing to return to the hospital, you will most likely find yourself in the Pediatric...
I can’t wait for her to walk!
To those wishing for your preemies to crawl and walk, you may also want to wish that: 1. They will feel confident and proud to meet each milestone and not at all embarrassed about the social media postings, videos, and photography we share. 2. They will be able to...
Nourishing Your Premature Baby in the NICU
Advances in perinatal medicine have improved the survival of premature infants born as early as the 23rd week of pregnancy. Preemies weighing less than one pound often survive and even thrive in NICUs across this country. The NICU course can be a long and painful...
What to Expect on Discharge Day
Remember the saying, "Expect the unexpected?" It applies here too. On NICU discharge day. Just like there are processes and procedures while your baby is in the NICU, there are processes and procedures for leaving the NICU. The NICU nurses will not send you home...
Researchers and Parents Working Together Meet Research Milestone
The NICU community is a world in which information and ideas are shared and collaboration is key. Hand to Hold often has the opportunity to work with medical professionals and other organizations on a variety of research studies. One such research study has been...
Reader story: My Little Hero
The following story is from preemie mom Cecily. If you’d like to share your NICU story with us, email leighann@handtohold.org. What were the circumstances surrounding your child’s birth? In 1984, I had a complicated pregnancy, placenta previa, and was on bed rest....
Baby Shower Blues
The day before I delivered my preemie at 29 weeks, via emergency c-section, I was at work, feeling exhausted and uncomfortably swollen. I also had nagging headache that would only get progressively worse throughout the next 24 hours. However, despite my increasing...