Having a newborn baby is already an overwhelming experience, and if your baby is born premature this can make the first few weeks an extremely emotional and traumatic experience.
When Larissa and her partner found out they were expecting twins they knew their journey was going to be harder than they thought, however nothing could have prepared the couple for what was to come. Just 25 weeks into Larissa’s pregnancy, one of the twin boys sadly passed away. This was an incredibly difficult and emotional time for the couple.
“Just as we were coming to terms with the loss, I went into labour with his brother at 27 weeks,” said Larissa.
Larissa then spent the next 90 days in NICU with her newborn baby Jackson. He had a positive NICU experience growing stronger each day, and after one-month Jackson came off CPAP and went onto high flow oxygen. Soon after, he was breathing by himself.
“I found a lot of positives that went along with our NICU experience. We were taught so much about how to look after our baby, which was a big advantage as first time parents,” said Larissa.
“They taught us the proper ways to bathe him, check his temperature and most importantly how to change his nappy. The main difference I noticed was they only use soft disposable towelettes with plain water instead of baby wipes.”
It was after the couple returned home with Jackson that he received his first nappy rash. His skin was extremely sensitive and his parents hated seeing Jackson’s skin looking so sore, so Larissa checked with the nurse to see what the best cure for nappy rash was.
“The nurse said the best way to help was to use cotton wool and water, however this felt impractical when changing countless nappies a day,” said Larissa.
According to Robert Guaran, Neonatology Advisor NSW Perinatal Services, “a newborn baby’s skin does not have the barrier layers of cells of older children. Parents should avoid chemicals, including fragrances, that may be directly absorbed across their baby’s sensitive skin. This is especially important for Premature babies.”
Larissa knew to avoid certain baby products including baby wipes as they contain harsh chemicals, particularly for Jackson’s sensitive skin. It was when Larissa received a Miracle Babies NICU Survival Pack containing WaterWipes that she found a solution to her newborn’s nappy rash.
The wipes in the Miracle Baby pack were a gamechanger. WaterWipes contain 99.9% water with just a drop of fruit extract so they are safe to use on a newborn baby. His rash went away almost immediately, and one year on we still only use WaterWipes and still have no rashes
“I’m so grateful to WaterWipes and Miracle Babies for providing a practical solution to Jackson’s sensitive skin.”
WaterWipes has teamed up with Miracle Babies Foundation to provide wipes suitable for newborns as part of Miracle Babies’ NICU Survival Pack. These packs are provided to families in participating hospitals to equip parents with vital tools and resources for premature babies.
WaterWipes are the world’s purest baby wipes and have been carefully designed to be gentle on babies’ sensitive skin. They provide gentle cleansing for the most delicate newborn skin and are so gentle they can be used on premature babies.
Miracle Babies Foundation is Australia’s leading organisation supporting premature and sick newborns, their families and the hospitals that care for them. Since 2005, Miracle Babies Foundation has been passionate in developing and providing vital programs and resources to support and enhance a family’s experience from a threatened pregnancy, hospital journey with a premature or sick newborn, the transition to home and beyond.
“We are proud to partner with WaterWipes on achieving better, healthier outcomes for premature and sick newborns and their families. WaterWipes’ commitment to providing pure, gentle and effective cleaning for the most delicate skin is very important to the families we support as a premature baby is extremely vulnerable. The simple ingredients in WaterWipes can be very reassuring. With so many concerns and things to think about, it’s important that parents who have had a premature baby feel confident that they are doing the best for their baby,” Kylie Pussell CEO and Co-Founder Miracle Babies Foundation.