Hand to Hold's Official Blog: Written by Parents for Parents

The Day I Became A NICU Dad

Our 33 week, 3 lbs. 6oz. preemie

My wife had a very normal pregnancy for the first 30 weeks. When she went in for a routine checkup, her blood pressure had skyrocketed. They immediately admitted her and began giving her medicine to get it under control. Unfortunately, I was at work when this happened and was unable to be there for support. She called me at work crying and there was nothing I could do. I felt so guilty and helpless. I just wanted to be there. Luckily, the doctors were able to get her blood pressure under control shortly before I arrived. She spent four days in the hospital and was released on bedrest. Weekly fetal non-stress tests (NST) and biophysicals were a mainstay for the remainder of the pregnancy. Unfortunately, just under 33 weeks she was readmitted to the hospital because doctors had discovered diastolic umbilical artery flow and planned to induce two days later after rounds of steroid shots to help with lung development. That Monday evening, she had her best NST to date, so everything seemed set in stone. [Read more]

Finding Purpose After Infant Loss

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One month ago today would have been, should have been, my sweet daughter Caitlyn’s sixth birthday.  The Easter season is never easy for us, and ironically, shortly after the holiday, I am a part of this website as a guest blogger.  First, I wanted to share some of my story, and the legacy that grew from it. On [...]

Ashley’s Story

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This story was submitted by Ashley, one of our readers. On May 16th 2010 we found out that we were pregnant, we were delighted! My fiancee Dustin was beginning a new job which required him to leave North Dakota and head to Texas for four months but I knew me and baby would be a [...]

The Story of Alayna Marrie

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Thoughtfully submitted by reader’s Marria and Raul. Alayna Marrie was born at 32 weeks in Brandon,Fl., due to my preeclampsia.  All throughout my pregnancy she was a fighter.  I was in and out of the emergency room, for spotting, severe headaches, high blood pressure…till they had to hospitalize me at 30 weeks for preeclampsia and [...]

Guilt, Blame & Jealousy

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When my little one was first born 11 weeks early, I questioned everything about my pregnancy.  What could I have done differently that would have kept my little one from being stuck in the NICU fighting for her life?  Did the doctors overlook something at my previous appointment?  Why was this happening to us?  It [...]

Sarah’s Birth Story

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The following is a story shared by one of our readers.  I appreciate all those who are willing to share their story for the benefit of others.  Thanks Annie! The story of our precious daughter starts with a battle with infertility. After treatments we conceived on our fourth cycle of Clomid. After trying so hard [...]

Sam’s Story

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This is Sam’s story: The day before my baby was born, we went to a routine doctor’s appointment. I was excited. We had just gotten back from our last vacation before our little one arrived, I was feeling better, and my baby bump was finally getting bigger. This was also the day that I was [...]

Interview – Preeclampsia & Gallstones: Part 3

Q.     Did your baby go home on anything? (oxygen, medications, g tube, fortified breastmilk, etc.) A.      An Apnea monitor.  Not fun to carry around or when it would go off.  At first I didn’t mind so much cause it gave me some peace of mind but it only ever went off when it was an [...]

Interview – Preeclampsia & Gallstones: Part 2

Q.     Tell about your baby when he/she was born.  How did you react to seeing your baby for the first time? A.      When I was in labor I said I’d never get pregnant again because I was in hell.  The second I saw my daughter I knew that I could do it again-but it would [...]

Interview – Preeclampsia & Gallstones: Part 1

The following three posts share an interview with a woman who struggled with preeclampsia and gallstones during her first pregnancy. Q.    Tell about any pregnancy complications you experienced and how you dealt with them. A.     My main complications were gallstones and Preeclampsia.  Some days I’m not sure how I dealt with them cause [...]