Parenting Mighty Littles: Parenting from the NICU and Beyond

Episode 47: Tiny Humans, Big Lessons with Sue Ludwig

www.sueludwig.comhttps://neonataltherapists.comwww.mightylittles.com

Episode 46: For the Love of the NICU - Part 2 - Advocacy work

www.ipfcc.orgwww.pcori.orgwww.aap.org

Episode 45: For the Love of the NICU: Part 1 - NICU Story

When her twins were born at 25 weeks, Lelis simply could not see how they would survive such extreme prematurity. But they did. In this episode, we hear about her twins’ NICU journey: sepsis, NEC, ROP, BPD — all of the common complications of extreme prematurity. Now, her sons are grown, and she has spent the last nearly 15 years consulting in health advocacy to improve the outcomes of our most fragile babies.The three things she would say to NICU parents now:You are not alone.Seek out peer support, looking beyond the walls of the hospital.You, as a parent, are important to your baby. You are essential and you have a right to be at the bedside. Join us for this remarkable conversation with Lelis Vernon and look for the next podcast where she is back talking about her health advocacy work.

Episode 44: Surviving winter virus season with an Infant

When you have a winter baby (I had three!), you can not help but wonder how you can protect your infant from viruses in those first six months. I break it down into two parts:Part 1: Ways to protect yourself and your newborn during cold and flu season. My top 5 ways to protect littles from respiratory viral illnesses. Part 2: What about visitors and crowds? What about friends & family? Whether it is grandparents, in-laws, best friends, neighbors, or distant cousins, everyone loves a new baby. Visitors can come out of the woodwork. Having a plan for how YOU want to handle visitors is vital! Deciding how you want to handle visitors is one of the first “parenting” decisions you will make. And EVERYONE has an opinion — which they will happily share with you. I’ve heard it all. Families who don’t have visitors for 2-3 months after they bring home baby. Families who invite the whole extended family over when their baby is a week old. Families who hang poems outside their front door kindly asking people to go away in a rhyming Dr. Seuss like poem. Honestly, this decision should be made by what YOU need, as parents. And everyone’s circumstances are different. There are no correct answers. Listen for some of the questions I encourage you to ask yourself when deciding how to handle visitors.

Episode 43: Jimmie and Alexis Allen share their RSV Story

Jimmie and Alexis tell us their RSV story, sharing what they wish they had known before their daughter was hospitalized with RSV. Check out www.knowingrsv.com for more information and to see more of their story.