Angel Baby Butterfly Release In College Station, Tx - In Honor Of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

October 22nd, 2016
Angel Event from 11:30 - 12:00

Tiffany Park, Bryan Tx

October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month and Together We Honor Our Angels.

You are invited to honor your baby with us at this very special event

This is a very special ceremony honoring our tiny angels. October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. In Bryan College Station we celebrate the lives of babies who were only with us here for a short time, by releasing a butterfly. You and your family are invited if you have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss in your life.

Prior to the butterfly release a community hospital chaplain will speak and lead us in a prayer.

The release of the butterflies will commence our event.

If you plan to attend this event in honor of your angel please RSVP by calling/texing (979)635-0825. Include your baby's name and number of people who will be attending in support with you. You are also encouraged to bring handmade candles, create special t-shirts, and invite your friends and family to attend with you. 

In the folklore of some Native American tribes, the butterfly means change or balance and many believe they bring good luck. The Papago tribe believed that if you catch a butterfly and whisper your secrets to them; the butterfly unable to make a sound, would carry the secret to the great spirits. The spirits greatful that the butterfly was set free would bestow the wish upon the person who made it. This is one reason butterfly releases are so popular today.

In Japan, a butterfly is said to be the personification of a person's soul; whether they be living, dying, or dead. Many cultures view the butterfly as rebirth or renewal.

These representations can be important concepts for an angel family after experiencing the loss of a child. The butterfly to one family may mean a child's soul coming back to visit them while another may view the butterfly as a path for moving on within their "new life" or as a welcoming sign of the birth of another child. With each butterfly released, the individual places their hopes and dreams and deepest desires with the butterfly as they let it go hoping the butterfly carries them to our own personal "Great Spirit".

Why Support Preemie Prints?

Our Mission Is To Share Hope With NICU families &

We Can't Do It Without YOU!!

This is our third year of operating in the Brazos Valley and beyond. Our mission is to support NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) families who have babies born prematurely or critically ill, as well as those who who've had a pregnancy or infant loss. We call these babies our "angel babies", and we know they are with us. 

With an amazing team of volunteers and through the help of generous donors, we have been able to offer a variety of support programs in the last three years. These programs have helped to support hundreds of NICU families. Our programs range from our national charitable photography outreach to our local Brazos Valley support programs where we host monthly NICU support meetings at our local hospitals - St. Joseph's and The College Station Medical Center. We have recently partnered with the newest NICU in College Station - Scott & White Hospital where we will begin hosting meetings soon. When you visit the new neonatal intensive care unit at Scott & White you will see our inspiring NICU Wall Of Hope where Preemie Prints pictures of NICU graduates will hang to "share hope" with current NICU families. Our Houston, Tx chapter also just started hosting NICU support meetings for Houston families. We work with our local hospitals to support families while they journey through the difficult experience of having a baby in the hospital. 

Our sewing division regularly donates handmade and other items to our local NICUs and their families. We have an amazing group of volunteers making tiny preemie outfits, crocheting little hats, and stuffing adorable giraffes - all in an effort to "share hope" with NICU families. We receive many donations from local & national donors, as well as businesses, and we are thankful for their help. Every single donated item shares hope with a family. It reminds them they are not alone. 

In addition to our amazing team of photography volunteers who are sharing hope with families across the nation; nationally we offer online support. We do this through private NICU family groups, email and phone outreach, and through our up to date blog where we share inspiration with families in addition to information. Sometimes all a NICU mom needs is to read about another mothers journey and again to be reminded she is not alone. 

We are working towards our future goal of opening The Brazos Valley NICU Support House, which will be a place for NICU families to stay & utilize in a variety of ways. This will be a place for out of town families to stay overnight at no charge - to cut down on traveling costs and time. Current NICU families can relax and visit, others may want check out books from our NICU library, or just need some extra support from a volunteer. In addition it will have a sanitary preemie-playroom for NICU grads who need to avoid public play places for a while due to their still developing imune system.  These are just a few ways our support house will function. 

We also donate formula, preemie outfits, and other items to NICU families in need when we have items available. We have established the largest NICU/preemie support network in the Brazos Valley and host a yearly event dedicated to supporting preemie, NICU, and angel families. 

So if you are looking for an organization to get involved with, volunteer, support, donate to, or sponsor please choose us and the families we help. An increase in donations and support will only increase our reach. We welcome any and all new or gently used preemie clothes. We welcome new donations of hand sanitizer, baby blankets, preemie hats, books about the NICU (or preemie) experience, and baby fabric in flannel, cotton, and fleece. 

We are still in the very early stages of growth and need continued support from our community - both locally & nationally. There are many ways you can help us, just please contact us and let us know you are interested. 

Donations can be made online by typing in an amount and clicking the green button on the right side of our site >>>>>>> 

Donations can also be mailed. 

God Bless & Thank You!

Adorable Cora's NICU Grad Photo Shoot

Please enjoy our inspirational photos and consider supporting our mission to share hope with families who have a baby born prematurely or critically ill. Our programs include an online support group, the gift of photography, group events and meetings, information, and email support. Our mission is to connect parents and let them know they are not alone. We thank our supporters, volunteers, and donors for allowing us to touch the lives of NICU, preemie, and angel families. 

We pray these special memories will help the parents to remember how strong they were in overcoming a crisis situation.

A note from Mom and Dad:

"Cora was born at 27 weeks weighing 2 pounds 5 ounces. Cora has had a very strong personality and has taught me and her dady so much and taught us to have stronger faith and to laugh as often as possible. She loves to smile, and as her nurses called her, she is very sassy! She is such a fighter. She contracted pneumonia the day she was supposed to come home which kept her in the hospital longer and fighting once again for her life, but once again she proved to her dad and myself that miracles to happen!"

Volunteer Photographer:

Lindsey Shelburne - College Station, TX

A note from Lindsey:

"The session with Cora was so precious. Little Cora has such a calming spirit. She was happy to do anything we asked her, even if she never smiled. I felt like she was just perfectly content with her sweet life. And there is something, overwhelmingly contagious about that. I left her session much more content with all the things I have, specifically the super awesome people like her parents that I got to meet. Cora was too cool for school, too. She needed her shades on just to blow bubbles. And we happily obliged. :)"

Welcome, Andrea, to our Preemie Prints Volunteers

Please help us give a warm welcome to our newest volunteer photographer, Andrea! Andrea will be helping give the gift of photography in Spring, TX.

Andrea Bacle Photography

www.andreabaclephotography.com
andrea.bacle@gmail.com

Service Area: The Woodlands, Spring, and Conroe, TX

About Andrea:

"I often provide free maternity shoots for the young women of LifeHouse in Houston. I'd love to add newborn shoots to the free servies I offer special families, so Preemie Prints might be the perfect fit for both of us. I've had my own business for Three years, and you can find my condensed resume at andreabaclephotography.com/about."

June - Preemie, NICU, Angel Inspiration & Information Archive

Highlights/Archive for June 2013 -  facebook....

Being in the NICU, we are on an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs. Some days are filled with more tears than others, but it is always good to be reminded that not only are our tears normal, they are healthy & beautiful.

"A Beautiful Body," is a book by Jade Beall. Put together, these images are meant to show mothers as they really look, imperfect but no less beautiful for what society might consider their physical "flaws."

The FDA recently made a recommendation against prolonged use of magnesium sulfate to stop pre-term labor. Dr. Michael Belfort, OB/GYN-in-Chief at Texas Children’s and a leading expert who has studied the effects of prolonged use of magnesium sulfate, spoke to ABC13-Christi Myers about the different uses for magnesium sulfate and how, at the Pavilion for Women, we do not use it for more than 48 hours – even less than the FDA recommendation.

Preemie Prints NICU Graduate Photo Shoot
Tiny twins - so precious! Thank you Kelsey Bigelow Photography for capturing the love within this family. You can read more about their story inspirational story here.

I saw this song attached to a different video that I watched earlier tonight and it seemed like a good one to share with you all. I hope you enjoy it. ♥ Mellissa





We went away for the weekend and my sweet husband didn't bat an eye when I said I had to run to the store for some yarn and crochet hooks. Want to get involved with our sew and craft division? Let me know!!! ♥ Jen

I got 10 preemie hats crocheted this weekend! I just have to wind in the strings and add a little something to them. Let me know if you sew or crochet/knit and want to get involved with Preemie Prints

JOIN OUR ONLINE SEW & CRAFT GROUP HERE

The youth group from Victory United Pentecostal Church in Bryan, Texas spent last Friday night cutting out 47 giraffes! Thank you so much to Tarah and her students for choosing to serve Preemie Prints!!

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” ― John Bunyan

 Jen

Preemie Prints NICU Graduate Photo Shoot: 

Cute little Cora had her NICU Grad photo session. Thank you Lindsey Louise Photography for capturing this family's love! You can view the rest of Cora's sneak peaks here. 

New Photography Volunteers!!

Welcome new Preemie Prints Photography Volunteer, Rebecca with Becca Baker Photography! Rebecca will be donating her time and talents to many deserving families in Pittsburgh, PA. 

Welcome new Preemie Prints volunteer Andrea Bacle with Andrea Bacle Photography to our wonderful group of volunteer photographers! Andrea will be helping to give the gift of photographer near Spring, Tx.  

Here's a short video about our newest project! Watch our video, if you'd like to learn more. 

Information and Articles

More Breastfeeding Could Save Billions & Prevent Thousands Of Breast Cancer Cases

Did you experience understaffing of nurses at your NICU? Did your little one get infections while you were there?

3-D Printer Helps Save Dying Baby

Tiny Preemie Get A Boost From Live Music Therapy

Precious Twins NICU Grad Photo Shoot

Please enjoy our inspirational photos and consider supporting our mission to share hope with families who have a baby born prematurely or critically ill. Our programs include an online support group, the gift of photography, group events and meetings, information, and email support. Our mission is to connect parents and let them know they are not alone. We thank our supporters, volunteers, and donors for allowing us to touch the lives of NICU, preemie, and angel families. 

We pray these special memories will help the parents to remember how strong they were in overcoming a crisis situation.

A note from Mom and Dad:

"After a month of hospital bed rest, our twin girls entered the world early at 32 weeks. Brooklyn weighed 4 pounds 3 ounces and spent 30 days in the NICU. Her twin sister Madison weighed 3 pounds 2 ounces and spent 37 days in the NICU. The nursing staff and neonatologists were amazing and made our very emotional experience a little easier. We feel incredibly blessed that both girls are healthy and growing. Each and every day in the NICU we were amazed by the progress they made. They are both home and still on a small amount of oxygen. We are so in love with our girls and so glad to have them home with us."

Volunteer Photographer:

Kelsey Bigelow - Denver, CO

A note from Kelsey:

"The photo session was great. My goal as a photographer is to capture the fleeting moments. The girls are small now, but they won't be small forever. I wanted to focus on the things that come with having new born twins, so we rocked them tot sleep, fed them tiny bottles, and gave them baths in the sink."

Precious Gift Of Life

Feeling Happiness Again After A Loss

I am in a wonderful group and this topic was discussed the other day. I wanted to share a couple of  thoughts with our group. Please feel free to post your comments and feelings on the subject. Blessings to all.

It has been told to bereaved moms by many that they will never feel true happiness again. I personally feel that this may very well be true for some, but not others. It could take a very, very, long time --- days, months, or years, but many mothers and fathers find it again. You should not abandon hope and if you do find it there should be no guilt surrounding it. You are honoring your child's life.

____________________

There can be a feeling of guilt that first time we feel happy after a child dies. If the pain lifts does this mean we no longer care so much about our child? At the same time, we know we can't live with such sorrow forever. We need to know we will once again feel joy in life. At times that joy seems like it will never arrive, so I guess it's good to talk with others who have been along the same pathway. We can encourage each other to keep plodding along. I think true happiness is possible but not in the same way we experienced it in the past. Actually, for me, joy is a better word because we can be joyful even if we sorrow. And sorrow never really disappears. We just learn to live with it. We can even be thankful for it. It changes us completely and we look at happiness in a different way. When we can turn to God and thank him for our child and all the sorrow and accept what He allowed, I feel we have reached a point where God can start to turn that sorrow to joy.

Welcome New Photography Volunteer in Pittsburgh!

Please help us give a warm welcome to our newest volunteer photographer, Rebecca! Rebecca will be helping give the gift of photography in Pittsburgh, PA.

Becca Baker Photography 

www.beccabakerphotography.com
beccabakerphotography@gmail.com

Service Area: Pittsburgh, PA

About Rebecca:

"I would like to volunteer with Preemie Prints, because newborn and child photography is a hobby and passion of mine. Photography has been a hobby since I was a pre-teen, but I began my own portrait business in 2012. This has allowed me to expand and grow in my passion for providing lasting moments for families. I am also a child life specialist working in a children's hospital so I am familiar and comfortable in a hospital setting. I have observed the multitude of experiences that families go through during a stay in the NICU and I would love to provide a positive experience to look back on. I focus primarily on lifestyle and contemporary photos and am excited to get started with such a fantastic program!"

Welcome New Houston, TX Photographer, Denise!

Please help us give a warm welcome to our newest volunteer photographer, Denise! Denise will be helping give the gift of photography in the Houston, TX area.

Denise Cowan Photography 

www.DeniseCowanPhotography.com
info@denisecowanphotography.com

Service Area: Greater Houston Area

About Denise:

"I would love to use my creative ability to help in my community. I got started in photography at an early age. My Aunt owned a portrait studio and brought me along ofter. I have been shooting professionally for about 9 years and cannot imagine doing anything else!"

How To Help New NICU Parents

Gift items to help parents in the NICU....

"My son was born at 30 weeks and spent about a month and a half in the NICU in two different cities. I have to say, the most helpful thing people did for my husband and I was to drop off meals - casseroles, soups, curries - as we had no energy to cook, if we even remembered to eat."

"ALSO, a really great prezzie is a great hand lotion for dry, cracked hands. Having to wash my hands and sanitize them at every moment in the hospital saved my son, but destroyed my hands. The hand lotion I got in a care package from some friends was a life saver."

"Another gift to consider is a book of nursery rhymes, children's poetry or other rhythmic stories. The sound of a parent's voice can be soothing to a newborn, and reading gives parents a way to feel close to their little ones in that challenging environment."

"My twins were born at 24 weeks, 2 years ago...it is a long road to say the least. There at many emotions that your friend are dealing with that no one will understand unless they have ever dealt with their own children's mortality. While my kids were in for those four months, my best friend lived across the country, and I missed her terribly at that time. One of the sweetest things she did for me, was she knit me a blanket. When I wrapped up with that while holding the kids, she was right there with me. You are so kind to be seeking advice, follow your heart. So people just left us alone because they didn't know what to do, that at times we did feel lonely, so reach out!"

"We were actually given a visa gift card by a group of friends, which was great because we could use it anywhere, gas, food."

"My daughter was born at 23 weeks and only weighed 15 ounces. They gave her a 5% chance of surviving and we were in the hospital for a little over 4 months. It is an extremely hard road. I definitely agree with the suggestion to give gift cards to restaurants/grocery stores. Also, for a while my daughter was in the Children's hospital an hour away and I would have loved if someone gave us gas cards to help with the commute."

"The NEED and WANT to be close to the babies as muh as possible is really the over-riding emotion for your friends. I hated leaving my son at night and driving home, and driving back and forth. If there is a hotel/motel across the street or nearby, a gift certificate for a few night's stay would be great so she an stay closer and just walk over for feedings but get some rest in between instead of spend her time driving."

"All the suggestions have been fantastic. Anything that can personalise the space their babies are would be welcome. I felt like our twins weren't even ours when they were in hospital. They were wearing hospital clothing/hats, blankets and booties. As soon I was able I used our own things and it gave me the courage to start speaking up because these two little people belonged to us - not the nurses and the hospital."

"Oh, and if you want to help her when the babies come home- set up a free MealBaby.com account for her so she can let local friends/family sign up to deliver meals. It feels presumptuous to create one for yourself, but it would be really handy to reference when people ask now "What can we do?" The answer: drop off a meal when the babies come home."

"It's shocking how having mundane needs met can restore a person's hope and energy."

"There's almost no time for basic self-care. Laundry service, maid service (with a 24 week birth the house was probably left in a complete uproar), lawn service, and/or meal preparation services* might relieve your friend of normal responsibilities that she's too overwhelmed to address."

"One more thought...maybe get a pack of thank you cards and stamp and put her return address on all the envelopes? If you have alot of the same friends, I bet you could even write addresses on a bunch of them. The baby gifts will be unstoppable and she'll be writing a million thank you notes in the coming months."

In General -

1. Clothes for baby
2. You could (even from afar) pay for a maid service to come and clean their home, I know ours was so chaotic and messy from rushing home after 8 pm in the evening, trying to eat, then sleep, then rushing out at 7am to head back to the NICU, a clean home can sometimes make even the worst situations more barable.
3. Food for her during the day, and especially meals waiting at their doorstep at night that are easy to reheat and dont involve much clean up.
4. Gift cards! For meals, or even for general stores for picking up diapers and other things most mamas have months to prepare for or get at showers that mamas of babies born prematurely find themselves without.
5. Care package of snacks for Mama while she's at the NICU during the day...Instant oatmeal, granola bars, CHOCOLATE :) Instant pudding, fruit...
6. Encouragement and prayer!

June NICU H.O.P.E. Meeting - BCS Chapter

We hope you can attend the June meeting. Thank you to Raising Cane's Of Bryan College Station for your support of NICU families! Thank you for being our June meal sponsor. Monthly meetings are held at The College Station Medical Center and St. Joseph's Heath System in support of past & present NICU families. Our meetings are held to connect past and present NICU families to form a network of support. We meet each month to visit, ask questions, welcome new attendees, and offer support to families in the Bryan College Station area who have a baby born prematurely or critically ill. We thank all community restaurants and businesses who choose to partner with us in support of families. Together we are raising awareness about the difficulty NICU families face & supporting them along their journey! Next time you're in the mood for chicken tenders remember Raising Cane's supports NICU families!

NICU Wall Of Hope

We're so excited to partner with the new Scott & White Hospital NICU in College Station, Tx. Preemie Prints has donated photographs of a few of our precious NICU graduates to the hospital. These pictures will line the wall to the entrance of the NICU. By providing these images, our goal is to inspire strength in NICU families, share hope with them, and bring them a smile during a very difficult time. Our prayer is that these images of NICU graduates will help them to remember that their little fighter needs them by their side. No matter the outcome of a parent's NICU journey, they need to be inspired to stay positive and have hope while they are there. This is what our entire mission encompasses - sharing hope with NICU families. Providing hospitals with a "NICU WALL OF HOPE" is just one other way we are reaching out to parents.

We are thankful to these beautiful families & our volunteers for joining with us to share hope through photography & inspire current NICU families who have babies born prematurely or critically ill. Without our amazing and talented volunteers we could not carry out our mission. Each and every photographer who has been called to share hope through our organization is making a difference in the lives of many.

We're currently working with another hospital in Colorado and will hopefully be partnering with them soon on another NICU Wall Of Hope.

We thank you for your support. Please donate by typing in any amount in the box below. Your donation will help to support our efforts and help us continue our beautiful mission. We can't do it without you!

Donate

Preemie Prints Photography expands to Hawaii!

Please help us give a warm welcome to our newest volunteer photographer, Naomi! Naomi will be helping give the gift of photography in Maui Memorial Medical Center and Kula Hospital in Hawaii.

Naomi Levit Photography 

naomilevitphotography@gmail.com

Service Area: All Hawaiian Islands

About Naomi:

"Im an Auntie to triplet preemies, one of which passed away after a year and a half of living. I saw first hand how difficult the whole process was for my sister and our entire family. I want to help those parents and families in the healing process. Some of my sister's treasured possessions are photos I took of Zoe while she was still in the NICU.  I've been a photographer all my life and have been shooting professionally for about 8 years. I currently shoot family portraits and weddings in Maui, Hawaii."

Welcome New Photographer, Dina!

Please help us give a warm welcome to our newest volunteer photographer, Dina! Dina will be helping give the gift of photography in Hawaii.

Dina Farmer Photography 

farmerdinaa@gmail.com

Service Area: Ewa Beach

About Dina:

"I am a mother of a preemie as well. I want to help other families heal from the pain of being in the NICU and having a preemie. I am working towards my B.A. in Digital Photography."