Read MoreThe NICU is a scary place. You can feel the fear while walking past each room. But, each room also has a baby with so much light to share, a NICU team with so much strength, parents with so much bravery- whether they realize it or not.
Leaving her every night and being two ships passing in the night with my husband as we took turns staying with her, left our emotions running high and strong. Brynn was the continuous light that carried us through that experience and seeing her strength made us stronger. She is now 7.5 months old and doing so well! My heart is with all NICU parents this month and always
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Read MoreI know the theme here is bravery, but truthfully I never felt brave .. not during our time in the NICU and still now as we continue to navigate all of the follow up appointments since discharge. But I suppose bravery comes in those small moments too … where you pick yourself up from a good cry on the nursery floor, or dry your eyes after a breakdown in the shower, or simply staying positive and hopeful despite not receiving great news at an appointment.
Read MoreAlthough we are still in the NICU and I'm beyond ready to go home. My little champion has fought to be here and I thank God for every day with her. I tell everyone, Yes, the NICU is a Rollercoaster but you have to just watch it, don't get on it.
These babies are TOUGH!"
Read MoreI will never forget the friends I made at the NICU or their little warriors. We are bonded for life. During those three months I met some the bravest people I will ever meet.
Read MoreI can't tell you how many people ran in to assist with her birth. I can't even give you a name or pick out a face from a line up. All I knew was my baby was born 11 weeks early when she shouldn't have been, and I was just in total shock.
Read MoreHis resilience, spirit, strength and curiosity are just a few of his traits that have taught and shaped us. I am humbled and forever grateful that I was chosen to be this preemie’s mama.
Read MoreUnexpectedly, the NICU became a place of healing for both my son and myself. The village that were all told of when we have babies was built in - the nurses, doctors and volunteers, and lactation consultants helped me immeasurably in those fragile postpartum weeks.
Read MoreRecently has started to try and give kisses. & will chew on just about anything he can get his mouth to. He’s our rainbow baby & I think god every day for giving us our miracle.
Read MoreThis is our story one I had no idea I would tell but I am glad to tell it and bring awareness plus hope to other parents. Being a nicu mom was the hardest thing I’ve had to endure as a mother but it also made me a strongest person! I am forever proud of us!
Read MoreEmma will be 2 years old this November and is catching up on her developmental milestones. We are so grateful for the Tower Health NICU staff and Wee Talk therapists for working with Emma. We know that Darla is watching over her everyday to give her the strength to continue to AMAZE us! We love both our miracle girls, Darla and Emma!
Read MoreTwenty eight days.. that was our length of stay, the amount of aloneness you feel as a parent in the NICU is unreal!!!! The only people you connect with are the other parents literally going through the same journey some better some worse, but total strangers sitting together in a family room trying to eat, connect, update, disconnect, sleep,Cry, speak openly, even have art therapy.. whatever it is.. we all did it together. Never once did we ever know anyone's name, maybe we did but it was so many emotions to remember, Maybe our babies names is all we shared? The parents mostly said we're "bed 1" they were "bed 10".
Read MoreFor 33 days, I called the NICU every morning at 2am to hear how he was doing and make sure he didn't have any events. We spent most of our day, most every day listening to the beeping of the machines and praying he didn't brady. My husband drove for 3 hours a day, several of those days just to bring me up while he say in the car as I visited our son.
Read MoreThe NICU was the hardest thing I've ever been through- it is terrifying and helpless. But along the way, the nurses, doctors, and surgeons help shed light, little by little. It takes an incredible, and strong parents to go through the NICU, and an amazing person to work in it. As our nurse manager said, "My wife and I don't have any kids of our own, because all these babies in the NICU are my kids."
Read MoreOne thing I learned through our NICU journey is no matter how non-ideal the situation may be your baby will always feel your love.
Read MoreBecause of my own personal connection to the NICU, having spent time there myself as a preemie newborn, this was an experience that I never expected, but of which I was intimately aware of all the ways it could go, good or bad. My twin sister and I were born at 32 weeks over thirty years ago. She, though healthier and in better shape than me initially, ended up developing Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) and passed away after a failed surgery to correct it. With the knowledge of how things had changed so fast with my sister in the NICU, I felt myself constantly trying to keep from going down a rabbit hole of bad outcomes.
Read MoreThat night and for the next 45 days, I would call the NICU hundred of times for an update. And every time I was met with compassion and understanding. They made me feel like Hayes was the only one there and a rockstar! The staff in the NICU also made sure that I was ok. Every day they would ask how I was doing and if I needed anything.
Read MoreMy 30 days of brave story is inspired by my sons primary care nurse; Denise.
In 2017 my son Kyle was born prematurely at 24 weeks. He weighed 1lb11oz. When I saw him in that isolette I was terrified, anxious, sad, and nervous.
I wasn’t the joyous mama - I wasn’t naïve.
Read MoreWe are now two years out from our NICU stay.
Two years of thinking about our journey every single day.
Two years of processing & healing.
When I think back on it, I get overwhelmed with how good people truly are.