This hospital hair salon is pampering NICU parents in the sweetest way


Having spent time in the NICU herself, hair stylist Sarah Pulley jumped at the opportunity to open a hospital “Beauty Bar” with Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Becoming a parent can be a big and scary adjustment even when labour and delivery go smoothly, and it’s made all the more difficult for parents of babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (or NICU). Having spent time there herself, Sarah Pulley is trying to make the lives of NICU parents just a little easier by pampering them at her hospital hair salon.

That’s right, Riley Children’s Health in Indiana has launched a “beauty bar” in one of the hospital’s two family rooms, offering hair services to the parents of NICU babies. Pulley, who owns the local salon Three Seventeen Hair Design, jumped at the opportunity to spearhead the initiative. Along with volunteering her own hairstyling skills, she donated a chair from her salon and got her distributor to donate more than $150 USD in hair care products.

A person gets their hair done at a salon in a hospital

Photo: Courtesy of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana

“We are very familiar with those walls,” the 34-year-old told Today Parents when talking about her own experience at Riley, where her daughter Amelia was transferred after contracting a virus as a newborn—spending a total of four months between two different NICUs.

After becoming intimately aware of the stress and hardships that parents with NICU children face, Sarah became a volunteer in the hospital’s Ronald McDonald House Family Room last year, where she helped to open the Beauty Bar this past September.

Hospital family rooms are one of three programs that Ronald McDonald House Charities has in place to help families with sick children. They also provide mobile health services that visit communities directly, and housing facilities for families that are located near hospitals.

At Riley, the Beauty Bar gives parents of high-risk babies some well-deserved rest in a nap pod, a chance to decompress in a HydroMassage chair, and lots of fresh fruit and granola bars to snack on.

A hair stylist talks to a client sitting in a salon chair.

Photo: Courtesy of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana

And a few times a month, Pulley gives a little extra self-care to postpartum moms and their partners. “We shampoo, blow dry and give scalp massages on the second Wednesday of each month,” she said, explaining that in the NICU “you completely lose all sense of yourself.” So having a little space where you can take care of yourself and even get a little pampered goes a long way.

“There’s something about the connection between moms and the power of touch,” Pulley added, explaining that her time at the Beauty Bar is just as special for her as it is for the parents she helps.

She also believes that sharing her story can give comfort to parents who are struggling. “There is hope in my story because my daughter is thriving,” she explained, offering other parents with kids in the NICU a few words of encouragement: “You’ve got this.”





Source link

Toys for Girls

Toys for Boys

Craft Supplies

Baby Walkers

Stages of Play: Two to Three Years Old
Stages of Play: Four Years Old
Stages of Play: Three Years Old
Stages of Play: 13-18 Months Old
When it’s not just morning sickness
Chinese gender predictor to see if you’re having a boy or a girl
Pregnant Shay Mitchell spills her hacks for pregnancy swelling and charley horses
This cult stretch mark treatment promises results in eight weeks
Baby Wheezing: Types, Causes And Treatment
55 Sensory Activities For A One-Year-Old
Retinol When Breastfeeding: Safety & Alternatives
25 Signs, Ways To Teach, Benefits And Drawbacks
15 Rebus Puzzles For Kids, With Answers And Tips To Solve
Traits, Types, And Tips To Manage
50 Fun And Interesting Shark Facts For Kids To Know
110 Best GK Questions for Class 8, With Answers
I peed my pants at the trampoline park
Canadian parents are being told they drink way too much and REALLY?!
Can role playing encourage girls in STEM?
12 cool and sustainable period products to help manage your flow
Expresso Show LIVE | Parenting Advice | 9 June 2021 | FULL SHOW
Daily English Conversation in Parent Teacher Meeting.
SMART PARENTING HACKS AND CRAFTS #shorts
Parenting styles Psych 2015