Can you briefly tell us about your NICU experience?
My son was born at 27 weeks and 8 days on May 25th. His original due date was the middle of August. He was 2lbs 11.8oz, just shy of 3lbs. He was placed on a CPAP after his birth for a few weeks. He was eventually weaned off of the CPAP. His stay in the NICU was 58 days. He was only put on full oxygen 2 weeks before being released due to an infection but recovered just fine. He was sent home with a heart monitor for 2 weeks and after being released by his doctor, we had to do a yearly checkup for the first 3 years of his life.
What was the hardest part about your NICU stay? How did you cope?
I would say the hardest part for me was seeing all the other moms and their babies. Because you knew everyone was going through the same thing. Then walking into the NICU to see the pink paper on the door with roses, you knew someone baby had passed away.
Did this experience teach you anything about yourself? Your family?
This experience just let me knew how strong of a person I was after becoming a first-time mom.
Do you think that your NICU experience had an effect on the way that you raised (or are raising) your child and subsequent children?
I think at first it did but the older he got, we just learned to enjoy all the moments and milestones with him.
What advice would you give to parents who currently have a child in the NICU?
I would say to just learn as much as you can while your child is in the NICU. I only missed one day of not staying with my baby and it was only because the nurses told me I should go get some rest at home. Once I knew my baby would be premature, I Google/researched everything I could. I would ask each doctor questions and made sure they explained everything to me and my husband.
What’s the one thing that you wished you had known at the start of your NICU Journey?
I would say nothing. It was so unexpected and I think the experience/ learning as we went along taught us a lot.
Is there anything else that you want to add?
To the parents just try to stay positive. Our son is almost 15 years old now. Thank God he has no issues from being born early and take it one day at a time. We were lucky to have 3 awesome Neonatologists and wonderful nurses ❤️
