It might look like child’s play, but child life specialists work with parents in hospitals and other settings to help children cope with the challenges of illness, hospitalization and disability.
In this episode, we chat about:
What led her to pursue a career as a child life specialist?
How do child life specialists serve babies and children in the hospital or in a specialized doctor's office?
How do you gain confidence and speak up in rounds and with the care team?
How can you support preemies during painful procedures?
How can you integrate siblings into long hospitalizations?
What are some of the activities or strategies a child life specialist might employ with a child and his/her family in the hospital?
What inspired you to start Child Life on Call and what are some of the features and how can it help NICU parents?
What's your best advice to a parent who has a child that's struggling with a procedure or pending surgery?
Katie Taylor is the co-founder and CEO of Child Life On Call, a digital platform designed to provide parents, kids, and the care team with access to child life services tools and resources. She is a certified child life specialist with over 12 years of experience working in various pediatric healthcare settings. Katie is the author of the children's book, and has presented on the topics of child life and entrepreneurship, psychosocial care in the hospital, and supporting caregivers in the NICU setting both nationally and internationally. She is also the creator and host of the Child Life On Call Podcast which focuses on the essential role of child life services to empower caregivers at and beyond the bedside.
Resources:
https://childlifeoncall.com/comfort-positioning-guide/
https://childlifeoncall.com/parents/
Connect with Katie:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childlifeoncall
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/childlifeoncall
Website: https://childlifeoncall.com/
The NICU is hard. We’re here to help.
Hand to Hold is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parents with personalized emotional support, educational resources and community before, during and after their baby’s NICU stay. NICU support is available at no cost to NICU parents in English and Spanish.
Connect with Hand to Hold:
Learn more or get support at handtohold.org
Follow Hand to Hold on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handtohold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handtohold/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NICUHandtoHold
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/HandtoHold
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Thriving Together [Full version] by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10332-thriving-together-full-version
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Music: Bright Colors Of Life by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7855-bright-colors-of-life
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
The truth is, home and career balance look different for every NICU family. Kelly Ferguson, NICU mom and business owner, shares her honest struggle about finding the right balance for her family in her particular season.
In this episode, we chat about:
How and why did you start Kelly Wynne handbags?
After you gave birth to your first daughter, how did you adjust to being a mom and running your own business?
How did your second birth differ from your first?
When you found yourself in the NICU, what priorities changed for you?
What changed for you, professionally, after Faith's NICU stay and subsequent therapies?
How did you decide what to keep and what to give up with your business and your personal life?
What things, or people, helped you make that decision?
What's your best advice to a parent who is trying to discern the best work/life balance for his/her family?
Kelly Wynne Ferguson is a mom, entrepreneur and founder of Kelly Wynne, a lifestyle handbag brand that's been energizing women's wardrobes for the past decade. Following the birth of her second daughter and a subsequent 42-day NICU stay, Kelly made an announcement that she is winding the business down in order to give her family her best self in this season of her life.
Connect with Kelly:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellywynneferguson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopkellywynne
Website: https://kellywynne.com/
The NICU is hard. We’re here to help.
Hand to Hold is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parents with personalized emotional support, educational resources and community before, during and after their baby’s NICU stay. NICU support is available at no cost to NICU parents in English and Spanish.
Connect with Hand to Hold:
Learn more or get support at handtohold.org
Follow Hand to Hold on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handtohold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handtohold/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NICUHandtoHold
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/HandtoHold
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Thriving Together [Full version] by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10332-thriving-together-full-version
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Music: Bright Colors Of Life by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7855-bright-colors-of-life
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Black Maternal Health Week is recognized each year, April 11-17, to bring attention and action in improving Black maternal health. Justina Kopp, mom to quadruplets and a NICU baby herself, shares how her experience led her to advocacy.
In this episode, we chat about:
The moment she found out she was pregnant with quadruplets.
Justina’s relationship with her OB/GYN.
Her difficult relationship with her MFM doctor and how that made her feel.
Her care in the NICU.
How this experience changed how she approaches healthcare, particularly for herself.
Her best advice to a woman of color who finds herself pregnant, with one baby or more.
Justina Kopp lives in the Twin Cities, Minn., with her husband, Matthew and their quadruplets. She is a 2013 graduate of the University of St. Thomas where she studied Catholic Studies and Biology. Currently, Justina is pursuing a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Justina’s essay:
https://motheringspirit.com/2023/01/fighting-for-our-lives/
Resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html
https://blackmamasmatter.org/2023-black-maternal-health-week/
Connect with Justina:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinakopp
The NICU is hard. We’re here to help.
Hand to Hold is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parents with personalized emotional support, educational resources and community before, during and after their baby’s NICU stay. NICU support is available at no cost to NICU parents in English and Spanish.
Connect with Hand to Hold:
Learn more or get support at handtohold.org
Follow Hand to Hold on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handtohold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handtohold/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NICUHandtoHold
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/HandtoHold
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Thriving Together [Full version] by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10332-thriving-together-full-version
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Music: Bright Colors Of Life by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7855-bright-colors-of-life
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Feeding your NICU baby can often be a challenge. April is Occupational Therapy month and pediatric OT Laurie Layne and I focus on how feeding therapy can be utilized and some of the challenges NICU parents may face.
In this episode, we chat about:
For pediatrics, what exactly does an occupational therapist do and how does it differ from other pediatric therapies?
When should a parent seek out occupational/feeding therapy?
What are some things parents should look for in an occupational/feeding therapist?
If you have a sensory seeker who has heavy oral input (puts everything in their mouth), what can you do?
What's the most common feeding challenge with NICU babies/premature infants?
How does a g-tube affect feeding therapy?
Food texture and food aversion sometimes feels overwhelming, how can a parent combat the fear of feeling like it's never getting better?
Laurie Layne, OTR, received her B.S. in community health from Texas A&M University and her master of occupational therapy degree from Texas Woman’s University-Houston. She has 25 years of experience in working with pediatric populations in early intervention, school-based services, and private outpatient clinics. Laurie treats a varied caseload, including children with feeding aversions, sensory processing disorder, developmental delay, autism spectrum disorders, neuromuscular dysfunction, and genetic disorders. She is trained in various feeding methodologies and is Handwriting Without Tears Level 1 certified. Laurie is the proud mom of three college kids and she enjoys traveling, reading, and playing pickleball.
Links to products:
https://chewytubes.com/products/ps-and-qs/
https://talktools.com/collections/chews-chewy-tubes
The NICU is hard. We’re here to help.
Hand to Hold is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parents with personalized emotional support, educational resources and community before, during and after their baby’s NICU stay. NICU support is available at no cost to NICU parents in English and Spanish.
Connect with Hand to Hold:
Learn more or get support at handtohold.org
Follow Hand to Hold on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/handtohold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handtohold/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NICUHandtoHold
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/HandtoHold
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Thriving Together [Full version] by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10332-thriving-together-full-version
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Music: Bright Colors Of Life by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7855-bright-colors-of-life
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license