Your Bravest Self

“When we found out we were pregnant with triplets, I knew there would be a NICU stay. I was prepared for a NICU stay. What I wasn’t prepared for was delivering at 26w4d. I wasn’t prepared to spend the next 4.5 months in the NICU.

Our triplets arrived on 9/9/23. The boys were a great size for being only 26w and both weighed in at 2lbs 9oz. Our beautiful baby girl was much smaller and weighed only 1lb.

Just 2 days after they were born our world crumbled. Our daughter, Charlotte, passed away. It’s every parents worst nightmare. I can’t even begin to describe the pain we felt. It’s unimaginable. It’s unbearable.

But we still had 2 baby boys fighting for their lives and we had to be strong for them. Through swollen eyes and broken hearts, we continued to show up for them.

Nobody tells you how to do it. There’s no secret in finding this hidden strength to keep going. You just do it. You lean on your closest people. You lean on the NICU staff, ESPECIALLY the NICU staff. And you push through all of the fear, anxiety and heartbreak. You find your bravest self.

Our NICU stay was anything but easy, after losing our daughter, we almost lost our son, Sullivan. He was so sick and nobody could figure out what was wrong. He had to be transferred to the main campus hospital to have an emergency exploratory laparotomy when he was only 6 weeks old and weighed just over 3 lbs. He ended up having almost half of his small bowel removed and his recovery was brutal.

But our story didn’t end in sadness. It ended with a great amount of strength. It ended with great joy when we got to bring our boys home. Bennett spent 104 days in the NICU and Sullivan spent 139 days. 139 long, grueling, stressful, love filled days.

Our story came with so many different emotions. But we survived. Our boys survived. We have two beautiful baby boys that we couldn’t adore more. And we wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t found and trusted our bravest selves.” NICU Mama Anna