Making it a Merry Christmas in the NICU

Christmas is a time when people think they will be “merry” and have “happy holidays” but these can be challenging emotions for NICU parents to feel. They are spending their baby’s first Christmas in the hospital, in the NICU, rather than at home with the family.

Fortunately, there are people who understand the situation that NICU parents find themselves and out of the goodness of their heart, perhaps the true spirit of Christmas, find ways to make spending Christmas in the NICU a bit merrier.

Read on to discover some of the many ways that “Santa’s helpers” are helping NICU Parents spend a happier Christmas in the NICU.

Spending Christmas in the NICU can be a difficult time for many NICU parents. In the last article, Tips for Celebrating and Coping with Christmas in the NICU, I took a look at some helpful suggestions for celebrating  Christmas in the NICU.

Fortunately there are also many generous souls giving from the heart to help make it a merry or merrier Christmas for NICU families. These are just some of the examples of people who are helping and ways to make it a merry NICU Christmas.

Making Christmas Merry Even in the NICU

There are many people who give of their time to help make it a merrier time for those parents spending a first Christmas in the NICU. The words of Isabel Currier may help to explain this generous Christmas spirit.

It is the personal thoughtfulness, the warm human awareness,
the reaching out of the self to one’s fellow man
that makes giving worthy of the Christmas spirit.

This generosity to helping NICU parents was also seen at Thanksgiving as see in the Giving Thanks Even When Thanksgiving is in the NICU article.

Knitting for the NICU Christmas Hats

We first met knitting respiratory therapist Glenna Muse in the Giving Thanks Even When Thanksgiving is in the NICU article. Glenna is helping spread the holiday spirit through knitting. For Christmas she has knitted a variety of special, unique hats to help NICU babies and their parents.

You can see some of the amazing creations she has knitted for this holiday season complete with Santa, reindeer and Christmas Tree Hats at her blog, Knitting for the NICU: Christmas ’09.

I plan on writing more about Glenna’s Knitting in the NICU in a later article in 2010.

Afghans for NICU Babies

Kathryn from Vacaville, CA posted on the Crochetville Forum posted information about the 3rd Annual Afghans for NICU Babies for Christmas and is already starting the 4th Annual Afghans for NICU Babies for Christmas for Christmas 2010. She has been making and donating afghans for the NICU at Oakland Children’s Hospital in California, the hospital where her son was in the NICU. According to her post, “In 2009, we delivered 202 afghans – which is enough for 5 rotations of children in the NICU.” She is hoping for 203 afghans in 2010.

You can read more about the Afghans for NICU Babies on her post at the Crochetville Forum.

Prayer Pockets as Stockings

Prayer pockets are an idea shared in the Make a Preemie Prayer Pocket to Help Cope with the NICU article. One way to customize them for Christmas is to make them in the shape of Christmas stockings, rather than the heart-shaped prayer pocket. The Christmas NICU stockings can be customized to hold a special NICU Christmas Holiday poem shared below.

Martha Stewart has a great Christmas stocking pattern that can be modified into NICU colors. If elf stockings are more of your style, Stardust Shoes has a cute elf stocking pattern that could be used for NICU baby stockings.

Christmas Poems

Several NICU poems have been shared on the Inspire.com Preemie Support Site. I have also included a few on the NICU Parent Support Blog with “A Prayer from the N.I.C.U.” by Tara Roper and information for writing your own prayer poem.

Perhaps one of the more inspired NICU Christmas poems, “Jolly Old St. NICU” was written in 2005 by the Daddy of Benjamin, Casey, Danielle and Emily (in memory).

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and in each isolette
Little creatures were squirming and getting all set;
Machinery sat by their bedsides with care,
In hopes that good breathing skills soon would be there.

The full version of the poem, “Jolly Old St. NICU” can be found on the PreemieCare.org site.

Santa Visits

As would be expected, even Santa manages to find his way to visit NICU babies and their NICU parents. Different news reports have covered Santa’s many trips to the NICU.

In Joplin, Missouri Santa makes an annual visit to the Freeman NICU. where he “poses for pictures with some special babies who are away from home during the holiday season” as part of a special program in part sponsored by the Children’s Miracle Network.

The Baptist Health System in San Antonio, Texas has a Santa Fly-in with AirLife Santa for the North Central Baptist Hospital. You can read more about it in their NICU blog.

NICU Holiday Reunions

The NICU in North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond, Louisana holds a holiday reunion in early December before the holidays as a way for parents and staff to get together and celebrate the milestones.

According to Critical Care Services Director Janet Morse, RN, “This annual reunion is therapeutic in that it gives us the chance to celebrate the children’s developmental milestones from year to year.”

A Special Christmas in the NICU

The Department of Pediatrics, NICU at Saint Barnabas Hospital in New Jersey shares one of their stories about how a special Christmas baby benefited from spending time in the NICU.

Making Christmas Memories

One of the common suggestions for coping with spending Christmas in the NICU, expressed again and again in different articles and in different forum posts, is that of finding a way to make memories. Scrapbooking discussed in the Tips for Celebrating and Coping with Christmas in the NICU article is another way.

These special moments become memories that NICU Parents will hold close to their hearts as special memories of their baby’s first Christmas. American writer, Marjorie Holmes shared her thoughts on Christmas memories:

It comes every year and will go on forever.
And along with Christmas belong the keepsakes and the customs.
Those humble, everyday things a mother clings to, and ponders,
like Mary in the secret spaces of her heart.

I would like to wish NICU parents a happy holiday, with special moments that will touch the heart.

More Resources

Dyer KA. 2009. Tips for Celebrating and Coping with Christmas in the NICU. Type-A Mom.

Dyer K. 2009. Giving Thanks Even When Thanksgiving is in the NICU. Type-A Mom.

Image: Created from a composite of Alessandro Paiva’s Fun Christmas Ornament, Foxumon’s Purple Bell, and Sanja Gjenero’s Golden Bell and Heartbeat. All images Royalty Free Use.

About the Author

Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT is a respected physician, an expert in life challenges, loss, grief and bereavement, professional health educator, professor, lecturer and author. She is also the Parent of a very healthy NICU Survivor.

Dr. Dyer created and has maintained Journey of Hearts, a website for anyone who has ever experienced a loss. She is the author of For Those Who Hold the Littlest Hands, an eBook written to provide information, encouragement and support for NICU parents. She is the founder of the NICU Parent Support Site, a website developed to provide information, encouragement and support for NICU parents.

Related posts:

1. Tips for Celebrating and Coping with Christmas in the NICU
2. Making Christmas Merry for Others
3. NICU Diary Page Available for NICU Parents
4. Holidays in the NICU
5. Free NICU eBook Available for NICU Parents