Parents Stuart and Regina Kirk from Dublin spent four months reading to their premature baby in the Rotunda Hospital's NICU, now they're sharing their story with others in celebration of the National Public Libraries Open Day
The parents of a premature baby have told how reading to him helped ease the trauma of seeing him in an intensive care unit.
Miracle baby Theo Kirk became a member of Ireland's incubator 'Baby Book Club', experiencing his first book at the tender age of ten days old, thanks to an initiative by Dublin City Libraries (DCL).
Born at 24 weeks, Theo weighed just 1.8lbs and spent almost four months in Dublin's Rotunda Maternity Hospital, much of the time in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU).
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Thanks to the unique collaboration between DCL and the hospital, Theo's parents Stuart and Regina Kirk, from Clongriffin, Dublin, started reading books to him when he was less than two weeks old.
The Kirks were able to begin the therapeutic and soothing routine of reading to their son after meeting with Amanda Scott, the Rotunda's Clinical Specialist Speech and Language Therapist.
Theo's dad, Stuart, explained how they discovered the initiative and were pleasantly surprised by how clean and new the books were, as well as how positively the simple act effected his little family.
"It really kicked off when Amanda left a book trolley in the unit," said software engineer Stuart.
"I expected them to be all old and dog-eared, but they were all brand new and disinfected.
"We felt it was important to read to Theo. As he got bigger, we were able to take him out of the incubator and cuddle him as were reading the books. It was just amazing."
Stuart added that reading the books was as much for the benefit of himself and his wife Regina as it was for Theo.
"I would encourage other parents who find themselves in the NICU to read to their babies," he explained, adding "It absolutely gave us a purpose, and we weren't just sitting there watching him and staring at the incubator."
The Kirks softly read Theo tales such as The President's Dog and The President's Cat, bestselling children's books by Irish author Peter Donnelly, provided to the unit by Dublin City Libraries.
Regina, a travel consultant, said: "Reading these books made us feel closer to him. We owe our lives to all of the incredible Rotunda staff."
The book initiative obviously sparked something special for the Kirks at such a stressful time, as Regina added: "Theo had his first birthday a few weeks ago and now has his own bookshelf at home."
Amanda Scott explained that the hospital were only too happy to partner with DCL for the initiative, as reading to babies calms them, helps bonding and builds speech and language skills.
"Libraries provide excellent services for parents with newborns and for young children, from baby book clubs and storytime sessions to parenting resources and early literacy programmes," said Eimear Corcoran, DCL Librarian in charge of the initiative in Dublin.
"We encourage all parents to explore the wide range of supports available in their local library, where they'll find welcoming spaces and staff ready to help."
Following the success of the initiative in the Rotunda and Coombe hospitals, plans are underway to roll out the scheme in other hospitals in Dublin.
The success story of Ireland's incubator 'Baby Book Club' is being showcased ahead of National Public Libraries Open Day on September 27, the annual celebration that promotes the diverse services offered by Ireland's public libraries.
Coinciding with National Public Libraries Open Day throughout September, and on the day itself, all library services across the country will be promoting and showcasing the range of services they provide through online promotions, events, workshops and community activities.
Those interested can find more information at librariesireland.ie.