Tips for Celebrating and Coping with Christmas in the NICU

Having a NICU baby is difficult enough for NICU Parents, but when that birth and hospitalization coincide with a holiday like Christmas, it can make it even more challenging.

Seeing everyone going around being cheerful can make it hard for NICU Parents to cope with their own reality – being in the NICU with their newborn.

By letting in a bit of the Christmas Spirit to celebrate the season, NICU Parents may be able to brightening the lives of the NICU staff and other NICU Parents can make this time in the NICU easier to cope with and make it through a NICU hospitalization. 

Our NICU holiday experience was over Easter, when my daughter was transferred to a higher level NICU very early Easter morning. While I did not spent Christmas in the NICU, I spent many a Christmas on call in the hospital, tending to people who were sick over the holidays. Understandably it can potentially be a gloomy time for those in the hospital over Christmas.

At a time of the year when other people are wishing each other “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays” NICU Parents are trying to survive a major life challenge with the hospitalization of their newborn. One thought that may help NICU parents shift their perspective to be better able to cope with Christmas in the NICU and comes from this quote by W.C. Jones:

The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others’ burdens,
easing others’ loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts
becomes for us the magic of Christmas.

This quote sounds so much like NICU parents, NICU staff and generous NICU volunteers pulling together during the holidays to brighten each others’ lives and ease each others’ burdens.

Coping with Christmas in the NICU

On the L’il Aussie Prems forum under Tips on making a NICU Christmas easier, Rachel’s mum posted in November,

Despite the surroundings, we rejoiced in the day and created a festive atmosphere as we shared the day with our NICU family.

Christmas in the NICU was not the Christmas that you envisioned, but with a bit of a shift in attitude and looking at the glass being half full, rather than half empty, you may still be able to celebrate the season and your baby’s first Christmas, even if it is in the NICU.

Tips for Celebrating Christmas in the NICU

Many of these tips for celebrating the Christmas holidays in the NICU come from other NICU parents. The list of resources are listed at the bottom of the page if you want to look for even more.

Decorate

One way to make the NICU more festive is to decorate. Check with the NICU staff to see if they have any policies about Christmas decorations (like no live plants or glass ornaments) then bring in what you can to make your NICU’s baby’s isolette a Christmas wonderland. An obvious theme is bringing in ‘mini’ items. You may want to bring in a mini artificial tree with decorations. See about hanging some tinsel, ornaments, baubles and garlands. If you are getting Christmas Cards and well wishes, bring them in to share with your NICU baby. Bring in some mini stockings for everyone in the family.

As noted by Rachel’s Mum, focus on creating a festive atmosphere for your family, the NICU family and the NICU staff. It may help to lift your spirits.

Clothes

There are different Christmas items that are made for baby. You may need to enlist some of your creative family and friends to sew, knit or crochet a special Christmas outfit for the NICU baby. A Christmas NICU hat will to a long way to making your NICU baby look like they are part of the holiday. You might also see about getting a shirt or dress made, or a special Christmas bib.

Getting the creative family and friends involved in making something for the NICU baby will help them feel as though they are helping as well. They might even make a few extras that can be shared with other NICU parents.

Gifts for Baby

In addition to gifts of clothes for the NICU baby, other possible Christmas gifts are quilts and stockings. Many times these are given to NICU parents spending Christmas in the NICU by NICU volunteers or former NICU parents.You might also want to see about bringing in a Christmas Teddy Bear or small stuffed animal for your NICU baby. We still have the stuffed bear that my daughter received as a gift from the NICU transport team and also the silly looking stuffed bird that we got for her from the hospital gift shop.

Gifts for NICU Parents

The last article that I wrote here listed a lot of Gift Suggestions for NICU Parents. Some of the best ones for Christmas include are the Zaky (Theraputic Positioning Pillow), the Preemie Book of Memories, Letters To Your Child and Water Blessing Labels.

One of the greatest gifts that a NICU parent can receive is the gift of presence (listening to the NICU story) and the gift of hope or magic. Christmas is a time of magic, a time to believe and to hope, even for just a little bit of time – time enough to make a special memory.

Scrapbooking Your Christmas in the NICU

Scrapbooking about the NICU is another creative way of coping with the NICU. Creating a holiday page of memories that can be put into a special Christmas Scrapbook page is another way that parents can do something positive about the holidays.Taking pictures, keeping journal or diary entries about your NICU experiences over the holidays are a way of making memories that will last.

Some tips for how to scrapbook have been shared here at the Type-A Mom site with the post on Scrapbooking in the NICU. Information on Keeping a NICU Diary or Journal to Monitor Your Baby’s Changes or a NICU Diary Page are also available in other articles on this site.

Making Memories

The overwhelming advice from other NICU parents who spent their Christmases in the NICU is to find a way or create a way to make some memories of your baby’s first Christmas. This may be getting a special first Christmas ornament or stocking. Making hand or footprints either on paper or as a cast for an ornament will be a reminder for years to come of just how tiny your baby’s feet were on his or her first Christmas.

Taking pictures of the family spending Christmas in the NICU is another way to capture some Christmas memories in the NICU.

Remembering the Simplest Things

Comedian and actor Bob Hope once said about Christmas:

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things,
not the great occasions, give off the greatest glow of happiness.

For NICU Parents celebrating Christmas in the NICU, remember that this is the first Christmas that you get to celebrate with your new baby. Finding simple ways and simple things to make that holiday season special for your family will help you to have some happy memories of your baby’s first (NICU) Christmas.

Wishing NICU Parents a happy holiday.

If you have any other helpful suggestions and tips for coping with Christmas in the NICU, be sure to share them in the comments section below.

Resources

Health J. 2008. Holidays in the NICU. Type-A Mom. 

L’il Aussie Prems. 2009. Tips on making a NICU Christmas easier. Premature Baby Support Forum.

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

McNealy. K. 2007. Coping with Christmas in the NICU. Kristie McNealy MD. 

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. NICU Diary Page Available for NICU Parents
2. Free NICU eBook Available for NICU Parents
3. NICU Milestones
4. Tips on Offering Comfort to a Grieving NICU Parent
5. March of Dimes Supporting NICU Families with NICU Family Support