Sewing for NICU Babies In College Station

This past Thursday we held our monthly Preemie Prints Sew & Craft meeting at Scott & White Hospital in College Station. We had a wonderful turnout with new many new volunteers - thank you all for coming! I think we had about 5 sewing machines going and the rest of us were turning, stuffing, and hand sewing giraffes for babies in the NICU. These giraffes are a very special keepsake for NICU families and can also be used to transfer mom's scent to baby. You can tuck the giraffe close to your skin to absorb your scent. You can then leave the scented giraffe next to your baby for comfort when you are not there.

After our sewing meeting we made a large donation to the S&W NICU. We donated 18 positioning devices to be used in the babies developmental care. Babies born early need special attention to
support their growth. Developmental care means providing your baby with every opportunity for the best possible progress. Preemie Prints is happy to be a part of the developmental care of all babies in Bryan College Station who must be in the NICU through our donated NICU positioning devices. We have many programs but this one is so special because we know we are directly helping preemies and supporting their development. Our positioning device is a bead filled tube covered with soft fleece. Nurses gently shape it around the baby. When baby pushes against the tube, they can feel the beads moving back. This is similar to what a baby feels in your womb. This device also helps with warmth, holding wires, and positioning baby.

We also donated 25 NICU gift bundles for families containing a giraffe and a preemie hat! It was a wonderful meeting. Many of us are past NICU parents so we talked about our NICU journeys. A current NICU mom popped in to share a little about her journey and we had two NICU nurses from Scott & White stop in to thank us for what we do. You can join us the 1st Thursday of every month at one of our local hospitals. We meet on a rotating schedule at all three. Here is the current schedule.

July 3rd - The College Station Medical Center, Executive boardroom, 1st Floor
August 7th - St. Joseph's Hospital, Basement Room E/F
September 4th - Scott & White Hospital, Third Floor, Boardroom right outside of the NICU
October 2nd - The College Station Med, Executive boardroom, 1st Floor
November 6th - St. Joseph's Hospital, Basement Room E/F
December 4th - Scott & White - Christmas Party with NICU Family Support Group and local volunteers

Little Helpers

Hard at work

Scott & White NICU donation 2014