Encouraging Words For NICU Parents

Part of our mission here at Preemie Prints is to share hope with NICU and preemie parents through encouraging words, scripture, prayer, and sometimes even through humor! We'll be sharing some preemie support and NICU support here on the blog today! In addition, look for our new monthly newsletters to start hitting your inbox soon. We have a new volunteer on board to help with these, and we're so excited to welcome Sarah!! This will be another way to reach our supporters who aren't on facebook. We've also got a new IG account. You can continue to follow us on fb, twitter, & pinterest of course.

Here are some inspiring words to encourage you as you travel the NICU journey with your baby. We hope these words and images bring a smile to you and share hope as your baby fights in the NICU!

To my children...If I had to choose between loving you and breathing....I would use my last breath to tell you I love You. In the NICU we would trade places with our babies in a heartbeat. Their strength inspires us and reminds us that although they may be tiny they are the strongest people we know. 

Through The Glass

As I love you thru the glass, 

the hours seem so slow to pass.

I stroke your skin, and hold your hand;

this isn't exactly what I had planned.

I cast my eyes up to the sky,

and say a little prayer;

that the Lord will hold you in His arms,

and keep you in His care,

so sleep and grow my baby, 

and dream of clouds of foam,

and I will Love you thru the glass

until you can come home.

A Person's a person, No matter how small!! True words!! 

I'm a preemie's mommy For nothing is impossible with God

Luke 1:27

Things you DO NOT SAY To A NICU Parent:

"At least, with the baby in the NICU, you can get rest at night!"

Encouraging Words:

"My 25 weeker was in the NICU for 150 days. My advice to new NICU

parents is don't let the fear steal your joy. Even in the darkest of times --- find joy"

"When someone is going through a story, your silent presence is more powerful than 

a million empty words"

Preemie are "small but mighty"

Visit www.preemieprints.org to learn more about our no-charge NICU photography program & handmade items for preemie and NICU parents. 

Meet Maddox - A Preemie Prints NICU Grad Photo Shoot

Please enjoy Preemie Prints' families inspirational story & photos. Consider supporting our mission to share hope with families who have a baby born prematurely or critically ill. Preemie Prints support programs include NICU photography and NICU graduate photography (the gift of photography at no charge for a NICU family), the gift of handmade items, group events and meetings, information, and prayer support. Our mission is to connect parents and let them know they are not alone. We thank our supporters, Preemie Prints volunteers, and donors for allowing us to continue touching the lives of NICU, preemie, and angel families.

We pray these special memories from Preemie Prints 
will help families remember how strong 
they were in overcoming their NICU journey together.

A NICU STORY | THOUGHTS FROM MOM

"Our little guy is Maddox, born Jan 4th at 33 weeks 2 days. He weighed 3 pounds 13 ounces and was 16.5 inches long. I developed severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. I went to my 32 week appt and had regular lab work done. We were only home about an hour before we received the phone call that changed our lives forever. My body was beginning to fail and I had to get to the hospital ASAP. I spent 4 days on bed rest before my blood pressure skyrocketed and I had to be induced. After over 24 hours in labor, Maddox was born via c-section. He was whisked off to the NICU where he would spend the first 26 days of his life. I was in recovery where I hemorrhaged about 2 hours later. I was sent to the OR (operating room) again. I almost didn't make it. I wasn't able to meet Maddox for over 24 hours due to my unstable state. I'm so lucky that we are both here today.

Never in a million years would I have thought we would be parents to a preemie. Before this whole ordeal, my life seemed uncomplicated. I had a great career, a house, and wonderful husband. I was a very detailed perfectionist. I had a sense of being in control of everything. This experience has definitely changed who I am. I enjoy the little things in life, don't take people/things for granted and now believe I am one heck of a strong person. I have also learned that no matter what life hands you, you are so much stronger than you think you are. 

Maddox was born perfect, just very tiny. His lungs were a bit underdeveloped even though I received the steroid shots while pregnant. He spent a few days on CPAP and aside from his apnea/brachyadia episodes, we had a fairly good NICU stay. It just took him a while to learn how to suck/swallow/breath while he ate. The hardest thing that no parent should ever have to go through is asking permission to hold your child and being told no. That was the first time I actually felt my heart break. To not be able to hold something that you were forced to have ripped from your body is very difficult. I spent countless hours crying, journaling and praying while I sat next to the tiniest human I have ever seen in real life. 

You're not the only one who has gone through this journey. There are so many support groups/people to help people get through this trying time in life. See out help if you need it. My favorite thing that helped me was writing in my journal. If I was able to get my feelings out ofmy head and onto paper, it helped me heal. It was my therapy and still it. My favorite quote that help me: 

"And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about" -Haruki Murakami

Preemie Prints Volunteer Photographer:

Shannon Amberg - Tomah, WI

A note from Shannon:

"Meeting the Fawcett Family and photographing Maddox was such a pleasure. Hearing Maddox’s story and about his mother’s experience giving birth to a preemie was humbling and very special. I have no doubt this family has some guardian angels watching over them. Maddox did fantastic too, spending some time wide awake and babbling, chowing down on a bottle, and then snuggling in for a sweet wee nap. I felt fortunate to be able to get photos of all of it! It was my sincere honor to come into this family’s home and capture some sweet moments for them. I can only hope they enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed the experience of serving them. xo"

These images belong to our volunteer photographers, families, and organization please do not use for any purpose. 

Preemie Prints is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization sharing hope with NICU families through a variety of support programs. One of those programs is the gift of NICU photography and preemie photography. NICU families from across the US can request a no-charge photography session by a Preemie Prints volunteer. The family request from can be found on the right side of our website. These sessions are free of charge and for any NICU family, regardless of time spent in the NICU. The NICU photo shoot can take place inside the NICU or after baby is discharged and at home until their 1st birthday. Facing time in a NICU with a premature or critically ill baby is an extremely difficult time for families. Preemie Prints has a mission to share hope by letting families know they are not alone. Preemie Prints currently has over 75 volunteers nationwide. We are always looking for more volunteers to share in our mission! If you are interested, please email sherri@preemieprints.org and visit our website at www.preemieprints.org. To date Preemie Prints and our volunteers have gifted over 375 NICU family sessions. 

This was a Preemie Prints NICU graduate baby photo shoot that took place near Tomah Wisconsin. 

We're thankful to the family for sharing their memories with our NICU community. 

NICU and Preemie Ecards

Here are a few NICU and preemie ecards for you NICU moms and dads! Leave comments below for other ideas if you have them! Hoping there were many homecomings this Easter Sunday. Enjoy!

If you have ideas for more let us know! These little preemie and NICU e-cards bring lots of joy, offer support, and let others know they are not alone. That's why we're here and these small tid-bits of inspiration and information for preemie parents and parents who have a baby in the NICU really help to spread hope. Many blessings to NICU families tonight! 

The Untouchable Mother Sculpture Series By The Midnight Orange

There are many memorabilia type items for parents of premature babies and for parents who have experienced an infant loss, angel parents as we call them. We are always searching for information to share with Preemie Prints and the NICU community of families. The other night I was researching online and stumbled upon probably one of the most beautiful memory items for mothers of NICU babies that I have seen to date. It is called "The Untouchable Mother" and it's a sculpture of a mother sitting by an isolette peering in, longing for, her tiny premature baby. The emotion, the vivid memories, the pain, and the joy of my time in the NICU came rushing back when I saw the sculpture. Tears came and I was moved. That is what the purpose of art is and D. Antonia Truesdale of The Midnight Orange beautifully captures the essence of a NICU mom in her artwork.

I reached out to the artist, because I really wanted to share the work with you - our Preemie Prints community. After we visited, she decided to work on expanding her line to include a series of sculptures, not only for NICU moms, but for the whole family. Through Preemie Prints and this blog post she is reintroducing her beautiful series to you. She shared a few words with us about why she sculpts for parents of premature babies, NICU families, and angel families. Here is what she had to say:

"I have had the extreme privilege of working with parents on all walks of life, and one group I've been really touched by is families of premature babies. To see photos of their little ones so close yet out of reach plays a bittersweet lullaby on the heartstrings. This sculpture series was inspired by the desperate longings preemie parents have shared with me, and I am very happy to be able to reintroduce this into my collection of available sculptures.

This specific design is not only customizable to your family portrait, but once you have it home with you you are able to customize it further by adding your own special keepsakes to the bottom display case. The bottom comes empty with a mirrored base and then you can add in any tiny mementos, as you'll see in some examples in the photos. I think it would be perfect for a little hospital bracelet, perhaps flowers from a baby bouquet or even a handwritten poem tied into a scroll. There are so many ways for this design to be personalized and I am just completely touched and humbled to have my artwork be a part of your preemie's mighty journey."

Now we will share the beautiful pictures of her new sculpture series and include information at the bottom of the post on how you can contact The Midnight Orange and place orders.

 

To ask questions and view all of her work 

please visit The Midnight Orange Etsy Store

The Untouchable Mother sculpture 

The Untouchable Mother & Father

The Untouchable Mother of Twins 

The Untouchable Mother & Father of Twins

The Untouchable Family

Visit Listings For All Sculptures Here

Baby Easton's Preemie Prints NICU Grad Photo Shoot

Please enjoy Preemie Prints' families inspirational photos and consider supporting our mission to share hope with families who have a baby born prematurely or critically ill. Preemie Prints support programs include NICU photography and NICU graduate photography (the gift of photography at no charge for a NICU family), the gift of handmade items, 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, Preemie Prints volunteers, and donors for allowing us to continue touching the lives of NICU, preemie, and angel families. 

We pray these special memories will help families remember how strong 
they were in overcoming their NICU journey together.

NICU STORY | THOUGHTS FROM MOM

"My sons name is Easton. He was born early on March 10, 2013 at 35 weeks weighng 5lbs 9ozs, and had a rough start in the beginning. My pregnancy was perfect, but when my son was born he was not breathing. Immediately he was rushed to a different hospital. We found out he had been drprived of blood and oxygen during my labor and had IVH grade 4 & 3 brain bleeds, seizures, and severe HEI. After multiple MRI's and EEG's we were told he would not survive off of life support due to the amount of damage done and if he did survive he would not be able to move, see (because he would be cortically blind), eat or breathe on his own. We took him off of all support at 5 days old expecting him to earn his wings. But God had a different plan for him. After a few minutes of not breathing, Easton took a breath and has been amazing us every since. He breathes perfect, eats like a piget, he can see just fine and movest perfectly. He is our miracle!

Our NICU experience was a very hard roller coaster of a ride. We had our ups, and a ton of downs, but we gained an entire new family when we were there. Our doctors and nurses were truly amazing and treated us like family. They prayed with us, cried with us, and laughed with us. The other families we met during our NICU experience have also become a big part of our lives. Becoming a NICU parent is something nobody ever wants to be, but we learned quickly a new world of being in a NICU, and that in the end it is an honor to be one, because you get to experience miracles every day. You learn to rejoice in every small thing, like baths and diaper changes."

 
Preemie Prints Volunteer Photographer:

Beth Pate - Oscala, FL

A note from Beth:

"I was really honored to do this shoot since it was dear to my heart. I met Baby Easton and his family when he was in the NICU across from one of our Quints. It was a pleasure to be able to do this session. I had a chance to see how much he has grown and overcome everything that they said he would never do."

Dear NICU Nurse & A Beautiful Baby Poem!

 

Dear NICU Nurse...    "Dear NICU Nurse, To be honest, I never knew you existed. Back when our birth plan included a fat baby, balloons and a two-day celebratory hospital stay, I had never seen you. I had never seen a NICU. Most of the world hasn’t. There may have been a brief, “This is the Neonatal floor” whilst drudging by on a hospital tour. But no one really knows what happens behind those alarm-secured, no-window-gazing, doors of the NICU. Except me. And you.I didn’t know that you would be the one to hold and rock my baby when I wasn’t there.  I didn’t know that you would be the one to take care of him the first 5 months of his life as I sat bedside, watching and wishing that I was you. I didn’t know that you would be the one to hand him to me for the first time, 3 weeks after he was born. That you would know his signals, his faces, and his cries. Sometimes, better than me. I didn’t know you. I didn’t know how intertwined our lives would become. I know you now.  I’ll never be able to think of my child’s life, without thinking of you. I know that in the NICU, you really run things. That your opinions about my baby’s care often dictates the course and direction or treatment as you consult with the neonatologist every day. I know that you don’t hesitate to wake a sometimes sleeping doctor in the nearby call room because my baby’s blood gas number is bad. Or because his color is off. Or because he has had 4 bradys in the last 45 minutes. Or because there’s residual brown gunk in his OG tube.I know now that youare different from other nurses.I know that, at times, you are assigned to just one baby for 12 hours straight. You are assigned to him because he is the most critically sick and medically fragile baby in the unit.  I’ve seen you sit by that baby’s bedside for your entire shift. Working tirelessly to get him comfortable and stable. Forgoing breaks while you mentally will his numbers to improve. I’ve seen you cry with his family when he doesn’t make it. I’ve seen you cry alone.I’ve seen you, in an instant, come together as a team when chaos ensues. And let’s be honest, chaos and NICU are interchangeable words. When the beeper goes off signaling emergency 24 weeker triplets are incoming. When three babies in the same pod are crashing at the same time. When the power goes off and you’re working from generators. In those all too often chaotic moments, you know that time is more critical in this unit than any other, and you don’t waste it. You bond together instantly as a team, methodically resolving the crisis until the normal NICU rhythm is restored. Yes. I know you now.  I’ll never be able to give in return what you have given to me. Thank you for answering my endless questions, even when I had asked them before. Thank you for your skill, you are pretty great at what you do. Thank you for fighting for my baby. Thank you for pretending like it was normal when I handed you a vial of just pumped breast milk. Thank you for agreeing to play Beatles lullabies in my baby’s crib when I was gone. Thank you for waking the doctor. Thank you for texting me pictures of my sweet miracle, even when it was against hospital policy. Thank you for crying with me on the day we were discharged. Most of the world still doesn’t know what you do. They can’t understand how integral you are to the positive outcomes of these babies who started life so critically ill. But I do. I know you now. I will never forget you. In fact, our story can never be told without mentioning you. So the next time you wave your access card to enter the place that few eyes have seen, know that you are appreciated. I know you, and you are pretty amazing."  Your fan forever, A NICU Mom

 We're here praying for preemies, babies, & families in the NICU!  Our next Bryan College Station NICU Family Support Meeting will be held this Friday May 9th from 6:30-8:00 pm at S&W Hospital on the third floor. Please join us if you are a current NICU family looking to connect with past NICU parents! Bryan College Station, TX is home to three neonatal intensive care units (NICU) that offer treatment for premature babies and those born critically ill. We offer support to NICU families in a variety of ways. Please look through our website to find out how or contact us directly.  

A little inspiration for today

Just wanted to write a quick post of encouragement for NICU families today. Preemie Prints mission is to share hope, and I think many of these little pictures, quotes, and sayings will do just that. As you sit in the NICU today with your baby please remember that we're out here praying for you and thinking about you. You're not alone. Please visit Preemie Prints anytime you need a little pick me up, anytime you'd like to read about another family's NICU journey, and much more. May the Lord give you the strength you need today to carry on and help you to remember that "this too shall pass". Be in the moment with your preemie or NICU baby - they need your comfort - they need to hear your voice - they need to feel your touch.

 

For this child I prayed & the Lord has given me what I asked of Him

1 Samuel 1:27 

Preemies are miracles!

 

Preemie moms are special!!

Untouchable mother and premature baby by TheMidnightOrange, $60.00

 

Older children may be very affected by the experience of having a new baby brother or sister who is born prematurely. Children are very sensitive to what is going on, and if you are concerned about the baby – even if you don’t talk openly about it – they may well be aware of this. Talk to your older children about your feelings. There are many wonderful books on the market for NICU siblings. Bring them to NICU family get together and meetings so they can meet other siblings going through similar experiences. Preemie Prints hosts NICU Hope Meetings in Bryan College Station and Houston and the meetings are family friendly!

 

There are many challenges to breastfeeding a baby in the NICU. Don’t be shy about letting the nurses know that you plan to breastfeed. Babies who are born early can’t always feed at the breast right away. Because of their small size and lack of muscle development, they may have a harder time latching on or staying latched on to the breast. Feedings can take longer than normal because of this. Hang in there, Mom, and don’t give up. If you need help, the hospital’s lactation director can provide great support. Read more here

 

The journey of a preemie or critically ill baby does not end when you walk out of the NICU. It often takes years for them to catch up to their peers, and they may never fully catch up. But it doesn't matter because they are miracles!