preemies Archives - Mother 2 Mother Blog

Turning Wedding Gowns Into Angel Gowns: NICU Helping Hands

March 29, 2014 by Rhonda Gales

I wanted to share a story with you that touched my heart in so many ways. These beautiful gowns that you see on the left were made for babies who never make it home from the hospital. They are made from donated wedding gowns, so the mothers can use them to send their precious babies home to be with the Lord.
As many of you know, my Zarriah was a preemie. She entered the world at 31 weeks weighing 2lbs. 10ozs, and fought for her life for 3 months in the NICU at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Norfolk, VA. I’m proud to say that she is still fighting and gets time out quite often, lol. I must also say those were 3 of the most heart wrenching months of my life. I will always be grateful for the nurses in the NICU for their skills and the love they show the babies and parents. I am most grateful that my Zarriah survived, but my heart still bleeds for those precious babies who do not.

A lady by the name of Lisa Grubbs, founder of Angel Gowns at NICU Helping Hands, came up with the idea of turning wedding gowns into Angel Gowns to help grieving mothers in 2013. Her husband is a specialist for premature babies. The gowns are provided free of charge to families and hospitals across the country. The tears are flowing as I write this post, because I can’t imagine any loss greater than the loss of a child. I understand the fight, and I cry for those who loss their precious baby. I also cry for those who fought the fight and won. I understand the confusion, the despair, the desperation, sleepless nights and the many prayers.

I also know that a mother and father would be grateful to have a picture of their angel in one of these beautiful gowns as a memory, and to be able to send them on to their Heavenly Father in one will certainly help ease the pain if only for a moment.

I’m always amazed at other’s creativity and their thoughtfulness of others. I’m hoping that my daughter will donate her wedding gown, as she too understands the fight. The organization is able to make approximately 12 “Angel Gowns” from one wedding dress, and all work is done by volunteers. They are shipped across the country to hospitals for families who request them.
I will continue to pray for families who are fighting the fight. May each and every one be blessed in their despair or victory.

Note: Photo courtesy of NICU Helping Hands.

Filed Under: angels, Uncategorized Tagged With: Life-Thoughts, loosing a child, losing a ne born, preemies, wedding gowns

Raising A Preemie

March 8, 2013 by Rhonda Gales

As you know, my Zarriah was born weighing 2lbs. 10 ozs. She spent the first 3 month of her life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Virginia Beach, VA. This is my preemie a year and half later. She’s walking, talking, eating everything in site and has proven herself to be one of my greatest blessings. I look back at the day she was born, Hurricane Irene was coming through. I nicknamed her “Storm”.

Her doctors say she’s doing fine. They see no problem with her eyesight. Her motor skills are fine, she sleeps through the night, she’s walking, and throws the normal tantrums for a toddler. She has a totally different personality from her brother. He’s loving and likes to cuddle, Zarriah prefers her independence. She likes to be held, but she doesn’t hang around long. She prefers to discover and climb over or under whatever is in sight, and is always up for a fight. Yep, she will fight. She fought for her life, and she continues to fight. Hopefully, she will grow out of this habit.

She has a huge appetite! I must say, she eats more than any child that I have ever seen. There’s times when I think she’s going to be sick, but it never happens. When she doesn’t want anymore, she will turn her head, spit it out or just stop eating if she’s feeding herself. Her grandfather and I took her to Golden Corral for dinner. She ate the biggest plate of mashed potatoes and gravy that I’ve ever seen. The people sitting next to us looked and looked. Finally, I spoke up and said she will eat until the bottom falls out. We engaged in further conversation, and found out that they too had a preemie who was at that time 10. She had caught up and grown into a beautiful young lady.

It is such a blessing to be able to write this post. I want to thank the nurses in the NICU at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach for their professional care. They were all excellent, and will be forever in our hearts and prayers. I remember the first time that I saw Zarriah. I truly believed that I would pass out. She was so tiny, in an incubator and wires everywhere. I broke out in a sweat. The nurses comforted me, and assured me that they were skilled and she would be fine. Zarriah has been back to visit the NICU on several occasions. We thought it was important for her to keep the connection with those who fought as hard as she did to save her life.

Are you raising a preemie or know someone who is? Have they caught up or did they remain small? Leave me a comment, I would love to connect with other raising preemies.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Kids, NICU, Parenting, Parenting-Kids, preemie growth, preemies, raising a preemie, Sentara Princess Ann Hospital

Look Who’s 1

September 23, 2012 by Rhonda Gales

Wow, it’s been a long time since I posted. I took a much needed break to focus on my grandchildren, rest and just figure out where I was headed in my life. I ended a long term relationship, got tired of being in it by myself. I did a few home improvements, planned and hosted the grandchildren’s birthday parties, planned and hosted my little Zarriah’s Christening party, planted a garden and harvested and canned my crop, vacationed in St. Croix and the list goes on. I’m feeling energized and have lots of posts for you so lets get on with it.

Look who turned 1 August 28. My little preemie, Zarriah, who weighed 2lbs 10 ozs. when she entered this world is thriving. Miss Muffin is weighing in at 20 plus pounds as you can see. She’s not walking yet, but she’s crawling, pulling herself up and taking steps while holding on. She has become quite a handful. She’s no longer on formula and we’ve moved to stage 3 foods. The doctor said her eye sight is fine and they don’t foresee any vision problems in the future. She’s had an ear infection, but other than that she’s a picture of health.

We decided to celebrate big for her 1st birthday. We felt so blessed that she had survived and was doing so well, we wanted a big birthday bash for her with family and friends. Celebrate we did. Stay tuned for pictures and all the happenings with the children and my journey as a 50 plus single mother. It’s so good to back.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: parenting tips, Parenting-Kids, preemie growth, preemies, raising a preemie

Look At My Preemie

March 1, 2012 by Rhonda Gales

Hard to believe that my little preemie has turned 6 months, and is doing great. Zarriah is sporting her new ear piercings in the top picture. We got her ears pierced yesterday, and she handled it like a trooper. She’s so amazing. We’re purchasing 6 month clothing for her now. She arrived August 28, 2011 at 2lbs. 10 oz. and now weighs a whooping 13 lbs, lol. She doesn’t believe in missing a meal, so it didn’t take long for her to catch up.

Zarriah Gabrielle is wearing her Valentine’s Day outfit in the picture above. She loves her fingers and they go into the mouth as soon as she gets the chance. She’s rolling now and loves tummy time. She’s ruling the household, mommy and daddy sleep when she says. For several months she was sleeping through the night, but she has reverted somewhat. She wakes up once through the night demanding her yummies.

We’re going to try giving her fresh peaches within the next few weeks. I canned fresh peaches last year, so we could make her baby food. I also froze fresh zucchini, squash, and green beans from my garden. I’ll be planting sweet peas in the spring so we can make baby food out of those as well.

Grand parenting is such a blessing. I am so grateful and blessed that she is thriving and there are no major problems. She gets congested quite often, but the doctor is telling us not to worry. As her lungs get stronger, she will grow out of it. I’m looking forward to seeing Zarriah sprout and come into her own over the years. I’ll be working on her 1st year scrapbook soon, lol,

Filed Under: grand parenting, grandparents, infant ear piercing, Uncategorized Tagged With: Parenting-Kids, preemie babies, preemies

Teaching a Preemie How to Nurse From a Bottle

September 28, 2011 by Rhonda Gales

I wanted to let my readers know that my little Zarriah is up to 4 lbs. 2 ozs. Quite a milestone for us. My daughter is attempting to bottle feed her for the first time in this picture. She needs to learn how to suck and keep her milk down. This is a task that she would have learned during the last month in the womb. Once she masters this task, we will be well on our way to gaining that last pound needed to go home.

In addition to learning to nurse from the bottle, she also needs to maintain her body temperature outside the incubator, pass the car seat test and maintain a steady heart rate. So we still have a few milestones to accomplish.

The first attempt at bottle feeding was a little overwhelming for her. We’re hoping she will relate to sucking her pacifier, which she loves, and she will get the hang of things quickly. The hospital she’s in, is ranked as one of the best in the country for nursing preemies. They’ve actually had a speech therapist working with my daughter and Zarriah to help with the sucking processing. Is that not amazing? You wonder how they can teach a baby this small to do anything, but they can.

We’re thrilled that Zarriah is allowed to wear her own onesies and tees now, but I’m having a time finding preemie clothes. If you know a site or store where we can find cute onesies for her, please let me know. If you have experience with a preemie, I would love to hear from you. Please leave me a comment.