As a lacation consultant and also a mother of a NICU graduate, I have seen both sides of the neonatal intensive care unit. Oftentimes, hospital budgets are stretched thin to have all of the best technology, leaving no room for extras. Last year, we celebrated the store's birthday with a fundraiser for the NICU at TriCity Medical Center. They were able to use the money to buy things to make visiting parents more comfortable, and also for items like scrapbooking supplies (the nurses make little scrapbooks for the babies who are long-term patients to give their parents a keepsake of the journey).
We are working hard to make this year's event even more successful - for parents like Lori...
"Zoey Mae arrived at 32 weeks 4 days gestation weighing 3 lbs 14.5 oz, despite our plans for a perfect home birth. Although Zoey's arrival did not go as we expected we are very blessed to have had a loving skilled team to care for her as she grew stronger. Zoey was at Tri City Medical Center NICU for thirty days and we spent upwards of twelve hours a day there with her. We were astonished at how well she was cared for, not to mention the emotional support we received from the entire NICU staff. The neonatology team was always able to take the extra time to explain Zoey's changing needs, the nursing staff was kind and willing to support our instincts as parents and the lactation team was unparalleled.
After spending her first month of life in the hospital, Zoey is now home, thriving, nursing beautifully and we are loving being a family of five. We will forever be grateful for the TriCity NICU Team for the amazing medical care and for all the love and support we received during our time there."
