Giving Thanks Even when Thanksgiving is in the NICU

Written by Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT Monday, November 23 2009 22:37

Mom Stages - NICU

User Rating: / 2
PoorBest 

Thanksgiving is a day set aside to express our gratitude and give thanks, yet for parents who have a baby in the NICU at Thanksgiving, taking time to give thanks can be a challenging.

For this Thanksgiving, I searched for ways that other people have found to help NICU Parents give thanks even when their Thanksgiving is celebrated in the NICU.

Discover some of the ways that some very generous people are helping NICU Parents give thanks at Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving can be a very challenging day be grateful and give thanks for parents who have a baby in the NICU at Thanksgiving, or at any holiday. One way to remember the meaning of Thanksgiving is found in this quote from American playwright and writer Thornton Wilder:

We can only be said to be alive in those moments
When our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

NICU parents, perhaps more than most are very conscious of their little treasures.

Ways to Give Thanks in the NICU

One of the wonderful things about the holidays it that they bring out the goodness and generosity of others. Read on to discover some of the many ways that different people with very big hearts are finding ways to help NICU parents celebrate Thanksgiving in the NICU.

Knitting for the NICU Thanksgiving Hats

Glenna Muse, a respiratory therapist, is giving an amazing gift to NICU parents at the hospital where she works  through her mission to bring Knitting to the NICU. Not only is she knitting hats for the NICU, but she works on creating hats for the season.

You can see the hats from Thanksgiving 2009 on her blog, Knitting for the NICU: Thanksgiving '09 and a collection of her holiday inspired hats from 2008 on Flickr.

Glenna's Knitting in the NICU is going to be the topic of a later article.

Preemie Blankets

These Thanksgiving inspired Preemie Blanket patterns were collected and shared on the Preemie Clothes Guide in the recent post on Patterns and Ideas for Thanksgiving Preemie Blankets. These Thanksgiving blankets for Preemies include links to different blanket patterns along with suggestions for ways to modify the patterns to create special Thanksgiving preemie blankets.

The Preemie Clothes Guide website was created by a Preemie parent as "a way of saying thanks to the special woman who made the knit cap long ago for our preemie" to help the "waiting moms and grandmoms and the sweet ladies sewing for and clothing the tiny preemies born every day." The site provides a variety of patterns for preemies.

Hosting a Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade in the NICU

One of the most fun ways that I found for people celebrating Thanksgiving in the NICU was watching a group of NICU Nurses hosting their own Macy's Day Parade for NICU children and parents.

Watch the video on YouTube. It is sure to bring a smile, just from the sheer silliness of it all.

Thanksgiving Dinners in the Hospital

At least for the past two years Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center has hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner for NICU Parents by bringing in local Chefs.

In 2008 John Howie, Chef and Owner of the Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar cooked up a special Thanksgiving Dinner. In 2007 Chef Lisa Dupar of Lisa Dupar Catering & Pomegranate Bistro joined with the March of Dimes to bring a special Thanksgiving dinner to NICU Parents at Swedish Medical Center. As they noted, "For many of these parents, a sit-down Thanksgiving meal at home with their families is out of the question. For that reason, Dupar and her catering team will be preparing and serving a complete holiday meal, from roast turkey to delicious pie, for these parents and their families."

You can watch a news clip about one family's Thanksgiving Dinner celebration in the NICU in the Being Thankful at Thanksgiving in the NICU post from the NICU Parent Support Blog.

An Evening of Thanks

In the blog post, An Evening of Thanks, Paul Levy President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston describes the special event they hold on the night before Thanksgiving in their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Each year their NICU host a small party called "An Evening of Thanks" a time for NICU parents and former NICU babies to return to the hospital and "visit with the nurses and doctors with whom they spent time while those premature or seriously ill babies developed or got well enough to go home."

This Evening of Thanks is an example of yet another wonderful Thankgiving in the NICU tradition.

Thanksgiving NICU Cards

NICU Nurse Debbie made 40 beautiful NICU Thanksgiving Cards in 2008 to give to the babies and their parents in the NICU. She uploaded a picture of her handiwork to her Flickr account. This was a beautiful gesture, a heart-felt gift given to remember NICU parents going through difficult times.

She's posted her a sample of the Thanksgiving card for the NICU babies this year, 2009.

Prayer Pockets

Prayer Pockets are another way to help cope with the NICU and to help NICU parents cope. This simple sewn pocket can hold a special prayer. It could be customized to hold a Thanksgiving Prayer or other favorite prayer and can given to NICU Parents at Thanksgiving as a reminder that someone is thinking about them during the holidays.

You can read more about Preemie Prayer Pockets at, Make a Preemie Prayer Pocket to Help Cope with the NICU.

Facebook Group

Facebook has an open group for NICU parents at the Overland Park Regional Medical Center in Kansas.

The OPRMC NICU Parent Support Group created by "Parents who have previously had babies in the NICU reaching out and supporting parents who currently have babies there! You can follow along with what they are doing for other NICU parents on Thanksgiving on Facebook.

March of Dimes

As noted in the recent article about the March of Dimes, they are finding may ways to support NICU families through their NICU Family Support program. I am sure that the hospitals with MOD NICU Family Support programs are actively working to support the NICU families at Thanksgiving and other holidays.

You can read March of Dimes Supporting NICU Families with NICU Family Support to find out more about their programs.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in the NICU

As evident by the generosity of these many people, NICU parents are having an easier time celebrating Thanksgiving in the NICU. it is easy to see the true source of the thanks and the gratitude expressed at Thanksgiving.

He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.

J.A. Shedd

If you don't have a Thanksgiving Tradition at your NICU, maybe some of these ideas will inspire you to start you own.

More from the NICU Parent Support Blog

Dyer KA. November 2009. Thanksgiving: A Time to Be Thankful Even in the NICU. NICU Parent Support Blog.

Dyer KA. November 2009. Encouraging Message: The Full, True Thanksgiving Comes from the Heart. NICU Parent Support Blog. 

Dyer KA. November 2009. Being Thankful at Thanksgiving in the NICU. NICU Parent Support Blog.

Dyer KA. 2007. Encouraging Message - Balancing on a Tight rope and Gratitude in the NICU? NICU Parent Support Blog.

Image: Created from a composite of Lisa Fanucchi's. Zucca, J. Weston's Pumpkin and Sanja Gjenero's Heartbeat. All images Royalty Free Use.

About the Author

Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT is a respected physician, an expert in life challenges, loss, grief and bereavement, professional health educator, professor, lecturer and author. She is also the Parent of a very healthy NICU Survivor.

Dr. Dyer created and has maintained Journey of Hearts, a website for anyone who has ever experienced a loss. She is the author of For Those Who Hold the Littlest Hands, an eBook written to provide information, encouragement and support for NICU parents. She is the founder of the NICU Parent Support Site, a website developed to provide information, encouragement and support for NICU parents.

---

< Prev		Next >