Our twin daughters, Daisy and Brighton, were born nine weeks prematurely at 31 weeks. Seconds after being born, they were rushed away to spend the first six weeks of their NICU life. The NICU isn’t something you can prepare for, but suddenly parents are thrown into a circumstance with a scary hospital machine keeping their baby alive. Our time in the NICU inspired our desire to give back. This next year, along our travels, we will be supporting NICUs across the country.

Our mission is to give hope and support to those NICU parents and babies that they, too, will have BRIGHT DAIS AHEAD.

An Emotional Toll

Between 10-15 percent of all babies born in the United States require special care in the NICU. The NICU is a special unit for preterm babies who are born very early or very ill. When a baby is born prematurely, the family faces a stressful new world. Often, the parents see the baby only for a moment before they are whisked away to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). 

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Never did we intend to be NICU parents. The ideal birth story the parents had been dreaming of is gone in a flash. Soon after birth, the mother walks out of the hospital without a baby in her arms. Instead of riding home as a family, NICU parents will be clocking in more hours in a hospital than most orderlies. Having a child in the NICU is like being dropped into a med school exam you hadn’t studied for. Instead of learning to change diapers at home, you are staring at your baby in a glass case hooked up to tubes. There are beeps, machines, and endless gray-iege walls surrounding your child instead of the picture-perfect nursery sitting empty at home. You meet with doctors, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, speech therapists, social workers, a sea of nurses, and many more specialists. The doctors and nurses use clinical words that you need a dictionary to understand. And the busy, hectic atmosphere in the NICU is stressful. Often the parents are left feeling lonely and sad like their baby isn’t something to celebrate.

The NICU can be a terrifying place. Tiny humans can come with big complications. Things can change very quickly. One day the baby appears to be doing well; the next, hope seems to be lost. Families with premature babies often refer to the NICU as a roller-coaster experience. 

My hardest day in the NICU was after Daisy had a “death spell.” A helpful nurse told me to take a break and get some coffee from the hospital cafeteria. As I walked down the bright hallway, I watched a happy dad bring up two car seats. He and his wife just birthed healthy twins and were getting to take them home. I was weeks away from my babies leaving the hospital.

Day-to-day life is completely disrupted. Parents spend hours in the NICU, away from their other children and their jobs. Sometimes the NICU stay can last for months, and often the facility is located miles from home. Most families face financial or time stress. Parents logging time at the NICU means they have to juggle other life areas like older kids back home or jobs. NICU stays are not always included in maternity leave or will start the clock on maternity leave early, adding to a parent’s burden is deciding what to do about employment. Not to mention the NICU bills adding up.

Our Mission – Traveling NICU Support

The NICU was frightening, but as the days turned to weeks, we felt part of the NICU. We saw families grieve for children lost and cheer for NICU graduates. We got to know the superhumans saving babies and came to consider many of them as friends. We were fortunate as our NICU had a foundation, Circle of Hope which provided emotional, social, and financial support. They fed us dinner once a week, which as a tired NICU Mom, was sincerely appreciated. Most NICUs don’t have this kind of organization to help families navigate a crash course in NICUs.

We vividly remember our NICU days and want to help support NICUs in the cities we visit. Whether our support is emotional or financial will change based on the needs of the location. With resources, we would like to donate and support parents with “NICU survival kits.” Along our travel route in the cities we visit, our mission is to give hope and support to those NICU parents and babies that they, too, will have BRIGHT DAIS AHEAD.

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How You Can Help the NICU Project

We can use your help in one of three ways:

1. Calling all crafters

Know how to crochet or want to take up a hobby? We have a goal to collect 1,000 crochet octopuses for preemies. A crochet octopus can comfort tiny babies. To the premature baby, carefully made octopus’s tentacles feel like their mother’s umbilical cord. These toys comfort the baby and reducing the risk of the little one pulling the life-saving medical cords and hoses they are hooked up to.

To get started, check out these 10 patterns of crochet octopuses or these 30 Free Crochet Octopus patterns. Before getting started, check out these tips to make sure your octopus will be NICU-approved.

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If blankets or quilts are more your things, we need your help too! Buy, crochet, knit, or quilt a baby blanket to be used as a NICU bassinet cover. NICU babies are sensitive, and giving the baby a layette cover helps give the preemie a more dark womb-like feel hidden away from all NICU lights and movement.

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2. Care Package Supplies

Next time you are at Costco or Target, pick up a couple of supplies to help create care packages. Things we need for packages:

• Swaddle Blankets
• Baby Wipes
• Small Kleenex packets
• Water Bottles
• Journals
• Children’s Board Book
• Restaurant Gift Cards
• Fuel Cards
• Travel-sized Lotions, Sanitizer and Chapsticks

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3. Donate to a tax-deductible NICU Supporting Charity

While March of Dimes is an excellent organization, its focus is research and provide education and advocacy so that every mom and baby can have the best possible start.

The organizations listed below have missions to support families during the difficult time in the NICU and beyond:

• Project Sweet Pea
• Circle of Hope
• Ronald McDonald House Charities
• NICU Helping Hands
• Hand to Hold

Where to send support for the BDA NICU project:

If you have items to donate to our cause like octopuses, blankets or care package supplies, send to:

• BRIGHT DAIS AHEAD
• 172 Rainbow Drive #7276
• Livingston, TX 77399

Thank you for your interest and support. With a little help, many NICU families will have Bright Dais Ahead!

Even if you don’t pick up a crochet needle, we would still love to hear from you!