By Graham's Foundation on April 24, 2017
Premature birth brings with it, among other things, a new vocabulary, an expanded medical knowledge, and new ways of thinking about health and wellness. There’s a lot to learn, from the seemingly never-ending list of acronyms used in the NICU to protocols for handwashing and staying germ free to the numerous possible outcomes every preemie […]
By Graham's Foundation on April 17, 2017
With all of the other challenges that come with adding a preemie to a family, parents of the very earliest premature babies often find they have to learn another language. It’s the language of medicine, and there’s no escaping the fact that to be deeply involved in the care of a preemie one has to […]
By Graham's Foundation on April 7, 2017
Most of us reach adulthood without ever encountering images of babies other than the stereotypical plump, rosy-cheeked newborn. That means that people who are meeting or seeing a picture of a preemie for the very first time are often surprised or even shocked at how different a very premature infant looks from a full term […]
By Graham's Foundation on March 31, 2017
The birth of a premature infant can throw a family’s world into utter turmoil. The strangeness of the NICU… the heartbreak of watching a baby that should still be in the womb fight for life… the constant need to juggle responsibilities… the uncertainty of it all. These things and more can take a serious toll […]
By Graham's Foundation on March 17, 2017
That all parents feel some degree of guilt at one point or another in their children’s lives is simply a truism. Guilt can actually be a sign that moms and dads care deeply about getting it right and want their children’s lives to be perfect from the very start. But while feelings of guilt can […]
By Graham's Foundation on March 10, 2017
Being discharged from the hospital without your premature baby can be an incredibly painful experience on so many levels. While the logical part of your mind recognizes that the NICU is exactly where a micro-preemie should be, your heart breaks as you walk out for the first time without an infant car seat slung over […]
By Featured Parent on September 23, 2016
Today’s blog post is by Preemie Parent Mentor, Leah. This is not a sponsored post but is a post for Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week (September 18-24, 2016). When my son arrived at 31 weeks + 6 days, I felt completely unprepared. We had not finished researching or purchasing baby equipment. We had canceled our […]
By Laura Martin on May 15, 2016
When our twin boys were born at 24 weeks gestation, we knew we had a long road ahead of us. As each day passed, we learned more and more about the NICU and that our stay would be much more complicated than just watching our baby grow. While it is everyone’s hope that their child’s […]
By Tracy P on February 19, 2016
Preemie parent mentor, Tracy, shares part two of her story. Be sure to read part one of her story. I want to tell micro-preemie parents who are going through the NICU experience currently, or those that will be in the future, that once you leave the NICU the healing begins. I am not going to […]
By Laura Martin on October 26, 2015
Facing doctors in the NICU can often be overwhelming and intimidating for parents. In the early days of a NICU journey, asking a question can be scary. We don’t want the NICU staff to think we are questioning their skills and knowledge but as parents, this is a brand new experience for us and one […]