It is that time again.

Please join us at the 5th Annual Holden NICU Graduate Family Reunion!

You are warmly invited to the 5th Annual Holden NICU Graduate Family Reunion June 24, 2007
Sunday, 2-5pm at Kensington Metropark North Martindale Beach Area.

Please bring your own picnic meal.

With Special Guests:
Baffling Bill the Magician
Gemini with a Family Sing-Along

DIRECTIONS: Kensington Metropark is located on I-96, just east of US 23. Take Kent Lake Rd. exit #153 to the park. Follow the Holden Family Reunion signs, to the North Martindale Beach area. Entrance fee is $4 per car or $20 for an annual Metroparks sticker. * Shelters and wheelchair accessible restrooms will be available. * No pets or alcohol allowed.

Our first-ever First Friday Night was a wonderful success! This event took place in the new Family Resource Center on the Mott 8th floor this past Friday, March 2nd.

It was just a great time! We had 8 graduate parents who are trained to provide peer support, with their 9 children and around 20 moms and dads from the NICU, including grandparents and godparents.
One sibling came and had lots of fun with the graduate kids. A wonderful volunteer, Monica Converse, from Volunteer Services entertained the kids tirelessly the entire time. She said she loved it and plans to come back every First Friday.

Physical Therapist, Dan Santioni, talked with individuals, couples and small groups re: calming their babies. He’ll come back in June to talk about positioning. Diane Kremer will be with us April 6th to talk about Infant Massage and the L.C.’s will be there in May for lactation and kangarooing conversation.

Parents hung out amongst themselves and also talked to graduate parents. Some scrapbooked and everyone ate! There was a pleasant, friendly feeling in the room — lots of laughing…. The Family Resource Center is perfect for this — so beautiful. We didn’t clear out until almost 9pm. We look forward to next month.

The FCC is announcing the kick-off of our Holden NICU Tile Fundraiser!

We’ve pledged $1,000 to the effort to include handmade Pewabic tiles in the Welcome Desk designs on each floor.

We’ve chosen t-shirts: short sleeve, long sleeve and v-neck; sweatshirts: crew and zip with hood; a denim shirt and a tote bag. Samples are being displayed in the Holden conference room along with color swatches and order forms. These will have a tile design inspired by the Pewabic tiles and can be ordered in many different colors and sizes.

The Order form with payment can be placed in the envelope in the Room 2 locked drawer. Orders will be sent on a regular basis to Ray Lund who is providing the embroidery. We will also be selling toddler t-shirts which will be ordered and embroidered in bulk.

They will be yellow, size 2T and will be available for purchase at any time by staff and families. Families may purchase any of the items available.

The Family Centered Care Committee will implement a new program for families beginning in March.

On the first friday of every month in the Family Resource Center we’ll have a First Friday Holden NICU Family Night with Fun, Facts and Food.

Parents will have a chance to meet graduate families, or work on a scrapbook, or visit the NICU 101 table, or all of the above and also to have dinner. They are welcome to bring siblings as childcare will be provided by Volunteer Services.

Our kick-off will be March 2nd. Daniel Santioni will be at the NICU 101 table to talk to interested families about Calming their Babies. On April 6th Diane Kremer will be available with the topic of Infant Massage.

Please tell the families in the unit and please feel free to attend! Attached is the poster.

March 2nd, 6-8pm in the Family Resource Center.

The Ann Arbor news has a great article on the construction that will be going on for the additions to Mott children’s hospital.

http://www.med.umich.edu/nicu.

This is a site for families who may be transferring to our unit, who may be on bed rest and for those with babies who have been admitted.

This has been a labor of love for almost a year and a half with wonderful effort from the health systems M3 Design team and employees of our department. The funding came from FIGS grant award.

Come one come all to a benefit concert for the holden NCIU. Sunday November 26, 2006 1 & 3 pm at the Ark in Ann Arbor. For tickets, please call 763-TKTS

Tickets also available at Borders, Herb David’s Guitar Studio, Michigan Union Ticket Office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

As the weather gets colder, enjoy the recent added stack of photos to the 4th annual reunion. Oh and keep warm, by sending us more if you have them.

The photos from the fourth annual Holden grad reunion are now posted. Check them out and contact us if you have any more you would like to share.