When I was pregnant with my daughter, I started having contractions three months before she was due. After realizing these contractions were not Braxton Hicks, but actual "these will bring the baby" contractions, we got my butt to the hospital. Already on bed rest and high risk, we knew better than to take any chances with this pregnancy. I feared the worst. I have had a stillborn and was terrified we were going to have to endure losing another baby. Little did I know that earlier that day, my best friend's ex-husband and his new wife gave birth to their premature baby at that very hospital. In that very room. She was due within days of me. It started them on their journey of being parents to a premature baby. I was lucky that day. They were able to stop my labor and I went on to have my little girl only 3 weeks early.

But what about those families who do have premature babies? Many of us followed Julie of the blog A Little Pregnant as she went through her IVF treatments, following her through her pregnancy and then the shock of her giving birth to her son at 30 weeks gestation. She shares her feelings two weeks later at how exhausting it already had become. Many of us wept with her when she was overwhelmed and cheered along with her with every victory. Throughout all of it (and throughout any situation like that) there was the ever present question: What can I do?

Last week I received an email from fellow BlogHer, Kristy Sammis telling me about her very close friends, Missy and Dan, who recently gave birth to a sweet baby boy. Fifteen (15!) weeks early. Follow the link and see how tiny that little baby was when he was born. She wanted to share with me their story and what they did to help their son. What you can do to help other premature babies. (She gave me permission to share this with you.)

He's been taken very good care of and is quite a fighter, but the ward is in need of some love from the outside world in the form of tiny and soft blankets for its other preemies. The hospital-issued blankets have been washed so many times that the blankets are harsh and scratchy, and preemies need and respond (and develop) better with super-soft materials.

I know there are many crafty women on this site who are more than capable of whipping out a fresh new, super-soft blanket in the time it takes me to choose what shirt I should wear with what pants on any given day that requires me encountering anyone beyond my family.