Bonding Squares

Mrs. Fridirici teaches us how to make bonding squares!
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Bonding Squares are hand-woven fabric squares intended to help families with babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to bond with their babies through smell-one of the most developed senses in premature infants. One fabric square can be worn against the parent’s skin, and one can be left with the baby in the isolette. Each day, the squares can be switched so that the baby has the parent’s scent and the parent has the baby’s scent. It can be incredibly meaningful for parents to be able to take “a piece” of their baby home with them each day, and possible benefits include bonding and improved lactation.
The Bonding Square project was started by Sara Fridirici in honor of her daughter Gemma who was born at 26 weeks gestation and spent 77 days in the NICU at Abington Memorial Hospital. Sara’s family was given similar fabric squares when Gemma was born and found them to be a great source of comfort. The Fridiricis have partnered with Today is a Good Day to provide Bonding Squares to current NICU families in hopes of helping others on their NICU journeys.