NICU Memory Boxes from Bryn's Helping Hand
A few weeks ago I was delighted to tell you that Sleepy Nico had been able to donate £500 to the local charity Bryn's Helping Hand. Rosie, Bryn's Mum has kindly written a piece for us to share with you.
Thank you Rosie, this must have been hard to write.
Angeline x
"When I was pregnant with Bryn, I found myself in a truly scary place of high medical care and facing those precious first days or weeks of my baby’s life with him in intensive care.
It was heart- wrenchingly, stomach -churningly breath- takingly sad and frightening. Not least because I knew of the negative impact it would have on us all but because I felt so lost and alone and a visit to the NICU did little to relieve my concerns.
It felt like my whole pregnancy and birth had been taken away from me and none of the decisions were mine to make.
There is only so much research you can undertake in such a short time. Usually antenatal classes are a place to gather information and learn about your upcoming birth and life with a new baby but those with unusual situations like I experienced don’t have much in the way of support. I can imagine it being even worse if you go into premature labour – the shock, fear and panic as you are catapulted into a world beyond your control."
"The boxes which Bryn's Helping Hand hand have created have been developed with the idea of giving support in a box, or a hug in a box if you will. A few things that can bring a more human element to life in NICU, some things to concentrate on away from the medical stuff and bring a bit of homeliness to the situation.
Researching what could go into them was done by internet search (what’s out there), heart search and chatting with other mums who had had babies in NICU.
There is so much more that could go in but with price a factor I had to choose what I thought would be of the most benefit.
My original idea was for every family to have a box, but currently we aren’t quite ready for that and both the hospitals we supply are keen to make sure special cases receive a box.
The feedback we are having is amazing and heartwarming and makes me cry. Bitter sweet, on a good day it helps keep Bryn’s memory alive in the world on a bad day I wish with all my heart he was still in my arms.
Running Bryn’s Helping Hand takes time and energy so it goes slower than I’d like at time, what helps so much is friends and community groups that help with fundraising. Bryn brought so much love into the world and when we are given a donation I feel the love and support and I am so happy to pass that on to others who find themselves in heartwrenching situations.
Thank you so much to Angeline for this hugely generous donation and choosing us as the charity to donate to this time round. And huge thanks to those of you who bought a Bryn carrier and made this possible."