Creatively Coping with NICU Journals, Diaries and Scrapbook

Three different resources have been created to help NICU Parents in keeping track of their baby's NICU experience are My NICU Journal, the NICU Diary® and Tiny Steps - My Journey Through the NICU Scrapbook.

My NICU Journal
NICU Nurse, Shelley Stevenson, RNC developed My NICU Journal as a useful product for parents of preemies and NICU nurses.

According to the Hearthworks website:

My NICU Journal is a book created to help parents record the milestones their preemie accomplishes as he or she improves and grows in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, creating a keepsake for parents to look back upon later.

The book is 30 pages, measures 8½" X 5½" with color illustrations. My NICU Journal is available with pink, blue, yellow or green covers for $9.95 each.

My NICU Journal is available online or by mail at the Hearthworks website.

NICU Diary®
The NICU Diary®: A journal for preemie babies was designed especially for moms and dads who have babies in the NICU or Special Care Nursery.

The NICU Diary® is available for purchase at the Preemie Store and More. According to their description:

The NICU Diary® gives you places to write weight gains, feeding changes, tests, oxygen needs and much more. You even have your own space for thoughts, feelings, and little notes.

The NICU diary® records your baby's special start in life and gives you a treasured keepsake for years to come. It includes two detailed pages for each of 45 days and extra pages for photos and to record for "baby's first." Priced at $9.95 each.

The NICU Diary also includes a gram conversion chart and a page to graph weekly progress.

Tiny Steps - My Journey through the NICU Scrapbook
Tiny Steps is a scrapbook to record your baby's journey through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and was created by Esther Thomas, a nurse with 18 years of experience in the NICU.

The Tiny Steps NICU Scrapbook is available at the Preemie Store and More. According to their description:

Every page of The Tiny Steps NICU Scrapbook is filled with bright and colorful art, lots of space for special photos of your baby, family members, and hospital staff.

Plenty of space is also provided for writing notes, recording daily experiences, thoughts, precious moments, and those one-of-a-kind expressions that only newborns make.

Priced at $ 24.95.

The Tiny Steps NICU Scrapbook Contents:
* An easy to understand vocabulary list of the most commonly used medical terms in the NICU.
* Inspirational Bible verses, song passages, and humorous phrases to help you get through some of the more difficult days in the nursery.
* 90 daily entries that allow you to write your thoughts, and keep track of your baby's progress.
* A special pocket envelope to save tiny mementos.

Since these products were designed for Preemies, they wouldn't have worked well with our daughter's case, being a 'Sick Newborn.'

I probably would have used one of the free resources available, like the NICU Parent Diary from Cedars-Sinai's Good Beginnings.

More about Journaling in the NICU
Dyer K. 2009. Benefits of Keeping a NICU Journal. NICU Parent Support Blog.
Dyer K. 2009. The Importance of Telling the NICU Story. NICU Parent Support Blog.
Dyer KA. 2009. Free NICU Journaling - NICU Diary Resources Available for NICU Parents. NICU Parent Support Blog.