Love, Marianne

“Dear NICU Mama, I hope you know how loved you are.

I know it's not easy, and I know there may be days, weeks or months when you feel like you're completely alone. I'm here to tell you that you're not alone. You have a community of wonderful people who are rooting for you and sending you all the love in the world. When you feel like your strength is waning, your obstacles are insurmountable and your love isn't enough for you, your family and your child, I hope you remember this sisterhood. Your NICU sisters love you for the woman that you are, the mother that you are, and the strength you represent.

If you need to be reminded of how loved you are, look at the baby who finds comfort in your heartbeat, warmth and voice. If you've ever been "mine" to someone, it's to your baby who loves you unconditionally. If you've ever been "home" to someone, it's to your baby who may not even know how to call you mama but knows that your hands and arms are the perfect place to be. If you've ever wondered what it means to have someone be a part of you, it's your baby who looks forward to hearing your voice every day.

It can be easy to forget that people love you. And when you're really going through it, it can be easy to forget to love yourself. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are loved, we deserve love. and we have so much love to give. The baby that you look at so adoringly when you visit and think about every second of every day - they are the perfect reminder of how loved you are.”

Love,
Marianne

More of Marianne + Mateo’s NICU journey:

“Mateo was born at 8:36pm on June 27. He was 33 weeks and weighed exactly 4lbs. Mateo called the NICU home for 2.5 weeks and was incredibly fortunate to have such a great team taking care of him. Since he was born during the pandemic, only one of us could visit him at a time for up to two hours each. It was hard leaving him every day, but his team of nurses and doctors gave us constant updates, answered all of our questions and kept our baby safe and healthy. I remember walking into his unit one day and saw that the night nurses had decorated his bed, and I burst into tears because it made me feel that they loved him too. Seven months later, we now have an almost 8-month-old (6-ish months adjusted) who is happy, bubbly, talkative and thriving. Our still tiny but mighty Mateo is continuing to bring us so much joy as we watch him grow. When it’s safe, I hope we can bring him to the NICU to visit his first home and the people that helped him get to where he is today.”