Hand to Hold's official blog
One of the biggest lessons I have learned from having a preemie, our NICU stay, and even now at home is to have patience. Patience is something I have never really had but having preemies has definitely changed that. When I got pregnant with the girls I wasn’t really worried or had a care besides [...]
This question echoed in my mind. In the days after my daughter’s premature birth, I often wondered if I could call myself a mother. It sounds a little silly now, but back then it was a very real question. I was unable to do motherly things like breast feed and snuggle my newborn or even [...]
From the moment I first laid eyes on my tiny one pounder baby girl, I wrestled with many emotions that caused me to question whether or not I deserved to be a mom. Of course, I did everything ‘right’. I took prenatals, ate right, and followed the doctor’s instructions when she put me on hospital [...]
Hand to Hold, a national NICU parent support nonprofit, hosted a FB Chat on April 30, 2013 with Child Life Specialist Julie May of Dell Children’s Medical Center who facilitated a discussion on ways to care for siblings during and after a baby’s NICU stay. This is an archive of that chat session. [Read more]
I pushed the elevator button for the 7th floor. The doors opened, we stepped off and started the familiar walk past the waiting area of balloons and flowers. We didn’t need to stop at the receptionist desk, they knew us. We stopped giving our parent code two months ago. We did not have to show our hospital bracelets. The [...]
As our son Jayden closes in on three, I have learned so much as the parent of a former preemie. We have seen all sorts of ups and downs, laughter and tears, milestones and obstacles, and I wouldn’t trade any of it to do it over. When I reflect on where we started and where [...]
When you have a traumatic event in your life, you will feel a variety of feelings. It is no different when you have a baby in the NICU. For my wife and I, we felt the entire gamut of feelings. There was fear, anger, sadness, uncertainty, with a little bit of surprise and joy sprinkled [...]
If you’re like me, the mention of the tiny, three letter word, flu, can cause your palms to sweat, your stomach to sink and in the worst of moments, your knees to buckle. The latter happened to me a few years back when the entire country was in pure panic over the Swine Flu. It [...]
A Pound of Hope is the story of 24-weeker twins, Aidan and Ethan, as told by Michele Munro Kemper (Nana) and Jennifer Kemper Sinconis (Mama). Michele and Jennifer tell the story as it was noted and journaled during the twins’ NICU stay and after. Michele began the journal with only paper towels and a pen [...]
Through my website www.babieswithnec.com, I network with parents every week. With every story submission I walk down the memories of Caitlyn passing and feel the pain of the parent writing the story. I follow up with them when I publish the story online and, in some cases, our communication continues for months. Recently, I read [...]
Hand to Hold is a nonprofit 501(c)3 parent support organization and information and resources provided here do not intend to take the place of the relationship between a patient and personal physician.