Lauren Dudley and her husband experienced a difficult time in their lives in 2014. In September of that year, their son, Christopher, was born five weeks early while they were stationed in Fort Bragg, N.C. Christopher was in the neonatal intensive care unit for 10 days.

“We had Christopher at [University of North Carolina] Hospital since he was too early to be born at the birth center (midwifery) in Chapel Hill,” Dudley said.

Dudley is a Class of 2007 Catasauqua High School graduate, who pursued her dream of becoming a pastry chef and went to college in Philadelphia for pastry arts after high school.

What she and her husband went through is a hardship many couples face. According to cdc.gov, “In 2019, one in 10 babies was born too early in the United States. The earlier a baby is born, the higher the risk of death or serious disability. In 2018, preterm birth and low birth weight accounted for about 17 percent of infant deaths. Babies who survive can have breathing issues, intestinal (digestive) problems and bleeding in their brains. Long-term problems may include developmental delay (not meeting the developmental milestones for his or her age) and lower performance in school.”

Dudley was about to become a mom, traveling down an already unfamiliar road. Factor in an early labor, bringing about potential danger, and that adds to the anxiety.

“As first-time parents, we were extremely scared and nervous going into labor. I was in labor for over three days and knew that our baby could have some problems when he arrived,” Dudley said. “After having him, the extreme physical and emotional feelings of the situation set in. You honestly feel like the world continues to turn, but you are in this weird bubble day to day of being by yourselves. We were far from home, with a newborn, trying to figure out this new situation that had been thrown at us.”

Christopher had trouble breathing on his own initially but started to improve overnight. He also had trouble gaining weight and nursing and was jaundiced. At the end of the 10-day stay, Christopher became a NICU champion. Today, he is 6 years old and thriving.

“His milestones have been slightly delayed by a month usually, but nothing long term,” Dudley said.

Often when people face a traumatic struggle, that difficulty provides them an insight of what others have endured and what they hope never happens to anyone else.

For the Dudleys, a NICU experience led them to start a fundraiser - and not just one time. They have now done the fundraiser five times, collecting personal items for parents who have a baby in the NICU.

“Shortly after having him, we thought of this idea and donated our first round of bags to UNC (Hospital) that December,” Dudley said. “The birth center we chose for our son’s birth was located an hour away from our house. Since he came so unexpectedly, I had nothing prepared at the time. It turned into a quick ‘what do we need?’ situation of throwing clothes and other items into a go bag and leaving the house. We quickly realized we had forgotten a lot of the basic items that make you feel human - shampoo, body wash, snacks, hair items. Being an hour from home, not wanting to leave your baby, we were without a lot of stuff for over a week.

“We just want to give parents stuck in there over the holidays an extra boost of cheer and support - remind them that this time won’t last forever and quickly will become a memory once their child grows,” Dudley said.

The Dudleys have moved around the country frequently but have still conducted the fundraiser, except when they lived in Germany for a time.

“We were stationed in North Carolina for four years, donating every year to UNC. We had to skip last year due to being stationed in Germany. The logistics of shipping everything in time didn’t work. This year, we ended up at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, so we’ll be making donations at three local hospitals in Kansas City,” Dudley said.

Some of the items collected at each year’s fundraiser include various toiletry products, a fleece blanket for cuddling the baby, hair ties, healthy snacks and face wipes.

“My favorite thing we add is a journal. It was nice for me to write down our baby’s milestones, tests he was given and just day-to-day things I would likely forget - and I did! Looking back on his journal now, I don’t remember half the things we went through,” Dudley said.

Dudley started the fundraiser in October with an Amazon wish list. Having already reached her goal of 100 bags a few weeks ago, she began to expand that goal to 150. As of press time, she was getting close to the new goal.

For this year’s fundraiser, Dudley will stop collecting physical items Dec. 10, so they can start to fill the bags.

“Some hospitals, due to COVID-19, will only accept the bags after they have been isolated for a period of time for decontamination,” Dudley said.

She plans to drop off the bags around Dec. 17.

Dudley is, however, keeping the GoFundMe account active for a while if anyone would like to donate money to be used to purchase Starbucks gifts cards for the NICU nurses. Before the Dec. 10 cutoff, the GoFundMe money was used to purchase items for the bags.

“We will keep the GoFundMe open for a bit leading up to stuffing the bags. I can always add gift cards last minute to bags. Any extra will be for the nurses,” Dudley said. “We learned they are one of the most important people to you while in the NICU and deserve something back as well.”

If you would like to donate to Dudley’s fundraiser through GoFundMe for additional Starbucks gift cards, visit gofundme.com/f/chris039s-5th-annual-nicu-bags.