Remembering Ethan...

I have been thinking of ways to thank the Intensive Care Nursery for taking such good care of Ethan during his last days here on Earth. I asked our social worker for ideas of what we could do to show our gratitude in memory of Ethan and she came up with a wonderful suggestion...

To express our thanks, John and I will be donating some soft blankets to the ICN.

When we held Ethan in the ICN, all they had were hospital blankets to swaddle him in. The staff doubled them up for warmth when John and I held him the night before he was disconnected from the ventilator. (The day they took him off the vent we brought comfortable blankets from home to personalize the moment.)

Hospital blankets are thin and not nearly as warm and snuggly as the fuzzy kind you can buy at Carters or Target. I didn’t mind at the time, but now that I think about it holding Ethan in a "real" blanket probably would have made things more personal and less "hospital". (If you’re a parent or have a baby in the family you should know what I mean.)

The ICN has rocking chairs so why not warm blankets? If you can’t take your baby home, it should at least feel a little more special when you’re there. Parents come there all the time to hold their babies and I’d like to think our contribution will change the ambiance for the moment. Precious time should be spent feeling special.

We’re going to buy some blankets tomorrow. If you would like to contribute a blanket in memory of Ethan please let me know - you decide whether you want your blanket be gender specific or unisex. I can pick it up from you or you can drop it off at my house. I’ll be collecting for the next two weeks. I plan taking a trip to the ICN after his 40th day (April 6th).

Thanks in advance for helping us remember Ethan.