It's not the size of the [fighter] in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the [fighter]. - Mark Twain
I knew babies could spend time in what is called Neonatal ICU, but I never knew the depths of it until this year. Vin's babies were born in a birthing center; under weight with breathing problems. They were allowed to choose which hospital they were allowed to pick for NICU. After it was all said and done, they still would pick The Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. This post today is Vin, my fiance, and his experience with NICU.
1. Do not settle. You are the parent, you pick where your child goes! There was three options and we chose Monroe and never looked back. It was a decision we didn't take lightly. The fact that we were able to sleep in the room with the babies was the deciding factor. We had read some of the accounts where the parents couldn't stay with their babies 24/7. We did, we had all private NICU room that was just us. We had a bed, chair, and a tv for us. We had a curtain that would separate us from the "room."
2. Check out 4 to Adore's blog. This blog helped us in so many ways! The biggest thing that it helped with was What to Bring to the NICU. They also have a post about what you can get if you have two or more babies at once. We loved having both of these knowledge posts at our finger tips. I think we would have been really lost without this website!
3. Personalize the space. We decorated with black and white photos of family members. We had a playlist that was songs just for the NICU. We loved it. We had it playing all the time. We were really glad because we had nurses tell us that music helps the grow. We also loved bringing blankets from home to the hospital so the babies would have the smell. But we also took the blankets after the babies had slept on them, and let the pups smell them so they would be aware of the babies' scent when we brought them home.
4. Be open and honest, Ask Question, and learn the team. If you feel like something isn't right say so. If you feel like you are being mistreated ask, and speak up. Get to know the nurses, the social worker, and doctors. Be sure to be there with doctor do the rounds they do. The nurses ended up gifting us cookie pop bears that looked like them. We had a preferred nurse list, along with the lactation consultant. Our team became family, and I think it's because of our team that the babies went home after only one month in the NICU.
5. Memories and group. I know at the moment you feel like you don't want to remember this and you want to wish away the time until you can go home. Don't do that. It's still your child growing before your eyes. We had hand prints and feet print made one every week. Special pictures were taken of the babies and us. We even did the milestone cards of things like; "Our first twin snuggle." "Wire Free" "My First Outfit" and those pictures with those cards are things that I really cherish already to see just have far we have come. But all of this isn't easy without a support group. However, you get a support group; church, Facebook, friends, college, etc. Carolina had a Facebook group for breastfeeding preemies and they really helped her.
Dates to remember the month of September:
September 26 - NICU Remembrance Day: Light a candle, or say a prayer for the families that NICU visit didn't end in a happy homecoming. It's rarely mentioned online, but it does happen that some babies do not make it out of NICU. Remember their families as they move forward from the loss.
September 27 - NICU Giving Day: Donate to your local NICU. Donate blankets, gas cards, gift cards. Whatever you can spare or want to give to the families that will be facing this chapter of their lives. It will mean the world to them. We had someone donate an entire Chickfila meal to us and we were absolutely shock. We gave that present back on the day we left to a family that had jst arrived.
September 28 - NICU Staff Recognition Day: We enjoyed sending them goodie baskets, or edible arrangements. The staff truly makes up the power of the NICU. They have other lives beside helping in the hospital. Some have families with their own babies, others have second jobs and they have bad things happen to them too. Treat them like the humans they are.
Did you or someone you know have an experience with NICU? How long was the stay for?
1. Do not settle. You are the parent, you pick where your child goes! There was three options and we chose Monroe and never looked back. It was a decision we didn't take lightly. The fact that we were able to sleep in the room with the babies was the deciding factor. We had read some of the accounts where the parents couldn't stay with their babies 24/7. We did, we had all private NICU room that was just us. We had a bed, chair, and a tv for us. We had a curtain that would separate us from the "room."
2. Check out 4 to Adore's blog. This blog helped us in so many ways! The biggest thing that it helped with was What to Bring to the NICU. They also have a post about what you can get if you have two or more babies at once. We loved having both of these knowledge posts at our finger tips. I think we would have been really lost without this website!
3. Personalize the space. We decorated with black and white photos of family members. We had a playlist that was songs just for the NICU. We loved it. We had it playing all the time. We were really glad because we had nurses tell us that music helps the grow. We also loved bringing blankets from home to the hospital so the babies would have the smell. But we also took the blankets after the babies had slept on them, and let the pups smell them so they would be aware of the babies' scent when we brought them home.
4. Be open and honest, Ask Question, and learn the team. If you feel like something isn't right say so. If you feel like you are being mistreated ask, and speak up. Get to know the nurses, the social worker, and doctors. Be sure to be there with doctor do the rounds they do. The nurses ended up gifting us cookie pop bears that looked like them. We had a preferred nurse list, along with the lactation consultant. Our team became family, and I think it's because of our team that the babies went home after only one month in the NICU.
5. Memories and group. I know at the moment you feel like you don't want to remember this and you want to wish away the time until you can go home. Don't do that. It's still your child growing before your eyes. We had hand prints and feet print made one every week. Special pictures were taken of the babies and us. We even did the milestone cards of things like; "Our first twin snuggle." "Wire Free" "My First Outfit" and those pictures with those cards are things that I really cherish already to see just have far we have come. But all of this isn't easy without a support group. However, you get a support group; church, Facebook, friends, college, etc. Carolina had a Facebook group for breastfeeding preemies and they really helped her.
Dates to remember the month of September:
September 26 - NICU Remembrance Day: Light a candle, or say a prayer for the families that NICU visit didn't end in a happy homecoming. It's rarely mentioned online, but it does happen that some babies do not make it out of NICU. Remember their families as they move forward from the loss.
September 27 - NICU Giving Day: Donate to your local NICU. Donate blankets, gas cards, gift cards. Whatever you can spare or want to give to the families that will be facing this chapter of their lives. It will mean the world to them. We had someone donate an entire Chickfila meal to us and we were absolutely shock. We gave that present back on the day we left to a family that had jst arrived.
September 28 - NICU Staff Recognition Day: We enjoyed sending them goodie baskets, or edible arrangements. The staff truly makes up the power of the NICU. They have other lives beside helping in the hospital. Some have families with their own babies, others have second jobs and they have bad things happen to them too. Treat them like the humans they are.
Did you or someone you know have an experience with NICU? How long was the stay for?
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