Heart for a Heart! Chloe-Cakes Greeting Cards

Many of you know that my daughter Chloe was born with a CHD - Congenital Heart Defect (see the ABOUT page for CHD Statistics or click here for Chloe's story). We were lucky to discover it a few hours after her birth. We spent the first two weeks of Chloe's life by her side in the NICU at the local Children's Hospital (she didn't have open heart surgery until she was 4 months old).

Those few weeks were a new adventure for us, learning about Chloe's heart defect, learning about feeding tubes, oxygen cannulas, chest xrays and decoding "doctor speak" with books and midnight internet searches.

I remember the first time I was able to hold Chloe in the NICU. I was nervous! Once I was able to maneuver my hands and feet around all the tubes and wires, I was in heaven. Everything around me went away...the constant beeping of the monitors, the other NICU babies crying, the voices of doctors and nurses in the hall, etc. It was a wonderful feeling and I treasured it because wonderful feelings were few and far between all of the stress and worry.

I do remember ANOTHER wonderful feeling, though. A NICU nurse, working the overnight shift, made Chloe a scrapbook page with her name on it. When I walked in the next morning and saw that, I just loved it! We actually used it as a sign to hang over Chloe's "pod"! It is amazing how a small but very thoughtful gesture can make your spirits soar.

That is the same feeling I hope to give other heart families in the NICU with Heart for a Heart! Chloe-Cakes Greeting Cards. But I need some help. Submit a homemade drawing of a HEART and I will do the rest! They will be delivered to the hospitalized heart babies in the NICU in hopes of putting a smile on a heart mommy or heart daddy's face. I saved Chloe's sign in her scrapbook as part of her heart journey and I can only hope these families will want to do the same!

In honor of the MckLinky Blog Hop - Show Off Your Art 09/14/2009 - Begins 10pm Central, below are the first three homemade heart drawings I have received. They were beautifully done by Jaden, a very special girl with a big heart and even bigger hugs! I can't wait to deliver these to the NICU!

This is a great project for the classroom or at home! Feel free to email me at chloesmama1@yahoo.com for more info on how you can send well wishes to a hospitalized heart baby in the NICU.