Baby Ieuan’s story

Sibling bonds

When a child is in hospital, it can feel like the family is temporarily split in two. Familiar routines are disrupted, stress levels can increase and it’s easy for siblings to feel left behind or confused. But thanks to supporters like you, we’re able to help families stay connected during these difficult times.

Over the last few years, the Noah’s Ark Charity has worked in partnership with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to provide sibling packs to children who’s new younger brother or sister has had to stay in hospital rather than come home after birth. This is what happened to Kai and Avery when their baby brother, Ieuan was born.

Ieuan was born at 35 weeks, after a difficult pregancy. At mum, Kendal’s, 20-week scan, doctors noticed that Ieuan was measuring small and had an echogenic bowel—a finding that can signal complications. Kendal was quickly referred to foetal medicine at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales. Over the following weeks, Kendal began losing amniotic fluid, and with Ieuan’s growth continuing to be a concern, doctors suspected her placenta might be failing.

After a small but reassuring growth spurt at 29 weeks, little Ieuan held on until 35 weeks, when he was delivered by emergency C-section. Weighing only 3lb 12oz, Ieuan was taken to NICU where he was stabilised with a bit of breathing support. Kendal says he was a was tiny but a healthy baby and though he needed some help with feeding to begin with, he remarkably started feeding on his own at just two days old.

Ieuan spent the first four days of his life on NICU while his big brothers, Kai and Avery, eagerly waited to meet him. To help bridge that gap, the children were given sibling packs—which have been specifically created to help children understand and feel part of their sibling’s hospital journey.

Inside the pack was a parent advice leaflet, a fun NICU-themed journal for the children to fill in, cot cards to decorate and identical teddy bears—one each for Kai and Avery, and matching ones for Ieuan. Kendal said: “I honestly can’t tell you how much of a difference it made to our time on NICU.. The boys filled in their journals and completed the activities to understand where Ieuan was. They loved decorating his cot card so all the nurses knew who their baby brother was. It made NICU a fun and less scary place for the children and helped get them involved in a positive way.”

Kai and Avery got to meet their little brother for the very first time on World Prematurity Day.

Reflecting on their experience, Kendal added: “This neonatal intensive care unit was unlike others I’d been on before. It wasn’t overwhelming or stressful—it was calm, kind, and thoughtful. Everyone ensured the boys were involved in everything and it really felt like a safe place for our whole family.”

It’s thanks to you, the Noah’s Ark Charity community, that we’re able to help support hospital families through difficult times. Sometimes that support comes in the shape of a life-saving piece of equipment, and at others it’s something far simpler, like a matching teddy that creates that first vital connection between a child and their new baby brother or sister.