Children’s Hospital Colorado is asking Colorado Springs residents to help make the first weeks of life a little easier for their tiniest, and sometimes sickest, patients.

The hospital’s neonatal intensive-care unit, or NICU, needs isolette covers that protect premature babies from the onslaught of light and sound that most people take for granted as part of their everyday environment, according to clinical nurse manager Erin Havrilla.

“Any baby born at less than 32 weeks is a preemie,” Havrilla said. “Less than 28 weeks is a micropreemie.”

At that stage, a baby is still developing its senses, Havrilla said. That makes it important to create a NICU environment that mimics a mother’s womb as closely as possible.

“It’s important to try to provide everything they would be experiencing in Mom’s tummy, to the extent that we can,” she said. “That includes sound and light dampening.”

That’s where the isolette covers come in.

An isolette is an enclosed crib that helps provide a warm and germ-free environment for premature babies, commonly known as an incubator. The cover protects the young eyes and ears from intrusive lights and sounds.

“We do what we can to keep things quiet here,” Havrilla said. “But it’s a hospital. It’s impossible to imitate the environment that a preemie needs without these covers, and we’re pretty low on them right now.”

The hospital still has a few covers left over from its 2019 opening, and they can buy more, but each cover costs about $250, and Children’s Hospital Colorado officials are hoping that some community members might want to either donate funds or create their own covers.

“The covers can be purchased through a medical company,” Havrilla said. “But they feel very sterile.

“Imagine having a baby in a (NICU) room for 10 or 20 weeks. To give families a little normalcy, we’d like to give the isolettes a little more of a home presence.”

Havrilla stressed that, despite appearances, an isolette cover is not a blanket.

“Making one is a little more complicated than sewing a blanket or T-shirt,” she said.

The ideal cover would have a dark inner layer and a decorative outer layer that features baby patterns, pictures or even sports team logos.

“Anything that will make it seem a little less sterile and a little more near and dear to the families’ hearts,” Havrilla said.

Community members who would like to help can contact the hospital’s Association of Volunteers at 719-305-7042 or cosdonations@childrenscolorado.org.

Children’s Hospital Colorado is asking Colorado Springs residents to help make the first weeks of life a little easier for their tiniest, and sometimes sickest, patients.

The hospital’s neonatal intensive-care unit, or NICU, needs isolette covers that protect premature babies from the onslaught of light and sound that most people take for granted as part of their everyday environment, according to clinical nurse manager Erin Havrilla.

“Any baby born at less than 32 weeks is a preemie,” Havrilla said. “Less than 28 weeks is a micropreemie.”

At that stage, a baby is still developing its senses, Havrilla said. That makes it important to create a NICU environment that mimics a mother’s womb as closely as possible.

“It’s important to try to provide everything they would be experiencing in Mom’s tummy, to the extent that we can,” she said. “That includes sound and light dampening.”

That’s where the isolette covers come in.

An isolette is an enclosed crib that helps provide a warm and germ-free environment for premature babies, commonly known as an incubator. The cover protects the young eyes and ears from intrusive lights and sounds.

“We do what we can to keep things quiet here,” Havrilla said. “But it’s a hospital. It’s impossible to imitate the environment that a preemie needs without these covers, and we’re pretty low on them right now.”

The hospital still has a few covers left over from its 2019 opening, and they can buy more, but each cover costs about $250, and Children’s Hospital Colorado officials are hoping that some community members might want to either donate funds or create their own covers.

“The covers can be purchased through a medical company,” Havrilla said. “But they feel very sterile.

“Imagine having a baby in a (NICU) room for 10 or 20 weeks. To give families a little normalcy, we’d like to give the isolettes a little more of a home presence.”

Havrilla stressed that, despite appearances, an isolette cover is not a blanket.

“Making one is a little more complicated than sewing a blanket or T-shirt,” she said.

The ideal cover would have a dark inner layer and a decorative outer layer that features baby patterns, pictures or even sports team logos.

“Anything that will make it seem a little less sterile and a little more near and dear to the families’ hearts,” Havrilla said.

Community members who would like to help can contact the hospital’s Association of Volunteers at 719-305-7042 or cosdonations@childrenscolorado.org.