Your baby may have stayed in the NICU for days, weeks, or even several months. No matter what your NICU experience looked like or how long your journey has been, bringing your little one home is a huge deal. Congratulations!  You may be feeling a variety of emotions ranging from joyful and excited to anxious and overwhelmed. All of these feelings are 100% valid and normal. Make sure to reach out to friends and family members who can support you during this emotional time.  ​ As the big day approaches, try to become as independent as possible with your baby. The more time you spend ..read more

It's a terrifying moment when your baby needs to be in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It's overwhelming and can be downright devastating. Admission to the NICU may be completely unexpected, or you are already aware that your baby will require intensive care after birth. Either way, it is a scary and stressful situation. There is so much fear of the unknown. What will happen to your baby? Who will be caring for them? When can you see your baby? The questions and concerns are endless. Your NICU team is your ally, and they are that guiding hand of support you will reach out to for the ..read more

Babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) face many different challenges depending on their individual situation, but they often share one...feeding. This may be due to not having fully developed their skills yet, or their condition or medical equipment makes it more difficult. ​ If you have twins in the NICU, don’t get discouraged. It may take them a little longer, or sometimes further assistance. But with the help of NICU staff & lactation consultants, many babies can breastfeed successfully in the NICU. How you can help encourage your babies to breastfeed while in the NICU: ​P ..read more

After all that parents have been through with their preemie’s health, parents will want a reliable baby monitor that can give them extra peace of mind anytime and from anywhere.  The Safety 1st HD WiFi Baby Monitor was designed to stream high definition, high speed video right to the high-resolution screen on a parent’s smartphone – even on connections with low-bandwidth. The end result is a baby monitor that delivers the sharpest video quality with minimal buffering delays. A wide 130 degree viewing angle lets parents see the whole nursery without ever needing to pan or tilt, and 12 infrared ..read more

Safety 1st, brand of one of the world’s leading juvenile products manufacturers, Dorel Juvenile, is a proud sponsor of NICU Awareness Month. In honor of NICU Awareness Month Project Sweet Peas is partnering with Safety 1st to offer a give away of their latest lightweight stroller, the Safety 1st RIVA Flex – a 6-in-1 travel system. ​Visit our Facebook to enter to win from September 14 to September 20.  The lightest travel system in its class, RIVA Flex is an eco-friendly option that offers parents everything they need for a smooth ride with baby, while reducing their impact on the envi ..read more

"Knowing I was giving families hope, and comfort when they needed it most healed me in ways I didn’t know it could. " -Krystal Roark, Division Coordinator Project Sweet Peas - Greater Lafayette When I speak of my NICU experience, sometimes I am brushed off.  Why? Because my NICU experience wasn’t a long one. It can make others uncomfortable. ​My NICU experience ended after 8 days. It didn't end in the joyous day all NICU parents look forward to for us. It was the second time that week we were told our daughter had died.  Just 7 days earlier our oldest twin didn’t make it either. We ..read more

​From Mini to Moose is a unique company that was recently founded by two NICU moms who are trying to make a small difference throughout the NICU community.  Inspired by the premature birth of our daughters we both had a strong desire to become more involved in helping other families within the NICU community. After throwing around the idea of forming an Etsy shop, centered around the needs of the NICU community, the idea of taking some of the special onesies that we would be creating into local NICUs was born.  From Mini to Moose the Etsy shop soon became only one piece of the puzzle and “Fro ..read more

ONE of the earliest feelings of my life in the NICU was being separated from my baby. This feeling still prevails within me as I am writing this blog. This feeling of separation can only be felt deeply by the families who have gone through similar trauma in their lives. Each one of us ended up in NICU expecting the unexpected.  Initially, it was very hard as parents—both me and my husband wanted to be with the baby. At that time, I just wanted to hold my baby close to my skin—in my arms and never let him go. The acknowledgment of the separation feelings were important at that time. E ..read more

By Steven Lam ​ When our babies are in the NICU, it can be greatly stressful for everyone involved. Our babies may often be stressed due to maternal separation, noise and bright lights, procedures, and other events.   The types of pain that our babies can experience in the NICU include:Acute pain (e.g. from procedures) Post-operative pain Inflammatory pain Visceral pain (e.g. from a UTI) General chronic pain  Like most infants, preterm infants also have pain responses, although they may be immature and less localized than in older infants. They often experience hyperalgesia (exaggerated ..read more

By: Elizabeth Payne ​ Dr. Vincent Smith has practiced neonatal and perinatal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for over ten years. Dr. Smith is a big proponent of family-centered care, an approach that encourages heavily involving the families of NICU patients in the care of their babies. We had the pleasure of speaking with him recently on the value of family-centered care. Tell me about your experience with family-centered care models. Dr. Smith explained that one of the big advantages of family-centered care was having extra sets of eyes on each patient, watchin ..read more