PICU Foxbox: A box designed for babies in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Here at Foxbox we support infants, and their families, through long hospital stays. We know how hard long hospital stays can be and what it feels like to suddenly have a hospital room for your nursery. Our free boxes are filled with items that support fun, educational, developmental and social/emotional growth for babies during their first year of life. To qualify for a box donation, a baby has to have an anticipated hospital stay of 3 weeks or more. But what if a baby is in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)?
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is a different world.
During Cypress’ bone marrow transplant, we ended up getting transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), a facility designed to help with his breathing and other side effects from his transplant. Life was different in the PICU. Time seemed to move 10 times faster there than when we were on our oncology floor. The doors were not solid wood like our quiet oncology room but instead they were glass, big and open, so everyone could see inside at all times. They were comforting. We always knew someone was right outside if Cypress needed anything.
While developing our PICU Foxbox, we talked and listened to families, providers, nurses and therapists about what their experiences have been in the PICU. What items would be most helpful? Where did families find unexpected comfort and joy? How can we best help support their work with babies? What kind of support do babies and caregivers need that might be unique to the PICU? How can our boxes bring tiny big moments to families? We listened to their feedback and incorporated it into our methodology of building boxes for each baby based on their personality, developmental stage and unique needs. We’re so excited to share our program with you today.
“We are truly grateful to bring Foxbox to babies and their families in the Doernbecher PICU. The Foxbox team has worked with us to curate boxes that will not only support the growth and development of our babies in the critical care environment, but also bring hope and comfort to their families.”
- PICU RN, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
Here’s a sample PICU Foxbox that we built for a two-week-old baby. Happily, before we had an opportunity to donate it to them, they were able to go home! We documented the box and thought it would be a perfect case study to share with you. With the generous support of our partners (we’ve listed them below each image!) we’re able to bring our boxes to more families in the hospital.
Thanks to the generous support of our partners Angel Dear, Baby Tula and Caspar Babypants our boxes have wonderful comfort items!
Comfort
We know that comfort for any baby in the hospital is a huge need. Sometimes families aren’t able to be there with their baby or a baby might not be able to leave their bed. The items we’ve put in our box each have their own role and purpose to increase the comfort and social/emotional wellbeing of babies during their long stays. Blankies can remind babies of their parents when they’re unable to be there. Crib soothers and music help introduce comforting routines through white noise and pleasing sounds.
Sensory
For this two-week-old, we included two sensory items that caregivers, therapists and nurses can use to help stimulate brain development via sight, touch, taste, smell and sound. (For more information on infant sensory development, check out this wonderful blog post from Gooey Brains!)
Our friends at Workman Publishing allow us to purchase books wholesale from them helping us maximize our donor’s dollars.
Educational
If you’ve been following our Instagram it’s no surprise that we LOVE books! Books provide so many wonderful opportunities for educational, sensory and developmental growth. For this particular baby, we included two fold out books with high contrast black and white images as well as a set of Indestructible books!
With the generous support of our partners Sassy Baby and SmartNoggin we’re able to include amazing activities to help encourage developmental and motor skill growth!
Fine Motor / Developmental Activities
All of our boxes include activities selected to encourage and support early developmental milestones. We know how incredibly important the first 12 months of life are for brain development. For this baby we chose a cause/effect rattle, grasping toys, a developmental rattle and a baby-safe crib mirror with a high contrast image board.
A big thank you to Jessica Hische & Penguin Young Readers! With their kind and generous support every baby will receive a copy of Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave. (We even have a few copies of Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind to share, too!)
Family & Friends Connection
Routine and familiar sounds can help babies feel comforted. Often parents and family members are searching for some way to help their baby while they’re in the PICU. We’ve included several picture books for families to create their own “PICU storytime.” Parents feel like they’re contributing to their baby’s treatment, babies love hearing their family’s voices and both groups are comforted by a special connection they create together.
Caregiver Support
Our typical caregiver support is included with our PICU Foxbox. We support parents, or caregivers, because you can’t support a baby without supporting their person. We offer families their choice of Ergobaby infant carrier, an Ergobaby support pillow, a YETI water bottle and drinking cup, great coffee, organization supplies and healthy snacks.
“Foxbox has a special place in the heart of our PICU Team. We are humbled to honor Cypress’ legacy in this way, and bring hope and joy to our babies and their families during their time with us in the PICU. Thank you Foxbox!”
- PICU RN, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
We’re incredibly honored to support babies, and their families, with our PICU program. We hope it brings comfort, joy and tiny big moments to babies, and their families, during their long stays. We’re looking forward to keeping in close contact with our PICU friends, and the families we support, to get feedback on what’s working, what’s not and what we can do better. A favorite phrase of ours at Foxbox is Learn Early, Learn Often. We’re always eager to hear what feedback our families and hospital friends have to share with us so we can ensure we’re providing the best support possible.
