Washington mom taking donations for NICU in honor of son who spent 28 days there

WASHINGTON - They say a mother's work is never done and Jenisa Harris, of Washington, has made it her mission to help out other moms. After her son spent 28 days in the NICU right after birth, she is taking in donations of clothes for premature babies to be distributed to other families.

All throughout her pregnancy, Harris nor her doctors ever expected anything wrong. She had no false contractions, no hiccups in the road, and overall, a healthy baby was growing.

One night during a big storm, a clap of thunder woke her from her sleep; her water had broken at that exact moment. Across town, her mom said she also woke to the thunder and knew something was wrong. She was right- Harris's baby would be born five weeks early.

After 21 hours of labor, on Aug. 2, 2018, Harris gave birth to a five pound 11 ounce baby boy, Jaxson. He was a normal size where he could be brought home, but his lungs were underdeveloped and his chest was constricted, which meant he was whisked off to the NICU almost immediately.

'I didn't really see him until the next day, early in the morning,” she said.

Not being able to see him or knowing how he was doing, was the hardest part, she said.

'You're so exhausted by that point, it's almost like you're in shock,” she said. 'You almost feel like, ‘OK I went through all this work but do I even have a baby?'”

Nurses at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, where she gave birth, updated her constantly on Jaxson's condition and the family stayed in their own private room for eight days while Jaxson received treatment. Finally, the doctors made the call to have him transferred to the NICU at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics which meant Jaxson would stay in the hospital while mom and dad went home.

'I'm so blessed that we have the U, but it was a tearful goodbye,” she said.

After 21 days of constantly calling and driving up to check on his condition, they got to bring him home. The worst part of all of it, Harris said, was not being able to hold him and care for him like she wanted to.

'Days are very long at the NICU. There were days where we were only allowed to hold him twice a day because he was losing to much weight,” she said. 'That was really hard as a mom, to be told when you could hold him and when you couldn't.”

Now, Jaxson is happy, healthy and just celebrated his first birthday a few weeks ago. To honor him, Harris decided to ask for donations of onesies and sleepers for children in the NICU because most parents do not have clothing to fit the baby because a premature delivery is generally unplanned.

'He's blessed with so many great toys by so many great people, so I thought he doesn't need anymore of that. I would rather give back. My parents raised us so well, I'm thankful they've taught us how to be kind and give back and I want to instill that in Jax,” she said.

She put out a request on Facebook and told friends and family and has so far collected about 150 articles of clothing. Both Mercy Hospital and the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics will be receiving the donations which will be available for parents to choose from. It was one process she enjoyed while her own son was in the NICU because it helped give her a sense of control and a way to bond with her new baby.

'Getting to pick out the clothes is that one thing where you kind of feel like a parent and that one thing you get to do for your child. It's special,” she said.

Harris still is collecting donations of clothes for premature babies as well as coloring books, activities and snacks for parents and older siblings who have to spend time in the NICU as well. All donations can be dropped off to her at the Washington Public Library.

Getting to help others and let them know someone else is thinking about them is important to her, she said, because there is no scarier feeling than not being able to help your child.

'I just feel like so many people gave to us and helped us when we were in our situation and it took so much stress away from us. You don't feel like you have much control in that situation, so it makes me happy to do for someone else what so many people did for us,” she said.