Volunteers rock and sing to babies

Thanks to female volunteers in Nebraska, babies at a local pediatric hospital don’t have to go through their struggles alone.

The "baby rockers" at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals-Lincoln campus donate much of their time to sit and bring comfort to babies whose lives have often gotten a rough start.

“Some of have been abused at the hands of their parents or are suffering from shaken baby syndrome. That’s when the baby rockers kick in to gear. They just drop everything to come and rock these babies,” Marla Buresh, volunteer resources coordinator at the hospital, told InsideEdition.com.

The nurses spend three-hour slots rocking, singing, and talking to the children to get them on the road to recovery.

Bess Jensen, 73, who was the first rocker to come aboard six years ago, said the rocking fills a void for her.

“I don't have any children so it fills that need that every woman has," Jensen said. "I love it. I walk into pediatrics and say, 'Where’s my baby?’ I don’t care whether they are black, white. That’s my baby."

The volunteers have rocked babies from newborns to 2 years old, but they all have one thing in common — they need love.

“You just can’t help but fall in love with each one of them. When you hold them close to your heart they become a part of it. There is a lot of sad things and my time with them, I hope it gives them an escape from that sadness,” said Carla Johnson, another volunteer at the hospital.

The volunteers said it can be hard sometimes because they get attached to the children and then they leave, but it's all worth it.

“Sometimes you rock them for a month, sometimes several times a month,” said volunteer Sandy Ludwig. “A lot of the times we don’t even know why they are there and it doesn’t even matter. Sometimes they just need that gentle touch."

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