Tiny Texans 5K Fundraising Team

Tiny Texans

 Fundraising Team for 

The Little Monster's 5K For A Cause

Dean and Ruby have never spent a day in the NICU. They were both almost two weeks overdue without complications. We moved to Bryan, Texas when Ruby was a month old. In an effort to meet other moms I found Preemie Prints Sew & Craft group through meetup.com. Through this organization I have made incredible friendships that will last a lifetime.

November 15, 2012 I had gone into the doctor because I was having some unusual cramping and found out I had an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. It was a complete shock to us because I had an IUD. A week later my tube ruptured and I had to have emergency surgery on Thanksgiving Day.

We are participating to share hope, support and encourage those families whose babies were made angels. Too many families grieve in silence, sometimes never coming to terms with their loss. October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.

Please join our team by by either walking or running with us on the 26th of October in College Station Tx for The Little Monster's 5K For A Cause or by making a donation below. Type in any amount you wish to donate. All donations will help to support the efforts and mission of Preemie Prints - which is to offer support to NICU, preemie, and angel (those experiencing an infant/pregnancy loss) families. 

Why Support Preemie Prints? 

Preemie Prints currently serves 3 NICUs in the Bryan College Station area through sewing and support group meetings, has a new chapter in Houston, and nationwide photography outreach. There is also online support through our website, facebook page, and through private groups. All of this is done by an amazing team of volunteers and through donations from supporters like you.

We have set a team goal to raise $500 dollars to help in supporting NICU families in the coming year. 

Join the Tiny Texans to run or walk for preemie, NICU, & angel families and/or make a donation below by typing in an amount. No amount is too small. Preemie Prints needs your help!

TEAM MEMBERS & TEAM DONORS

Jen ,Ryan, Dean & Ruby Wells

Kelsey, Tim & Auggie Siegmund

Donor - Deborah C Littel
Donor - Judsen Adams

I would love to support and join the team 

by making a donation today

Team Tiny Texans Donation

 

Free Fundraising Thermometer by:
Visit Easy Fundraising Ideas

August 2013 NICU H.O.P.E. Meeting - BCS Chapter

We are thankful to Kozi Kitchen in Bryan Tx for sponsoring our August 9th NICU H.O.P.E. Meeting. This meeting is for current and past preemie, NICU, and angel parents. It is a place to connect, ask questions, visit, and offer support to current parents facing a difficult time in the NICU with their baby. Our August 9th meeting will take place at The College Station Med Center. Kids & babies are welcome to attend. We have a whole crew of little NICU grads who attend every meeting. We hope to see you there. 

A little bit about Kozi Kitchen from their website...

Kozi Kitchen is my little place in Bryan, Texas. The food is prepared by me, Joanne Kozik. You won’t find anything frilly or fancy in Kozi's Kitchen because fussy kid's won’t eat it. Just old-fashioned favorites with a few special family recipes and ethnic favorites thrown in from time to time. Craving something? Let me know!

Who is Joanne? A single mom, with two grown kids in their 20’s, doing what I love - cooking! I’ve decided that it’s time for me to help you put wholesome, home-cooked meals on your family’s table. It’s dinner time!

Bonding In The NICU

It takes a bit of time to load, but this is an excellent presentation about NICU Bonding & worth the time to view it. We will be sharing with new NICU parents online & those attending our meetings. Bonding in the NICU with your preemie or critically ill baby is absolutely essential. There are many ways to bond in the NICU but here are just a few ideas:

A. Have a special stuffed animal, blankie, or other plush object or positioning device something that can be in baby's isolette. Take it home with you sleep with it a few nights (to get your scent on it) and then return to baby's crib. For example, if you used our Preemie Prints giraffe as your special bonding device, you could set the giraffe in the corner of the isolette. Recent research suggests that just an hour after birth a newborn can locate his mother’s nipple by sense of smell. In addition to bringing comfort and reassurance, the sense of smell is one of the first things that bond a baby to its parents.

B. Feed your baby or participate in feedings

C. Breastfeed or pump (until you can breastfeed)

D. Give your baby a bath

E. Read to your baby. Here is an article about the benefits of reading to baby

F. Skin to skin contact & Kangaroo Care

G. Touch your baby

H. Decorate your baby's isolette and/or area

H. Pray over your baby or sing to your baby - out loud. Your voice will comfort and sooth.

Prayers from the NICU

A Mother's Devotional 

 is an amazing book. Check it out here.

More Sweet Giraffes for Preemies & NICU Babies!

We have 10 more giraffes completed and ready for NICU gift bundles. Each NICU support bundle has a handmade outfit, hat, giraffe, and blanket. These bundles go to Bryan and College Station families who have a baby born prematurely or critically ill. They are meant to bring a smile and share hope with families as they face a very difficult time. These little giraffes and gifts are made with so much love, we hope they provide a lifetime of memories for NICU families. Houston's sew & craft chapter is just about to get started, so if you live in the area join them to help make bundles, positioners, and cuddlers! If you can help remotely we'd love to have your help. We've got an online Sew & Craft group through meetup and facebook. Please join us! Below you will find our tutorial, so you can help us make giraffes!

 

Giraffe project is ready!!!

We are hosting a continuous online giraffe drive! We have a step by step tutorial along with a downloadable giraffe made by one of our Preemie Prints volunteers. We need help from around the nation. Get together with some friends and get sewing for the babies in the NICU. Post pics of your giraffes on our facebook page or tag us to spread the word!

Thank you so much for volunteering for this project =)

Giraffe template can be found here

Mail finished giraffes to our organization headquarters:

Preemie Prints

2306 Kendal Green Cir.

College Station TX 77845

www.preemieprints.org

http://www.facebook.com/PreemiePrints

Baby Resource Directory In Bryan College Station

We have a national audience of readers so this baby resource directory will only be relevant to our organization's home town, but we thought it would be great to compile, since we have a lot happening when it comes to babies in the Bryan College Station area. This post is going to be an up to date directory of everything baby in the BCS area and Brazos Valley. It by no means includes every single resource, so if you know of a link to add please contact us.

Bryan College Station is home to roughly 172,000 people and the entire Brazos Valley about 278,000. That's a lot of people and families are on the grow! There are lots and lots of babies around town. It seems everywhere you look you see a new mom wearing, carrying, or strolling with her new bundle of joy. We hope this directory will help you find what you are looking for when it comes to your baby in BCS.

Shopping

Boutique 

Shopping for our babes is a necessity and when it comes to finding hip gear, trendy clothes, awesome baby products, and unique items we've got a few options.

Cloud 9 Baby
Cloud 9 has been around the longest. With a recent move to South College Station the store is right in the middle of the rapidly grown S/CS. This store is a crunchy mom's paradise. Joanna the owner has everything from cloth diapers, eco friendly toys, and organic baby clothes, to the hottest in baby wearing fashion. She also has a nursing room in store that doubles as a classroom for things like mommy & baby yoga. 

Wee Little Me
Wee Little Me has been open since 2012. It's a really unique concept and lovely store. The shop is owned by Shannon Sanford, certified lactation consultant, and long time owner of Basics For Breastfeeding. Shannon has combined everything surrounding breastfeeding and lactation with pump rentals and boutique shopping making this a very unique shopping experience. Her location has just recently moved to the bright yellow house at the corner of E. Villa Maria and Nash in Bryan Tx.

Hospitals Delivering Our Bundles of Joy!
St. Joseph's Women's Center
Women's Health Services at Scott & White
The College Station Medical Center Women's Pavilion

Childbirth Classes
The Bradley Method Classes

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Premature Baby, and Infant Loss Support
Preemie Prints - Offers NICU, preemie, and angel (those suffering an infant or pregnancy loss) support group meetings once per month at area hospitals. Sew&Craft meetings also meet to make handmade items to donate to local hospitals and NICU families. An infant loss event is held every October for local families to participate in and honor their baby. We offer online preemie, NICU, and angel support groups and give the gift of professional photography to NICU families.

Birth Centers
Jubilee Birth Center
Bryan Tx recently welcomed their 1st birth center! "Jubilee Birth Center offers natural birth options for the modern family: intervention free childbirth using tried and true midwifery practices in a comfortable home-like setting. Have your baby, the way nature intended!"

Midwives
Heritage Maternity

Doula
Birth Arc
Gentle Hands

Breastfeeding Support, Supplies, & Pump Rentals
Basics For Breastfeeding
La Leche League Meeting

Infant & Hospital/Birth Photography 
These amazingly gifted photographers also volunteer with Preemie Prints in support of NICU families!

Fig Mint Photography

3D/4D Ultrasound
Early View Ultrasound College Station
We are so excited to welcome BCS's 1st & only 3D/4D ultrasound imaging location. It is amazing to see the detail that 3D/4D provides. Early View will also provide beneficial pre-natal massage for mom to be.

Fitness For New Moms
Fit4Mom Bryan/College Station
"FIT4MOM is the country's largest fitness program for moms offering pre and post-natal fitness classes for every stage of motherhood. With over 1,300 locations nationwide, it offers moms an opportunity to get in shape, meet other moms and have fun with their baby.
At FIT4MOM of Bryan / College Station we continue the tradition of great classes by offering you fitness that is affordable and convenient to your life! We offer Stroller Strides®, Fit4Baby®, and Body Back®. You can chose from any one of our classes or combine them to meet your fitness goals."

Yoga Baby
Dance Centre - offering prenatal yoga, postnatal yoga, Yoga Baby, Mom & Me classes

Texas Fit Chicks

Baby Activities 
TAMU Infant Cognition Lab

Misc.
The Stork Market

Giving Back
Preemie Prints Sew & Craft
Join us for monthly meetings (no sewing skills required) to craft & sew for local NICU families! We meet at St. Joseph's & Scott & White. You can join the meetup group or facebook group to be notified of upcoming meetings.

Upcoming Events - 2015
Little Monsters 5K - October 10th, Tiffany Park, Bryan, Tx
Angel Butterfly Release - October 10th, Tiffany Park, Bryan, Tx

If you have a link that you would like to see added to this Bryan College Station baby directory email us and let us know! 

August Sew &Craft Meeting

Three wonderful new volunteers attended our August 2013 Preemie Prints sew & craft meeting last night. At our meetings volunteers, from skilled seamstresses to those of us who can cut patterns or stuff giraffes, come together in support of NICU families. Our meetings can be a wee bit crazy, since kids are always invited to come, but we think it's so much fun! After all many of our little ones who attend are NICU graduates, and they are the reasons we do what we do. So if you have a little one, please know they are welcome to come. This past meeting my girls who are only 3.5 stuffed their 1st giraffe. They too will be helping to give these beautiful handmade gifts to NICU and preemie families in the Brazos Valley and beyond very soon! We have our Houston chapter up and running again and new families attending our meetings will also receive a gift bundle. We're also donating to the new Scott & White Hospital in College Station that will open this month, so we are always in need of volunteers. Some have asked what donations we need to keep our sewing division fully stocked with materials, so here is a short list: 

Flannel - baby print or pastel solids (anything you would swaddle a newborn baby in)

Cotton - fun prints, trendy prints, baby prints (we use cotton for our preemie outfits, cuddlers, and giraffes)

Fleece - baby print, bright & colorful (we use fleece for our NICU positioners)

Stuffing - we need stuffing to stuff the little giraffes with 

Ribbon - 5/8" grosgrain - all colors needed (we use this for our giraffes)

Quilt Batting - for cuddlers

Yarn - preemie hats

Donations can be mailed or we will gladly pick up if possible! Just email Jen@preemieprints.org to arrange.

Hope to see you at a meeting!

Fabric needed for cuddlers

Yarn needed for preemie hats

ribbon needed for giraffes

Baby Alice's NICU Grad Photo Session

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:

"Our youngest came at 24 weeks and her name is Alice Mabel. We went from hospital to hospital trying to find people that would not give up on us and our baby. I even had a specialist tell me while I was bleeding uncontrollably and in severe pain that I didn't have an abruption at ad and even if I reached 24 weeks he wouldn't try saving our daughter unless I pleaded with him. He said the reason was because there could be a slight chance she could have cerebral palsy and so for she is doing great. The specialist was wrong and I ended up having a c-section 5 days later. We almost lost Alice and her organs started shutting down at 1 month old, but she's thriving now! She came into the world weighing 1 pound 5 ounces. Now she if four months old and nearly 6 pounds and in newborn clothes and diapers!" 

Volunteer Photographer:

Karina Johnson - Houston, TX

A note from Karina:

"This photo session was extra special. When I found out Baby Alice was born on my birthday, I knew I had to photograph her. Although it may happen more than we know, it's rare to actually meet someone who survived the unthinkable and shares the same birthday. She is a strong baby! As I talked to mom, Adreanna, I knew where baby Alice had gained her strength from. They are both fighters! And to top our photo session off, Alice gave us a smile, love it!"