Blog
Prematurity Awareness Month: How to Get Involved
November marks Prematurity Awareness Month, an opportunity to reflect on the approximately 1 in 10 babies born preterm each year and what we can do to prevent it. This year, Hand to Hold is marking the occasion with our #TeenyPreemie campaign, an opportunity for...
Give Strength This Giving Tuesday
#GivingTuesday is TOMORROW! Hand to Hold has set a huge goal of raising $5,000 in ONE day, and we need your help!
The Power of Peer Support in the NICU
Forming relationships in the NICU isn’t easy. Families sometimes aren’t allowed to speak with one another in the unit, only in the hallways. They want to respect each other’s privacy and hesitate to ask too many questions. And sometimes parents don’t have the...
They Understood Everything I was Feeling – the Ibarra-Chavez Family Story
Liam had many ups and downs. I made sure to pump, even when I was tired. I cried many times while connected to the pump, sad because I didn’t have the opportunity to physically breastfeed my baby. I desperately wanted that bond that I had with my first baby each time I would breastfeed him. I wanted to hold him and cuddle him in my arms all day. But having a baby in the NICU makes it hard to establish that bond, because you are not able to hold him or even do simple things like feed, burp or bathe your baby.
I Could Survive This – The Sullivan Family Story
When I woke up from the anesthesia, I didn’t feel like a mom, but I also didn’t feel pregnant anymore. I just felt void. I was shown pictures of my sweet baby girl and provided a link so that I could watch her on a live feed from the NICU, but it still seemed surreal.
The NICU Support I Wish I’d Had – Kayleon’s Story
I gave birth to my beautiful little lady at 29 weeks gestation, and we spent 43 days in the NICU. Fortunately, my daughter did not face any complications, diagnoses or surgeries. However, as many NICU parents can attest, the NICU experience is traumatic regardless...
Staff Spotlight: E-Commerce Coordinator Sara Schulz
Meet Sara Schulz, our Senior E-Commerce Coordinator here at Hand to Hold. Sara originally came to Hand to Hold as a volunteer and now combines her enthusiasm for spreadsheets and helping people as our E-Commerce Coordinator.
Tell the Story of Your Grief
There is no language to adequately describe the experience of losing a pregnancy or an infant. Our culture often hopelessly unaware of the grief experience. Neonatal death, stillbirth, and pregnancy loss are parts of life many don't want to acknowledge. If you have...
The First Bath at Home After NICU
The first bath at home after a NICU stay may feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. I have completed two first-time baths at home after NICU stays. My first son, Harrison, was born at 32 weeks, weighing 2 pounds, 12 ounces, and spent 34 days in the NICU. My second son, Harland, was born at 28 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces, and spent 293 days in the NICU.
Introducing the Beyond the NICU Podcast!
Introducing Beyond the NICU, a podcast for families in the days, weeks, months and even years after a NICU stay. Because we all know the journey doesn't end when you leave the NICU.
Celebrating Neonatal Nurses Week
September 9 - 15 is Neonatal Nurses Week! Established in 2000 by the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), members of the neonatal community use this time to honor their nurse colleagues and show their pride in being a neonatal nurse. For NICU parents, it's a time to honor and celebrate the nurses who not only cared for our babies, but who cared for us as NICU parents and the entire NICU family.