Small Miracles

They have a ‘graduation party’ each June at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU, as it’s called, at Baystate Children’s Hospital. Ostensibly, it’s for the children who were patients at this facility over the course of the previous year. In reality, though, it’s for the parents of those children, many of whom were born weeks, even months premature, and thus started their lives under blue lights in a room that’s kept dark and quiet to replicate the womb, but is in all other ways a very warm place. As he talked with BusinessWest about the NICU and the work that goes on there, Rockwell was pressed for some other numbers, such as those concerning the ages of the patients when they arrive — some were born as early as 24 or 25 weeks into a normal 40-week gestation period — and their weights; some are less than a pound, although those working here use metrics, meaning, in extreme cases, fewer than 500 grams. But while he supplied such figures, knowing that they help people grasp the concept, Rockwell stressed early and often that this unit isn’t about numbers. Instead, it’s much more about names … such as Graham Rockwell. Actually, that’s Capt. Graham Rockwell, the doctor’s son, now age 26 and doing a tour of duty with the U.S. Army in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (There’s a picture of him and others from his unit just a few mouse clicks away on Gary Rockwell’s computer.) He was a NICU patient, as was his sister, Margo, 28, who will soon become a doctor. “Every once in a while at a high-school basketball game, someone will come to me and just introduce themselves,” Rockwell continued, noting that one of the ways he ages himself is to note that one of the doctors on staff at the NICU was one of his patients. “The last one was a cheerleader; she just said, ‘I’m all right.’ The last time I saw her, she weighed about three pounds.” The NICU is also about technology, and equipment with simple yet effective names such as the ‘thermal bag,’ which provides a womb-like environment, and the ‘cool cap,’ which, as the name suggests, is designed to keep the child’s head cool. “We can’t do as well as moms can — we’re a substitute,” Rockwell explained. “We can’t make them grow as fast or as well as they can by staying inside their moms, but we try to do the best we can.” “In December, those walls will be covered with Christmas cards from top to bottom,” he said, adding that they come from the parents of former patients — some of them now old enough to have children of their own — who have never forgotten the people who, while caring for their infants, helped see them through what was probably the most difficult time in their lives to that point. “If you listen for a moment, you don’t hear much — and that’s on purpose,” he explained. “There’s acoustic tiling, the flooring is soft and sound-absorbing, and the walls are all neutral, earth tones. Babies can’t talk, but they can tell you how they feel, and one of the ways they do that is with how they look, and we want to know if there’s any yellow, red, or blue, so we use very neutral colors here to help us.” NICU staffers help parents in a number of ways, with everything from so-called ‘pump rooms’ for mothers breastfeeding their children to assistance with holding their babies — a delicate matter in these circumstances — or finding other ways to get close when holding them simply isn’t possible, such as when they’re having issues with breathing. This comprehensive training is carried out to enable to parents to effectively care for their child, taking charge of medication and equipment (some children go home on oxygen or monitors, for example), and providing all other forms of care. After getting this training, parents will spend a night or perhaps two with the baby in the so-called ‘sleep room’ inside the nursery. In hindsight, she said, many of those who become what some call ‘NICU parents’ are glad they had the experience, because it provides an intense, yet needed form of parental training that most don’t have when they arrive back home with their babies. Their attitude is much different, of course, when they’re living through those moments.

Used Children Clothing Helps You Save Money | Counselor Mom

Used children clothing is one of the best ways to save money. I can’t express how thankful I am to my sister-in-law for giving me all of her daughter’s clothing. Most of the infant clothing looked new because her daughter grew so fast, just like any other baby! If you don’t have the luxury of getting free clothes from a family member or friend then there are several options for you. Remember, buying used children clothing does not mean that it is always a deal. Use common sense when shopping.

A note about buying used children clothing- don’t overspend! It is easy to do this. For example, is that $10 name brand dress really a nice quality, clean looking dress compared to the $6 new dress you can buy at Wal-Mart? With that being said, you can save a ton of money shopping for used clothes. Shop smart.

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