Love, Kim
Dear NICU Mama,
My hope for you in 2020 is that you remember that even though there are doctors and nurses working around the clock to care for your sweet babe, you are their everything, you are their home, and you are their mama. When you are surrounded by wires, cords, beeps, and the inability to pick up your baby whenever you want to, it can be easy to forget that YOU are their best place to be. You made this beautiful baby. Your voice is their favorite sound, your scent is their favorite smell, and your heartbeat is their favorite rhythm. Nothing can change that or take that away.
Amidst all of the beeping, poking, and prodding that your baby endures everyday, they never forget their mama. Yes, the NICU world is not what they or you want right now. It feels unfair and this is not what either of you could have ever expected. But one thing remains true... You are their mama and they love you in a way they can’t love anyone else.
When things get tough, remember that you get to be the mama of this sweet baby. They need you. You were chosen to be the mom of this beautiful miracle. You are strong, you have learned so much, and your baby is and always will be a fighter. You got this mama!
Love,
Kim
More of Kim + Carter’s Story:
Our sweet boy, Carter, was born at 30 weeks due to Pre-eclampsia that turned into HELLP Syndrome. He was IUGR born at 2lb 8oz and spent 61 days in the NICU. Carter spent most of his time in the NICU learning how to breathe and eat on his own, gain weight, and bradycardia. We are lucky in that Carter had all normal brain scans, passed his vision and hearing tests, and graduated from the NICU a week before his due date.
It’s true what they say, the NICU journey is a rollercoaster. Every time we thought we took a step forward, it felt like we took two steps back the next day. We experienced every emotion in the book while sitting next to our baby, plexiglass between us. It was unnatural to have to ask someone if it was okay to touch your own baby. We spent countless hours at the hospital everyday waiting for care times and any moment to be with our sweet little boy. Leaving the hospital each night with empty arms is a type of pain we will never forget and something no one should ever have to go through.
We’ve been out of the NICU now for almost three months and Carter is a happy, healthy 11 pound little boy. Even though we know how incredibly blessed we are that we are in this spot and we are home, not a day goes by we don’t think back to our NICU stay. Those hours spent by his bedside, the sound of the alarms, the smell of plastic and sanitizer, it will forever be engrained in us.
Our NICU journey changed us, you don’t complain about things you used to, you wake up feeling grateful you’re no longer living in a hospital. We are so incredibly grateful for Carter’s care team and the nurses who treated him as if he were their own. Our family and friends and their outpouring of love and support got us through the hardest days of our life. In the end, we are blessed. We have a healthy baby boy who is home. The network of NICU mamas is incredible and an outlet every NICU mama needs. Thank you for supporting us and each other!
