Love, Christine

“Dear NICU Mama,You embodied courage when you saw your baby for the first time through the porthole of an isolette.

When you touched your baby with a cupped and shaking hand… you were brave.

When you wondered what their face looked like beneath the bili glasses, wires, tape, and CPAP… you were formidable.

Mama, you were a force of nature when you raised yourself from your wheelchair, mere hours after birth–torn open, sore, and bleeding–to see the life you brought into the world.

When your baby was treated by more medical professionals from they moment they were born than you’ve encountered in your entire life, when you asked again for an explanation you received the day before, when you questioned a treatment or searched the internet to understand a diagnosis, when you braced yourself for the possibility that your baby might not come home at all… you were a lioness.

You were your baby’s anchor, mama, while they weathered the storm from their tiny bed. When other people saw a frail and fragile child, through your own bravery, you saw your baby’s strength.

Dear NICU Mama, when you sang to your baby and when you read them a book, when you shared their photo, when you watched the seasons change from your NICU window… courage lived in you.

And when your body and your spirit felt so tired, worn, and weak that you didn’t think you could keep going, it was then, dear NICU mama, that you were strongest of all.”

Love,
Christine

More of Christine , Eric + Ethan’s NICU Journeys:

"At 16 weeks, my twins received life-saving treatment in utero for TTTS. While the surgery was successful, one of my twins was growth restricted, and at 32 weeks, it was no longer safe for them to stay inside. Eric and Ethan were born via C-section weighing 5 pounds and 5 ounces and 2 pounds and 11.5 ounces. My larger twin, Eric, needed immediate breathing assistance and was intubated. Eric's NICU stay was generally uneventful; he needed to grow and learn to breathe and eat on his own, but Ethan's was more complex. He battled a staph infection, was nearly septic, and stopped eating after Eric was discharged at 49 days. Ethan was finally able to join us 10 days later, ending our 2 month NICU journey. With a 2.5 year old daughter at home who was unable to visit her brothers due to COVID, our family faced some added challenges. Our time in the NICU is the hardest thing our family has ever experienced, and we are blessed to have made it through as a family of 5.”