In just a few
weeks we will be celebrating Hannah Grace's first birthday. On the 29th of August. I can hardly believe it
is almost a year since we first met her and held her in our arms.
Sadly a year
later Hannah isn’t here with us, and we can’t just buy her the standard one year
old birthday presents. But we still want to do something special for her
birthday.
Jeremy and I
have decided we would like to take a big basket of items to the Christchurch
neonatal unit to donate in Hannah's memory. This is where we spent all of our time with her, and we are so thankful for the care she received there. But having a baby in the unit is so
stressful for families, so we want to encourage and bless them. Just as we were blessed by friends while we were in there.
I know from
experience how difficult it was for me having a baby in the neonatal intensive
care unit, and spending all of my time in there with her. Jeremy and I lived in
a room on the neonatal floor for the week that Hannah was in the unit, and our
whole life revolved around her and her needs. That unit is a world of its own.
When you are in there, nothing outside of it seems to matter. Many parents face
having their baby in there for months. Some of the babies have life threatening
conditions, and each day is a battle. And some of the Mums have other children
to still take care of, health issues of their own, or little support from
friends and family.
So our plan
is to collect new items that we will put together into pretty encouragement parcels
for some of those parents and their babies. We will do some packs with baby
items that are helpful in the neonatal setting, and some packs with items to
help and encourage the Mums themselves. Jeremy and I are collecting the donations,
so we can visit the unit and take all the gifts in together.
If Hannah’s
life touched you in any way, would you consider donating something??
We are
collecting NEW items; such as hand/foot print kits, little hats, prem size baby
clothes, blankets, small soft toys, and pampering items for the mums. Or other
things you think might be useful. If you have an idea but are unsure if it is suitable, feel free ask me. We would love it if items could be dropped off to us or my parents this week, or at the latest in the next 10 days.
Read on for
more information about each of the item ideas…
Hand/Foot
print kits: These give the opportunity for parents to create keepsake memories
of their baby. Whether or not their baby ends up making it and coming home,
having a nice kit to take their hand or foot prints is a special way of
capturing these. When Hannah was in the unit a nurse got some ink prints of her
feet on a little medical card, and I am so thankful for those prints, but it
would have been cool to have something a little nicer to hold this special memory.
Little hats
and premature sized baby clothes: These are always useful. Especially for
babies that are born very premature, as their parents probably weren’t
expecting their birth yet, so may not be prepared. Small woollen hats are
especially helpful, as little babies aren’t able to regulate their body temperatures,
and these help keep them warm. Little clothes are good too, especially ones
that can be easily put on and taken off. And ones that can work around tubes
are extra helpful!
Blankets:
Having a cute little blanket to wrap baby in is really nice. Blankets made of
natural materials (eg. wool) are especially good, as they breathe. It is nice
for parents to have pretty blankets to cover their baby, to wrap them in when
holding them, and as special keepsakes to take home with them afterwards. I
treasure each of the blankets that Hannah used while in the unit, and will
always keep them in her special memory box. They bring back a lot of memories.
Small soft
toys: Little teddy bears etc. are nice to have on baby’s cot or beside their
incubator in the unit. They also make nice keepsakes afterwards as they are a
special reminder of that time of baby’s life. Hannah’s teddy bears were in lots
of her photos, and now they sit in her room as a reminder of her.
Items
especially for the Mums: Little items
for Mum like a nice hand lotion, lip balm, a chocolate bar, barley sugars, and
little boxes of juice for energy, are really helpful when you are spending most
of your time at your baby’s side. When Hannah was in the NICU I certainly found these little things handy
and encouraging. For example a friend bought in a pack of little boxes of
orange juice for us, and they were just the right size for a little pick me up
when I was hot and thirsty and tired in the neonatal unit. The unit is kept at
a high temperature to keep the babies warm, so your skin dries out a lot too. Another friend sent me a gift box
with body lotion and shower gel which was nice, and that scent became something that I will always
associate with Hannah.
Items can be
dropped off to us or to my parents. Please do so in the next week! Jeremy and I
will then put all the gifts together and take them in to the neonatal unit for
Hannah’s birthday.
Financial
donations – If you are unable to buy an item/some items and drop them off to us
(for example for those of you who live far away), but you would still like to
give something towards Hannah’s birthday gift, we are also collecting financial
donations. We have talked to the manager of the Christchurch neonatal unit, and
she has requested that we raise some money to buy some ‘Play with a Purpose’
packs for their unit. Read on for more information…
Play with a Purpose Packs: These packs cost $5 each, and contain some small
toys to provide a distraction for children who are spending time at the
hospital (either themselves, or with their siblings). Items vary depending on
age but can include things such as bubble mixture, a squeezy ball, stickers or
a book. An information card explaining to caregivers how to distract
the child using the toys is also part of the pack.
Christchurch
hospital already has Play with a Purpose packs in its Children’s Acute
Assessment Unit, and the staff in CAAU love being able to give the play packs to
the children they care for as it helps make the experience more
positive for everybody. Results
from this ward and others that have used them have shown that these packs
benefit children, parents, family and staff. Children’s anxiety,
frustration and discomfort is managed better and they are less stressed.
The Christchurch
neonatal unit doesn’t have any Play with a Purpose packs currently, but would
love to be able to buy some. The manager of the neonatal floor would love to
see money raised so that these packs can be provided for siblings of babies in
the unit, as they have to spend a lot of time in the hospital environment. It
is a stressful time for their parents, so these packs would be a huge help in
keeping older siblings entertained. We have told the unit manager we will try to
raise some money in memory of Hannah, so that we can purchase some packs for them for her birthday.
If you would
like to donate money for us to purchase some of these Play with a Purpose packs
for the unit, please message me and I will give you our bank account number so
you can do this.
Thank you SO
much to everyone who has already indicated they want to donate something! And thank you in advance to those of you who still will. It means so
much to us, as it will to the parents who receive the donations, and we REALLY appreciate you doing this for Hannah Grace. We’re
missing her a lot as her birthday approaches, but it is nice to be able to
bless others in her memory. It is healing to be able to bring some good out of
our pain.
Thanks, we look forward to hearing from you and receiving some items over the next week!! If you have any questions please just ask.
God bless,
Jeremy, Rebecca,
Hannah, & Bubs
