Blog
Thrown in Deep, Far from the Edge: Emerging as Parents of Micro Preemies
When I was pregnant, I remember reading about classes for new parents-to-be. There were options like Caring for Your Newborn, or Caring for your Newborn Twins, or Breastfeeding 101. I definitely don’t remember any offerings called Caring for your Micro Preemies. Who...
#BornInaHurry: Help Bring Kacey Musgraves to Austin
Help Hand to Hold bring recent Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Kasey Musgraves to Austin! Why Kacey Musgraves? In her hit song "Slow Burn," Musgraves alludes to her own premature delivery: Born in a hurry Always late Haven’t been early since ’88...
Prematurity and the Myth of “It’s Good for Their Immune System”
One thing parents of preemies and NICU babies hear often from well-meaning friends, family and even strangers is, "Don't be so overprotective about germs! It's good for their immune system!" Unfortunately this manner of thinking is dangerous and can put your baby...
Measles Outbreaks: Should Parents Be Concerned?
According to the CDC, from January 1 to February 28, 2019, 206 individual measles cases have been confirmed in 11 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington.1 While many of...
Finding Peace When Life Feels Out of Control
by Karri Friedenberger When something traumatic happens to a person or a family you often hear about them adjusting to their "new normal." One finds their new rhythm in life, adjusting their sails and moving forward. In February 2001 our twin girls, Hanna and...
Connections While Quarantined, Part II: Isolation at Home
As someone who has always been very connected to people – and who regularly connects others to people and resources – I found being a new parent of micro preemies very isolating: hospitalized bed rest, having twins, stopping full time work, spending the first three...
Addressing Unconscious Bias in the NICU
Prematurity does not discriminate. Women of every race, religion and socioeconomic background experience premature birth of their babies every year. But black women in the United States experience disproportionate and unacceptable poor maternal health outcomes. A...
Connections While Quarantined, Part I: Isolation in the NICU
As someone who has always been very connected to people – and who regularly connects others to people and resources – I found being a new parent of micro preemies very isolating: hospitalized bed rest; having twins; stopping full time work; spending the first three...
The Gift of Gratitude
I just assumed that when I was ready to have a baby, I would. I had no reason to believe that getting pregnant would pose any difficulty for me. I was relatively young, healthy and had no untreated medical issues. But I was wrong. Like many other women, pregnancy...
Epigastric Pain in Preeclampsia
by Jenna Maxfield High blood pressure, protein in the urine, swelling and headaches and some of the most commonly-reported symptoms of preeclampsia. But there's one lesser-known symptom that can often get overlooked: epigastric pain. It’s possible that preeclampsia...
Kindness Matters
How do you give back to the people who have helped saved your child’s life, go out of their way to be kind, and help lift you up when you fall? In honor of National Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17, here are some random and creative ways we gave back to...