Intensive Parenting


Book Description

Parenthood transforms you. Even before this crisis, you may have experienced a wide range of feelings triggered by pregnancy, birth, and welcoming a new baby. The NICU experience challenges your emotional coping, your developing parental identity, your relationship skills, and your ability to adjust.Intensive Parenting explores the emotions of parenting in the neonatal intensive care unit, from in-hospital through issues and concerns after the child is home. Deboral L. Davis and Mara Tesler Stein describe and affirm the wide range of experiences and emotional reactions that occur in the NICU and offer strategies for parents coping with their baby's condition and hospitalization.




Living Miracles


Book Description

Twenty-two engrossing stories of babies born prematurely, written by those who felt the agony and the elation the most--their parents.In painstaking and heartfelt detail, these parents share their ordeals: their fears, their joys, the stories of where they turned for help, their tips, and most importantly, their triumphs.Meet babies like:Samuel Warren, who was born at 1 pound 8 ounces when his mother went into preterm labor.Bo Smith, the miracle baby born at only 8 inches long after his mother suffered an antibody disorder.Sara Stromseth, born at 1 pound 15 ounces before modern advances in neonatology and given no chance of living to be the college student she is today.Ryan White, the ultimate proof that parents should never give up hope.Living Miracles includes a complete glossary of premature baby medical terms and is organized by the weeks of gestation of the baby at birth, from twenty-three to thirty-six.




Preemie


Book Description

A mother’s moving and honest memoir about the premature birth of her daughter—and the strength and grace that can be found in the midst of life's greatest challenges In her early thirties, Kasey Mathews had it all: a loving husband, a beautiful two-year-old son, and a second baby on the way. But what seemed a perfect life was shattered when she went into labor four months early, delivering her one-pound, eleven-ounce daughter, Andie. The first time Kasey was wheeled into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), nothing prepared her for what she saw: a tiny, fragile baby in a tangle of tubes and wires. All at once, Kasey was confronted with a new and terrifying reality that would test the limits of love, family, and motherhood. In this riveting, honest, and often humorous memoir, Preemie chronicles the journey of one tiny baby’s tenacious struggle to hold on to life and the mother who ultimately grew with her. From hospital waiting rooms to the offices of alternative practitioners, from ski slopes to Symphony Hall, Kasey tries to make meaning of her daughter’s birth and eventually comes to learn that gifts come in all sizes and all forms, and sometimes... right on time.




A Preemie Parent's Survival Guide to the NICU


Book Description

A Preemie Parent's Survival Guide to the NICU details the journey of Megan Grandinetti and her husband during their NICU stay with their daughter Sofie. Sofie was born at 26 weeks and stayed for a tumultuous 5 months in the hospital. Megan gives new parents of preemies pieces of advice she wishes she had been told coming into the NICU. Through 18 personal tips, Megan paints a colorful overview of Sofie's time in the hospital, and the things she feels were critical to her family's success.




Preemies - Second Edition


Book Description

A reassuring and realistic comprehensive guide to preemie medical care—now updated to reflect the many advances in neonatology. Preemies, Second Edition is the only parents’ reference resource of its kind—delivering up-to-the-minute information on medical care in a warm, caring, and engaging voice. Authors Dana Wechsler Linden and Emma Trenti Paroli are parents who have “been there.” Together with neonatologist Mia Wechsler Doron, they answer the dozens of questions that parents will have at every stage—from high-risk pregnancy through preemie hospitalization, to homecoming and the preschool years—imparting a vast, detailed store of knowledge in clear language that all readers can understand. Preemies, Second Edition covers topics related to premature birth, including: -What are your risk factors for having a premature baby? -Can you do something to delay early labor? -What do doctors know about you baby’s outlook during her first minutes and days of life? -How will your preemie’s progress be monitored? -How do you cope with a long hospitalization? -Are there special preparations for you baby’s homecoming? -What kind of stimulation during the first year gives your baby the best chance? -Will your preemie grow up healthy? Normal? Comprehensive and reassuring, Preemies provides the answers to questions that any concerned parent might have.




Preemie Care


Book Description

An essential resource for parents of premature babies. The birth of a new baby is a time full of joy and wonder. But when your baby is born premature, that joy also comes with stresses and challenges. Written for parents, but full of practical advice for health care professionals alike, Preemie Care helps ease the unique preemie journey to health, with a comprehensive guide to the first year of life. Leading neonatal nurse specialists Karen Lasby and Tammy Sherrow draw on their decades of experience, empowering you with the knowledge and resources to give your little one the best possible start in life--in the NICU and beyond. In Preemie Care, you will learn: - How to care for yourself and your baby while in the NICU - What to expect at the time of discharge, and how to prepare for the journey home - Strategies to foster your baby's health and prevent illness - Everything you need to know about feeding--from the breast, bottle, tube, and spoon - How to support and stimulate your baby at each key developmental phase - Tips for self-care during this challenging year - And much, much more, including stories from other preemie parents Having a premature baby can feel like an unexpected journey on rough seas. With extensive and up-to-date information about how to look after your little one, Preemie Care will be a life preserver through these tumultuous waters and will help steer you confidently through the first year of your baby's life.




Preemie Voices


Book Description

The birth of a very premature baby is a shock for parents. The immediate anxiety about whether their infant will survive quickly leads to concerns about their child's future quality of life. In this inspiring and informative book, young people who were born weighing less than two pounds, three ounces provide candid and personal stories about their lives, challenges and accomplishments. Now in their thirties, these men and women were cared for at McMaster University Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, soon after the introduction of newborn intensive care. Dr. Saroj Saigal, a renowned and award-winning neonatologist at McMaster, adds several chapters that outline the history of neonatology, describes recent medical and technological innovations, and explains how many extremely premature babies go on to enjoy fulfilling lives. Her chapters give the answer of a caring specialist to the inevitable question, "What next?" Written for a lay audience, Preemie Voices will move you to tears of admiration and amazement at the remarkable resilience of these tiny survivors. This unique collection of stories will not only provide encouragement and hope for parents who have given birth to a tiny preemie, but will inspire others who will be in awe at the achievements of these infants - both with and without disabilities - who were born too early. Watch the video documentary of a few participants from Preemie Voices at www.saigalpreemievoices.com...




Kangaroo Care


Book Description

Give Your Preterm Baby the Best Possible Start in Life If you have just given birth to a preterm infant, you and your baby both face special challenges. Parents long to help their baby but often feel isolated frightened by hospital procedures. Now there is wonderful news for both babies and parents. Kangaroo Care, a technique pioneered in leading neonatal centers worldwide, gives you a unique role: a special way of holding your infant that provides crucial health benefits—including shorter hospital stays. Based on ground-breaking research, Kangaroo Care is a step-by-step guide to bringing these benefits to your baby—even if your neonatal unit does not yet have a Kangaroo Care program. It explains: • Why Kangaroo Care enhances your baby’s development • How to use the technique even if your infant requires a ventilator or an incubator • How to understand your baby’s signals of distress or comfort—and how to respond • How you can work with the neonatal staff to provide the best for your baby between your visits • How to involve fathers as well as mothers • All the proven results of Kangaroo Care—including a more relaxed, healthier, and contented baby The complete parents’ guide to the revolutionary new treatment for preterm babies: Kangaroo Care




Jacob's Journal (Evidence of Hope) A Window into the NICU


Book Description

How Do I Still Be A Mom? You prepared for the expected. What about the unexpected events that lead you directly to the confines of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit? As you begin your new role, you can feel more like a visitor than a mom as the (temporary) circumstances dicate the part you will play in your new baby's life. This book validates a mother's anguish of leaving the hospital without her baby while helping her to embrace the unique experience of parenting a preemie.




The Preemie Parent's Survival Guide to the NICU


Book Description

Taking a different view on supporting families who have just been exposed to the NICU, little man Writer/Director Nicole Conn and Founder of Preemie Magazine, Deb Discenza have joined forces to create the "must-have and essential handbook to surviving the NICU.