Shay’s Story

At 25+6 weeks, I was not prepared nor expecting to give birth but it happened. I gave birth to our son Shay on 8th October 2019. He weighed just 773g. We spent the first few weeks at St St Peter’s NICU before coming to Kingston NNU when he was deemed stable enough. He was 32+2 weeks and still only 1.26kg

Both mummy and daddy were apprehensive about the move because we were so used to the routine at St St Peter’s NICU where the care given to our son was also excellent but settled in quickly.

What makes Kingston NNU so amazing is definitely the love, warmth, care and sincerity shown by the team. Especially the nurses and breastfeeding consultant. Our son was thoroughly spoilt with care and cuddles from the nurses. They gave our boy so much love and helped him to grow and get strong enough to come home.

Nobody wants to have their child in NNU but knowing that he was being so well taken care of made it easier. We would come in everyday and were actively supported with bottle feeds, nappy changes, skin to skin and baths. It was daunting at points as Shay was still tiny and there were lots of wires but the nurses were so patient and encouraging and eased us in slowly when needed.

Now he is home, we realise how helpful it was to be so involved in terms of bonding, positive touch for Shay and confidence for us.

We would call the nurse looking after Shay during the night when we couldn’t be there and were always given a helpful update which put our minds at ease as much as was possible.

The team got to know Shay so well during his time there and all his specific likes and dislikes and even his “hungry face”. The staff not only took care of our baby boy but also gave us a lot of confidence, advice and support. There is a wealth of knowledge available via the experienced team and we learnt so much.

Spending three months in NICU/NNU was not easy on myself or my husband and I had several bad days. The team were so lovely and kind and really helped me through it and I will be forever grateful.

I will also not forget the amazing ongoing support given by Sarah, the breastfeeding, to help me to maintain my milk supply so that I was able to provide enough milk for Shay throughout his time at NNU. She also helped me to move from expressing milk to breastfeeding. Sarah was one of my main shoulders to cry on when things got tough and is a truly positive and kind soul.

The daily doctors rounds were excellent and so informative. The team listened to parent concerns and questions, took on board our feedback and really explained things well.

We always knew the plan of action for Shay and reasons for decisions made.

We spent Christmas at NNU and were so overwhelmed by the thought and care that went into making the day as special for the parents and babies as possible.

I won’t say anymore as there were some lovely surprises but it was very heartwarming.

Shay came home in mid January 2020 weighting 2.33kg following lots of loving goodbyes and warm wishes from Kingston.

We’ve already made a couple of visits back when we come in for hospital appointments and have posted on the actively used parent and staff group on Facebook.

We are all settled at home now and Shay is doing great. We will always remember what the team at Kingston NNU did for us.

Thank you!