My name is Sandrine, mom of Lucia Maria, premature baby born 29w+4 that died of an IVH grade 4 on the 10th of November 2015. After 51 days in NICU (neonatal Intensive Care Unit) in a hospital in Dubai.
Lucia was my first baby. And the pain of loosing her in such awful circumstances was more than I could bear. But the moms in NICU kept me going.
What kept me going was the power to help other moms like me. Because the NICU world is the most frightening one you can enter as a new mom. You most likely had a C-section done as an emergency like me, you are not ready to have your baby, your hormones are crashing down, you cannot touch your baby, plus you need to pump every 3 hours and the lack of sleep doesn’t help.
I made a promise to my daughter to make her little life count for something. To leave a print, a mark on the earth… and that’s where this guide I created with the help of amazing moms comes from.
www.nicudubai.wordpress.com is the link to the blog where everybody can download the guide freely.
It recapitulates everything a new mom entering an NICU should know:
– what support groups you can contact here in Dubai
– the common rules in NICU
– what happens the first day you leave the hospital and come back at home alone without your baby that is still in NICU
– what are all the machines surrounding your baby
– the logistics of having a baby in NICU (insurance issues etc)
– breastfeeding tips to inspirational quotes
– What to do when you finally bring your preemie back home
– A glossary about all the medical terms nurses and doctors use
– How to cope, how to be a parent
– And a success story of course
– what support groups you can contact here in Dubai
– the common rules in NICU
– what happens the first day you leave the hospital and come back at home alone without your baby that is still in NICU
– what are all the machines surrounding your baby
– the logistics of having a baby in NICU (insurance issues etc)
– breastfeeding tips to inspirational quotes
– What to do when you finally bring your preemie back home
– A glossary about all the medical terms nurses and doctors use
– How to cope, how to be a parent
– And a success story of course
This welcome guide was made from pain, tears, love and joy. Joy of getting to know amazing women that went through hell with me. That helped me grow as a woman, as a wife and as a mother. If I can still call myself that. And love from my caring husband and amazing family.
This welcome guide needs to be shared to all the NICU moms you know. Please share the word: you are not alone.
I hope My baby Lucia lives within this guide and can help has many moms as she can.
With lots of love
Sandrine
More info: nicudubai.wordpress.com
Cover of the guide
The introduction
Common rules
Around your baby
Welcome to a new world
Our little fighters
