Blog
Hand to Hold Letter Series: Navigating a NICU Stay While Caring for Children at Home
Having a baby in the NICU is an emotional whirlwind. It’s a place where time feels frozen, where beeping monitors and tiny bodies become the center of focus. For parents with other children at home, the weight of this experience is even greater. Balancing time,...
Boldly Walking into 2021
“Storms are opportunities for growth, revelation and miracles.” Early in the pandemic, I wrote this quote on a bright orange sticky note and stuck it on my desk by my home computer so I'd see it every day. I don’t remember where I heard it. But it has been a...
The Real Impact of Peer Support in the NICU: Jack & Andrea
When NICU families talk about what helped get them through their NICU stay, the transition to home, and the sometimes tumultuous months that can follow, it's peer support in the NICU - support from other parents who have been down a similar road - that often has...
NICU Parent Perspective: We Have Hope in Whatever Lies Ahead
Before my twin sons were born at 23 weeks, I’d never heard of the NICU. But it was a place I would soon come to know well during our 296-day stay. by Valerie Rodriguez, mom to Cristiano and Cruz My entire pregnancy had been a surprise, but nothing prepared us for...
NICU Parent Perspective: We’re All Learning to Be Fighters
“The first night I said, ‘I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this.’ But I didn’t have a choice.” Tiffany and Darren Allen’s daughter, Kinslee, was born in August of 2020 at just 24 weeks - a terrifying ordeal in any situation, but even more so during a global...
NICU Parent Perspective: I Was Scared to Leave the NICU
I wanted to be the perfect mom. But I also wanted to make sure he wasn't having any more episodes. By Arielle Lucas, Hand to Hold Family Support Specialist and mom to Qingston, born at 27 weeks. On a Thursday I was told my son, Qingston, would be discharged in two...
All About RSV
RSV is one of the most common respiratory infections. Most children have been infected with the virus by the age of two. For most children and adults, contracting RSV isn't a serious issue, with the virus causing mild symptoms that mimic the common cold. In these...
11 Things I’ve Learned in 11 Years of Raising a Micro Preemie
As my son Bryce’s birthday neared, my dad, half accusingly and half curiously, asked, “Hey, what’s going on with Bryce’s birthday party? Aren’t you planning anything?” I hadn’t. And I still wasn’t sure I could. The truth was, I was avoiding it with everything I...
World Prematurity Day: An Interview with Silke Mader
Approximately 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely each year. That amounts to approximately 15 million babies worldwide. Until you had a preemie or knew someone who did, you may not have even been aware of World Prematurity Day, a day to raise awareness of preterm...
Coping with Separation from Your NICU Baby
,., Giving birth to a baby that requires NICU support is never easy. Coping with separation from your NICU baby can be difficult. Whether you are prepared ahead of time for a NICU stay, or one is thrust upon you with an unexpected labor and delivery, there is no...
NICU Parent Perspective: NICU Support Helped Me Realize I Was Not Alone at All
At just 20 weeks, I went in for what I believed was a routine anatomy ultrasound for my baby. My son has always been a goofball, even in the womb, so at this particular scan, he hid all of the important structures the doctor needed to see, and I was ordered to come...