Skip to Content
  • Contact Us
  • The Podcast
  • Podcast Show Notes
  • NICU Journal
Empowering NICU Parents

Empowering NICU Parents

Our Goal is to Support, Educate, and Empower NICU Parents

  • Home
    • About Me!
  • The Podcast
  • NICU Journal
  • Publications
  • Free Resources
  • NICU Products
skin-to-skin care, NICU, Parental presence, neurodeveloopmental care, neuroprotection, podcast, handling, positioning, noise, "Nicole Nyberg" "William Nyberg"
Neurodevelopment in Premature Infants NICU Knowledge Podcast Premature Infants

Beyond the NICU: How Small Moments Shape a Developing Brain

Podcast

The Why Behind Empowering NICU Parents

NICU Podcast
NICU Knowledge Podcast Premature Infants

From NICU Experience to Nonprofit Mission: A Family’s Journey to Today Is a Good Day

Blog

Home / Blog (Page 9)
NNP, premature infant, NICU, NICU baby, NICU parents
About Me!
Empowering NICU Parents Podcast
The Podcast
NICU journal, NICU baby, NICU mom, NICU parent, NICU gift, NICU milestones, journal, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
NICU Journal
NICU Knowledge Podcast

Breaking Down the #1 Question of Every NICU Parent

by empoweringnicuparents

Podcast Episode 3 Episode Sponsors: Undercover Mama Shop Undercover Mama’s …

Empowering NICU Parents Podcast, Neonatologist, NNP, Nurse, Dietician, SLP, PT, OT, Discharge Planner, Palliative Care, Lactation, Chaplain, RT, SLP, Social Work
Podcast

NICU Cast Members: Leading and Supporting Roles

by empoweringnicuparents

Podcast Episode 2 Episode Sponsors: Finn + Emma Finn + …

Empowering NICU Parents Podcast Host
Podcast

Get To Know Your Host

by empoweringnicuparents

Podcast Episode 1 Episode Sponsors: Beautycounter NICU Milestone Cards Wondering …

NICU baby HFNC, oxygen, top tips NICU parents
Free Resources NICU Knowledge Podcast Premature Infants

Top Tips for NICU Parents

by empoweringnicuparents

Do you feel like no one understands? Let’s face it …

Neurodevelopment in Premature Infants NICU Knowledge Premature Infants

The Minor and Major Morbidities of NICU Infants

by empoweringnicuparents

Morbidities? What are they really? You may have heard the …

Neurodevelopment in Premature Infants NICU Knowledge Premature Infants

Small Baby Unit in the NICU – What is it really?

by empoweringnicuparents

What is a Small Baby Unit? A Small Baby Unit …

Premature baby; NICU parent; preemie; micropreemie; kangaroo care; NICU
Premature Infants

Follow my Public Speaking Journey as a NICU Parent

by empoweringnicuparents

Is something tugging at your heart? Do you have a …

Neurodevelopment in Premature Infants Premature Infants

Bottle Feeding Your Premature Baby

by empoweringnicuparents

William, former 23 weeker taking his first bottle

NICU Knowledge

Umbilical Catheters in the NICU

by empoweringnicuparents

Umbilical Catheters… What are they? Did you even know that …

Posts pagination

Page 1 … Page 8 Page 9

Subscribe

Sign up with your email address to receive updates and special offers.

Thank you for subscribing!

About Our Site

Welcome! I am a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and a Proud Preemie Mama! I am here to help parents navigate through their NICU journey with my combined NICU medical background and personal experience. Please read the posts, listen to our podcast, and check out our unique NICU-related products specifically geared to help you and your baby through this difficult process. Thank you!

Our Products

NICU journal, NICU hat, NICU mom hat, NICU mama, Preemie Mama, NICU gifts, baby gifts, NICU milestone cards, NICU mom gift

 

Published in neonatal INTENSIVE CARE: The Journal of Perinatology and Neonatology Winter 2023

NICU, neonatal intensive care, nicu parent, nicu nurse, connectedness, parent-child attachment

Published in neonatal INTENSIVE CARE: The Journal of Perinatology and Neonatology Summer 2023

NNP, NICU nurse, NICU parent, publish, journal, breastfeeding, breast milk

On the Other Side: A Neonatal Nurse Practitioner’s Perspective on being the mother of a 23-weeker

https://youtu.be/i8b6JOAlmsY

Follow Us on the Gram!

empoweringnicuparents
@empoweringnicuparents

Nicole Nyberg

Empowering NICU Parents
-NICU Mom & NNP
-Podcast Host, Public Speaker
-Educate & Empower NICU parents & clinicians empoweringnicuparents@yahoo.com

To the dads who stood beside a NICU bed, held onto hope, and loved fiercely through every challenge— Happy Father’s Day. Your strength, presence, and unwavering love have made a lasting difference in your child’s story. 💙 #fathersday #fatherslove #nicudad #nicuparents #nicujourney

To the dads who stood beside a NICU bed, held onto hope, and loved fiercely through every challenge—

Happy Father’s Day.

Your strength, presence, and unwavering love have made a lasting difference in your child’s story. 💙

#fathersday #fatherslove #nicudad #nicuparents #nicujourney

The Presence Study Toolkit is now available as a FREE resource on the Family-Centered Care Task Force website. 🤍 As a primary author and Co-Advocacy Chair for the Family-Centered Care Taskforce, I am incredibly honored to have helped bring this meaningful project to life alongside such an inspiring group of contributors. Created through an extraordinary collaboration of 23 expert authors, this toolkit was designed to help NICU leaders, care teams, and families adopt a more family-centered approach to care grounded in 13 evidence-based recommendations from the Presence Study. Proudly sponsored by AngelEye Health, this work reflects a shared commitment to supporting families, strengthening parental presence, and advancing family-centered NICU care. What makes this toolkit especially meaningful is that every chapter was intentionally co-developed by both family and healthcare partners. Family advocates, clinicians, researchers, healthcare leaders, and parents came together to ensure the content reflects not only clinical realities, but also the lived experiences of families navigating the NICU journey. Because parental presence is not extra care. Presence is care. This toolkit is more than a resource. It is a call to continue building NICU environments where families are informed, supported, included, and empowered as essential members of the care team. I am deeply grateful to every author, contributor, family partner, and leader who helped make this possible. I truly believe this work has the power to create meaningful change for NICU families and clinicians across the world. Download the FREE Presence Study Toolkit on the FCC Taskforce website and help foster parental presence as an essential part of everyday NICU care. 🤍#nicuparents #familycenteredcare #nicunurse #nicubaby #nicucare

The Presence Study Toolkit is now available as a FREE resource on the Family-Centered Care Task Force website. 🤍

As a primary author and Co-Advocacy Chair for the Family-Centered Care Taskforce, I am incredibly honored to have helped bring this meaningful project to life alongside such an inspiring group of contributors.

Created through an extraordinary collaboration of 23 expert authors, this toolkit was designed to help NICU leaders, care teams, and families adopt a more family-centered approach to care grounded in 13 evidence-based recommendations from the Presence Study.

Proudly sponsored by AngelEye Health, this work reflects a shared commitment to supporting families, strengthening parental presence, and advancing family-centered NICU care.

What makes this toolkit especially meaningful is that every chapter was intentionally co-developed by both family and healthcare partners.

Family advocates, clinicians, researchers, healthcare leaders, and parents came together to ensure the content reflects not only clinical realities, but also the lived experiences of families navigating the NICU journey.

Because parental presence is not extra care.

Presence is care.

This toolkit is more than a resource. It is a call to continue building NICU environments where families are informed, supported, included, and empowered as essential members of the care team.

I am deeply grateful to every author, contributor, family partner, and leader who helped make this possible. I truly believe this work has the power to create meaningful change for NICU families and clinicians across the world.

Download the FREE Presence Study Toolkit on the FCC Taskforce website and help foster parental presence as an essential part of everyday NICU care. 🤍#nicuparents #familycenteredcare #nicunurse #nicubaby #nicucare

I’m incredibly proud of the launch of the Presence Study Toolkit by the Family-Centered Care Taskforce. 💙 As the FCC Taskforce Co-Chair of Advocacy, it was truly an honor to serve as one of the primary authors of this resource and to see it come to fruition after months of collaboration and dedication from an incredible team of clinicians, researchers, and parent partners. This work is especially meaningful to me because it helps translate evidence into action—providing practical, evidence-based strategies to support parental presence, engagement, and true partnership in the NICU. At its heart is a message I deeply believe in: parents are not visitors, they are essential caregivers. The toolkit translates the evidence-based recommendations from the Presence Study into practical strategies that NICUs can use to strengthen family-centered care and parental engagement. Whether you’re a NICU clinician, leader, advocate, or parent, this free resource is packed with valuable insights and actionable tools. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, I encourage you to take a look and share it with others who are passionate about improving the NICU experience for babies and families.#nicuparents #nicubaby #nicunurse #empoweringnicuparents #nicumom

I’m incredibly proud of the launch of the Presence Study Toolkit by the Family-Centered Care Taskforce. 💙

As the FCC Taskforce Co-Chair of Advocacy, it was truly an honor to serve as one of the primary authors of this resource and to see it come to fruition after months of collaboration and dedication from an incredible team of clinicians, researchers, and parent partners.

This work is especially meaningful to me because it helps translate evidence into action—providing practical, evidence-based strategies to support parental presence, engagement, and true partnership in the NICU.

At its heart is a message I deeply believe in: parents are not visitors, they are essential caregivers.

The toolkit translates the evidence-based recommendations from the Presence Study into practical strategies that NICUs can use to strengthen family-centered care and parental engagement.

Whether you’re a NICU clinician, leader, advocate, or parent, this free resource is packed with valuable insights and actionable tools.

If you haven’t downloaded it yet, I encourage you to take a look and share it with others who are passionate about improving the NICU experience for babies and families.#nicuparents #nicubaby #nicunurse #empoweringnicuparents #nicumom

Stillness is strength. 💚 In the NICU, some of the most powerful moments happen in the quiet. A parent holding their baby skin-to-skin. Tiny fingers wrapped around a parent’s finger. Hearts regulating together. Slow, quiet breaths. Safety being felt. That is the power of kangaroo care. These are not small moments. They are monumental moments that help shape the foundation of an infant’s future — supporting bonding, brain development, regulation, healing, and connection. Today on International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day, we celebrate the beauty and importance of skin-to-skin care for babies and families everywhere. Join the movement:
Share your skin-to-skin photo.
Promote kangaroo care. 💚 Advocate for parental presence and connection in the NICU — today and every day. #kangaroocare #nicuparents #nicunurse #nicubaby #nicumom

Stillness is strength. 💚

In the NICU, some of the most powerful moments happen in the quiet.

A parent holding their baby skin-to-skin.

Tiny fingers wrapped around a parent’s finger.

Hearts regulating together.

Slow, quiet breaths.

Safety being felt.

That is the power of kangaroo care.

These are not small moments.
They are monumental moments that help shape the foundation of an infant’s future — supporting bonding, brain development, regulation, healing, and connection.

Today on International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day, we celebrate the beauty and importance of skin-to-skin care for babies and families everywhere.

Join the movement:
Share your skin-to-skin photo.
Promote kangaroo care. 💚
Advocate for parental presence and connection in the NICU — today and every day.

#kangaroocare #nicuparents #nicunurse #nicubaby #nicumom

What happens in the NICU follows our children home. There are hundreds of moments during a NICU stay—
moments that feel routine…
moments that feel small…
and even moments where I didn’t like what I saw, but felt hesitant to speak up—as both a clinician and a parent in my own NICU. And over time, I’ve seen how those moments have shown up in my son. That’s the part we don’t always talk about. In this episode, I share both the science and the lived experience behind how NICU care shapes brain development, behavior, and long-term outcomes—and more importantly, what we can do about it. We also walk through tangible, practical ways to support neuroprotective, developmentally appropriate, family-centered care. Because the goal isn’t just survival. It’s how we help these children live beyond it. Whether you are a NICU parent or a clinician—this one matters. 🎧 Link in bio #nicuparents #nicunurse #nicupodcast #nicugrad #nicubaby

What happens in the NICU follows our children home.

There are hundreds of moments during a NICU stay—
moments that feel routine…
moments that feel small…
and even moments where I didn’t like what I saw, but felt hesitant to speak up—as both a clinician and a parent in my own NICU.

And over time, I’ve seen how those moments have shown up in my son.

That’s the part we don’t always talk about.

In this episode, I share both the science and the lived experience behind how NICU care shapes brain development, behavior, and long-term outcomes—and more importantly, what we can do about it.

We also walk through tangible, practical ways to support neuroprotective, developmentally appropriate, family-centered care.

Because the goal isn’t just survival.

It’s how we help these children live beyond it.

Whether you are a NICU parent or a clinician—this one matters.

🎧 Link in bio

#nicuparents #nicunurse #nicupodcast #nicugrad #nicubaby

Happy Mother’s Day. There are mothers to children they have given birth to. 
There are mothers who may not be considered biological, but cannot fathom life without their children in it. 
There are mothers who stepped into motherhood through marriage and love. 
There are mothers who never had the opportunity to meet their child because they left this world too soon. 
There are mothers who have had to bear the unimaginable and somehow learn to move forward without their child beside them anymore. 
There are mothers who dream of being mothers, but have not yet had that opportunity—or may never experience it in the way they once hoped. Motherhood comes in so many different forms. It does not take pregnancy or birth to be a mother, but it does take a strong, resilient, compassionate, patient, and incredible woman. And I am blessed to know so many. To the NICU mamas, the bereaved mamas, the waiting mamas, the foster and adoptive mamas, the bonus mamas, and the women carrying a mother’s love in their hearts in ways the world may never fully see—you are seen, you are valued, and you are fiercely loved. 🤍 #mothersday #motherslove❤️ #mothersheart #nicumom #bereavedmother

Happy Mother’s Day.

There are mothers to children they have given birth to.

There are mothers who may not be considered biological, but cannot fathom life without their children in it.

There are mothers who stepped into motherhood through marriage and love.

There are mothers who never had the opportunity to meet their child because they left this world too soon.

There are mothers who have had to bear the unimaginable and somehow learn to move forward without their child beside them anymore.

There are mothers who dream of being mothers, but have not yet had that opportunity—or may never experience it in the way they once hoped.

Motherhood comes in so many different forms. It does not take pregnancy or birth to be a mother, but it does take a strong, resilient, compassionate, patient, and incredible woman. And I am blessed to know so many.

To the NICU mamas, the bereaved mamas, the waiting mamas, the foster and adoptive mamas, the bonus mamas, and the women carrying a mother’s love in their hearts in ways the world may never fully see—you are seen, you are valued, and you are fiercely loved. 🤍

#mothersday #motherslove❤️ #mothersheart #nicumom #bereavedmother

Happy Nurses Week! The Power of Nurses! There are certain stories, moments, and people in nursing that stay with you forever. Over the years, I have cared for patients whose stories I still carry with me today — from the tiniest of patients to adults. I have also been incredibly fortunate to learn from nurses whose voices, encouragement, and guidance helped shape me as both a nurse and a person. And then there are the nurses who cared for my own son during his NICU journey. Their compassion, reassurance, knowledge, and presence during some of the hardest days of our lives will never be forgotten. Nurses do far more than provide medical care. They advocate, comfort, educate, support, encourage, and show up for people during life’s most vulnerable moments. I am simply grateful for the incredible nurses who have impacted my life, career, and family’s story in ways that words will never fully capture. Thank you! Happy Nurses Week to all of the amazing nurses out there. #nursesweek #thepowerofnurses #nicunurse #nurselife #nursesareawesome

Happy Nurses Week! The Power of Nurses!

There are certain stories, moments, and people in nursing that stay with you forever.

Over the years, I have cared for patients whose stories I still carry with me today — from the tiniest of patients to adults. I have also been incredibly fortunate to learn from nurses whose voices, encouragement, and guidance helped shape me as both a nurse and a person.

And then there are the nurses who cared for my own son during his NICU journey. Their compassion, reassurance, knowledge, and presence during some of the hardest days of our lives will never be forgotten.

Nurses do far more than provide medical care. They advocate, comfort, educate, support, encourage, and show up for people during life’s most vulnerable moments.

I am simply grateful for the incredible nurses who have impacted my life, career, and family’s story in ways that words will never fully capture. Thank you!

Happy Nurses Week to all of the amazing nurses out there.

#nursesweek #thepowerofnurses #nicunurse #nurselife #nursesareawesome

April is HIE Awareness Month, and this year the @hopeforhie community’s theme is: Hold Onto Hope.  Today, we honor the incredible children and families whose lives have been impacted by HIE by featuring some of these incredibly brave little ones from the very beginning of their stories to where they are today. You will see strength. Resilience. Joy. Courage. You will see children who continue to defy expectations in their own beautiful ways, and families who have walked beside them through every challenge, milestone, setback, and victory. To every parent, sibling, grandparent, family member, and support system: we see you too. We honor your strength, your advocacy, your love, and the way you continue to show up for your child and family, even on the difficult days. If your child has been diagnosed with HIE and you have not yet connected with Hope for HIE, we encourage you to do so. Their community and resources are truly incredible, and no family should have to walk this journey alone. Please join us in celebrating these amazing children and the stories behind these photos. Share a heart, a word of encouragement, or simply help us remind these families that they are not alone. If you would like to share your child’s story, please send us a DM. We would be honored to celebrate and honor them too. #nicujourney #holdontohope #hopeforhie #hieawareness #nicuparents

April is HIE Awareness Month, and this year the @hopeforhie community’s theme is: Hold Onto Hope. 

Today, we honor the incredible children and families whose lives have been impacted by HIE by featuring some of these incredibly brave little ones from the very beginning of their stories to where they are today.

You will see strength. Resilience. Joy. Courage. You will see children who continue to defy expectations in their own beautiful ways, and families who have walked beside them through every challenge, milestone, setback, and victory.

To every parent, sibling, grandparent, family member, and support system: we see you too. We honor your strength, your advocacy, your love, and the way you continue to show up for your child and family, even on the difficult days.

If your child has been diagnosed with HIE and you have not yet connected with Hope for HIE, we encourage you to do so. Their community and resources are truly incredible, and no family should have to walk this journey alone.

Please join us in celebrating these amazing children and the stories behind these photos. Share a heart, a word of encouragement, or simply help us remind these families that they are not alone.

If you would like to share your child’s story, please send us a DM. We would be honored to celebrate and honor them too.

#nicujourney #holdontohope #hopeforhie #hieawareness #nicuparents

Latest Pins!

Recent Episodes

  • Empowering NICU Parents Podcast Beyond the NICU: How Small Moments Shape a Developing Brain
  • Empowering NICU Parents Podcast The Why Behind Empowering NICU Parents
  • Empowering NICU Parents Podcast From NICU Experience to Nonprofit Mission: A Family’s Journey to Today Is a Good Day
  • Empowering NICU Parents Podcast The Lifelong Journey and Impact of Premature Birth: What Families Should Know
  • Empowering NICU Parents Podcast Wave of Light: Finding Light After Loss

Subscribe

Sign up with your email address to receive updates and special offers.

Thank you for subscribing!

2026 Copyright Empowering NICU Parents. Blossom Beauty | Developed By Blossom Themes. Powered by WordPress.Privacy Policy