Children are one of the greatest joys of a life. Being a mother for my entire adult life, and having 4 boys ranging from college-aged to baby, their lives are a powerful and motivating force behind everything I do.
A key factor in the creation of Mami of Multiples was to connect and share with other moms and parents. It’s a joy to provide tips and resources for families that have also genuinely benefited my own family. Huggies is one of those resources for my family. I have always placed my trust with Huggies because from diapers to wipes they have been a valuable resource for me. Every diaper the Huggies brand makes is inspired by a parent’s hugs and are made to nurture baby with care, cradle baby in comfort and surround baby in protection. All of my children have used (and the baby is currently using) Huggies products because not only have they provided key baby care for so many years, but they have been tested with everyday usage by my children.
As a part of the Huggies Parents Council, I attended an event in Chicago recently to learn more about the brand’s No Baby Unhugged program.
What is No Baby Unhugged?
No Baby Unhugged is Huggies vision to ensure all babies get the hugs they need by helping parents understand and embrace the Power of Hugs through the brand’s Diapers and Wipes, new Hugging Programs in Hospitals and continued product Donations across the country. I was considered a high-risk pregnancy when I was expecting the twins because it was a multiples birth.
As a high-risk pregnancy, I learned a lot about the NICU program at my local hospital through my doctor and birthing classes. I was able to have several visits at my local hospital’s NICU and ask questions of the NICU staff. With the noise of life-supportive machines whirling away in the background, tiny babies were inside giant incubators protecting them from airborne germs and other diseases their little bodies could not fight off at the time. Parents and close family members were often seen exhaustedly sleeping on uncomfortable hospital chairs or wearing head-to-toe scrubs just to be able to put one gloved protected hand inside the incubator to stroke their delicate baby’s hand. It was a scenario that often broke my heart and I often wondered how the parents could manage their other daily responsibilities (work, caring for other children and home, etc.) while trying to comfort their preemie baby.
The truth is that despite parents’ best efforts, they can’t always be physically present with their preemie baby. For those parents whose baby needs to stay in the NICU for an extended period, hospitals regularly develop volunteer hugging or cuddling programs. As parents, we know how incredible the power of a hug can be for both parent and child. The first hug with a new life occurs and is preciously indescribable. Nothing can compare with holding and hugging your child for the very first time. Hugs can help keep a baby’s heart beating at a normal and constant rate, improve sleep, support healthy weight gain and lead to an improved parent-baby relationship, according to a recent Huggies study titled The Power of Human Touch for Babies.
Knowing the importance of hugs, Huggies will help give babies the hugs they need, even when moms and dads can’t be there to give them, by funding hugging programs in U.S. hospitals and partnerships with healthcare professionals.
The Joy of Giving to Those in Need
Huggies first No Baby Unhugged grant has been given to the number six, nationally-ranked Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. As part of the trip, we visited Lurie Children’s Hospital to see the wonderful features they have for children and their families.
When you spend days, weeks and months at the hospital with a sick child, it can be a soul crushing experience. Lurie Children’s Hospital has done a wonderful job in creating a colorful and vibrant atmosphere for all their patients and their families. Through their community partners, there is comfort (and much-need distraction) throughout the hospital, like spacious suites for families to stay in while helping to care for their ill child, activity centers for kids to play and meet special guests, an interactive fire truck, live aquarium – even each floor in the elevator is a different animal (so kids can easily remember different hospital floors) and buttons throughout the elevator shares animal facts and makes fun noises.
We toured Lurie’s expansive NICU floor and witnessed first-hand the dedication and loving care of the staff and volunteers. The sheer joy and love for the pre-term and ill children in the NICU was very evident when we met one of the “hugging volunteers”. All the volunteers are trained to work with the special needs of the babies in the NICU. The volunteer we spoke with had been a volunteer for many years and expressed how much being able to embrace, hold and help care for the preemies had positively impacted not only the babies life, but her own as well. It was sheer joy and compassion that radiated from her as she talked about experiences. The Huggies No Baby Unhugged hugging programs are so vital to the health of the child – every baby needs to be hugged, embraced and cared for from birth, always. A No Baby Unhugged hugging program like the one at Lurie Children’s Hospital is helping to fill a real need with those babies that truly need it the most.
Hospitals across the nation should have hugging programs available for their patients and their families. For every person who signs up to become a Huggies Member, Huggies will donate $5 to support volunteer hugging program grants for hospitals. If you’re interested, go to Huggies.com and click on “Sign in or join Huggies” to get started. The grant money will be used for items like volunteer training and recruitment, hugging chairs, educational materials and more.
The Care for Preemies
It was truly an eye-opening experience to learn about the preemie diaper inspection process. Every year, 90,000 babies are born prematurely, too early to be hugged. Some of these preemies are so fragile and delicate, that the only thing that touches their skin is a diaper. Huggies believes in the power of hugs for all newborn babies. In partnership with NICU nurses, Huggies has created specially-designed diapers and wipes to help the pre-term infants born in the U.S. each year.
DID YOU KNOW? Each Huggies preemie diapers box is hand-inspected (in a sterilized room) and personalized with a sticker? We learned about the extra care required of checking that each diaper is safe for the extremely delicate skin of a preemie baby. Each diaper must be meticulously inspected to be free from holes, cuts, dirt spots, etc. Everything is thoroughly reviewed right down to the exact folding of the diaper to the correct size and placement of the flaps. Diapers must be perfect to be placed on the fragile skin of a pre-term baby.
The Next Steps for Babies
As babies get older they want to explore, move, touch, feel, play and experience the world around them with all their senses. Joshua is walking everywhere independently and movement and play are an essential part of the day for a growing baby. As a mom, I know that Joshua can freely move with Huggies Little Movers Diapers. Babies need to feel comfortable to play and move. Huggies Little Movers Diapers have double grip strips for a secure fit. Rolling, crawling and walking babies seem like they are always on the go and they can be incredibly fast. It was great to learn that Huggies works with actual design experts to ensure each diaper is uniquely shaped to comfortably fit baby and the leak lock system provides 12 hours of protection to help prevent leaks.
Once your little one is showing signs of potty-training readiness, the Pull-Ups® website (Pull-Ups.com) is a tremendous resource for parents and children. When potty-training my older boys, I learned that the journey will begin when the child is ready and comfortable – and it can be at different ages and stages of development. Every child is different, and that’s why Pull-Ups developed the Potty Partnership: a potty training method that brings your child into the process as a true partner, tailored to his or her unique personality and how they learn. The Pull-Ups Potty Partnership begins the first time your child puts on a pair of Pull-Ups Training Pants, symbolizing your promise to work together to navigate your potty training journey together as a team. Based on research and observation of personality types in young children, Pull-Ups® along with a child development expert, Dr. Heather Wittenberg, developed five potty training personalities: the Puppy, the Owl, the Bear Cub, the Turtle and the Squirrel. To help guide you and your child through the ups and downs of the potty training journey, Pull-Ups has tips, tools, games and advice tailored to your child’s potty personality on their website.
How You Can Help
DID YOU KNOW? 1 in 3 parents in the U.S. suffer from diaper need– the struggle to provide clean diapers for a baby.
Diaper need is a critical issue affecting neighborhoods across the U.S. Often parents must cut back on utilities or child care to provide diapers. For those on government assistance, the financial gap is even greater. An average monthly supply of diapers costs approximately $80. The only federal assistance program that can be used for diapers is TANF, but TANF has to cover many other expenses, including heat, electric and water bills, rent, clothing, transportation, and other basic needs. Little, if any money, is available to purchase enough diapers to keep a baby clean, dry, and healthy.
Huggies has been giving hugs in the form of more than 200 million diapers and wipes over the past six years to help babies in need. Huggies helped establish the National Diaper Bank Network in 2011 which it continues to support, helping it grow from 20 banks to 320.
If you want to help, you can…
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Volunteer at a local bank. (Find a list of local diaper banks at nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org/members).
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Host a diaper drive with your friends or playgroup.
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Donate diapers to your local diaper bank.
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Donate your Huggies Rewards points to babies in need. Download the new Huggies Rewards app and find more information at Huggies.com.
Being part of the Huggies Parents Council has not only strengthened my support of their essential baby care products – but more importantly – made me personally invested in supporting their family-focused initiatives. With quality products, Huggies is helping to reach all families through hugs and real-life support. I’m pleased to be part of the Huggies Parents Council and stand alongside their life-changing programs to support families.
Huggies® believes deeply in the Power of Hugs. The simple, loving act is proven to support babies’ emotional and physiological well-being. Huggies® diapers and wipes are inspired by a parent’s hug, – to nurture baby with care, cradle baby in comfort and surround baby in protection. Learn more at Huggies.com, #HuggiesCouncil
