Blog
Run a Virtual 5K with Team Hand to Hold
We get it - getting out early on a cold February morning isn't for everyone. That's why Hand to Hold is introducing our first ever Team Hand to Hold Virtual 5K, a fun, interactive and flexible opportunity for even more people to get involved and run on behalf of NICU...
Pregnancy After a Preemie
People often ask me how it feels to be pregnant after a preemie, and honestly, sometimes it’s surreal. You see three and a half years ago, having another baby was far from our minds. I had given birth to our son Jaxson at 22 weeks, 6 days, and we endured the NICU...
Storms End
“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…” Well, my guess is that if you’re reading this blog, your journey to that baby in a carriage hasn’t been the childhood rhyme you pictured. When we suddenly realized we were pregnant, years before we intended to be...
Tips for Enduring Quarantine and Isolation During RSV Season
Isolation. Quarantine. While NICU parents are thrilled to have their babies home, life is not necessarily back to normal. If you come home close to or during cold, flu and RSV season, you're likely facing these two words - isolation and quarantine - and looking...
Our First Year Home With Our Preemie
Our story Our daughter was born at 26 weeks gestation weighing only 1lb 8oz. due to severe preeclampsia. As soon as she was born, I remember asking, “When is she coming home?” and the countdown began. Most babies come home around their due date, which in our case...
2018: The Year in Review
It's been quite an exciting year here at Hand to Hold! As we reflect on our accomplishments of the past year, we look forward to serving more NICU families in 2019. Here are some of the highlights from the past year. In February we participated once again in the...
A Holiday Message from Kelli Kelley
“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” James Cash Penney When I first founded Hand to Hold, I was the only employee. I spoke with the NICU staff and implored them to encourage NICU parents to contact me if they needed...
A Family’s First Christmas in the Hospital from a Dad’s Perspective
by Charles George I remember our first Christmas with our son, Thomas. It was December 2012. Neither my wife nor myself anticipated being in the hospital, over an hour away from our home, with our son on Christmas day. Thomas was born at the University of Virginia...
Gotcha Day! Celebrating Our Micropreemies’ Arrival Home
Birth day: a day to celebrate the birth of your child Gotcha day: a day to celebrate taking your child home; i.e. “getting them” Some of us don’t leave the hospital three - five days after giving birth with typically eating, breathing, growing babies. Yet, many of...
Stay Healthy! Tips for Visiting the Pediatrician with Preemies or NICU Grads
by Jenna Maxfield Twinkle lights adorn houses; mistletoe hangs from doorways. It must be the holidays, but that also means it’s cold, flu and RSV season. While there are many precautions parents can take to protect their NICU graduates from contracting any...
Book Review: Twin to Twin: From High-Risk Pregnancy to Happy Family
For those planning a family, the news of a pregnancy can fill parents-to-be with excitement and maybe a little uncertainty. For those who have struggled with infertility, it can be an overwhelming mixture of emotions ranging from elation to terror. Author Crystal...