Love, Allie
“Dear NICU Mama, Your motherhood story is a reminder that healing is ahead. When you dream of motherhood, you dream of your experience with pregnancy, delivery, and those first moments you get to hold, feed, and bond with your baby. You envision celebrating your baby reaching milestones together at home. You may have been brought into motherhood unexpectedly or in a traumatic way. You may feel cheated out of what you thought your entire experience would be.
Chances are, if you are reading this letter, things didn’t go as you had hoped or planned. You might feel heartbroken or lost… but you will find light in the darkness in different ways.
Your life has been flipped upside down and you are experiencing a trauma by having a baby in the NICU. You are in survival mode taking minute by minute, advocating continuously, and at the mercy of nurses and doctors. But you and your baby will heal from this. Let yourself grieve, and one day, when you are home with your warrior baby, you will look back and think how you persevered through all of the ups and downs.
Take time to feel all of the emotions when you’re ready and celebrate every little milestone your baby has worked so hard to accomplish. There will come a day when you are home, snuggling your baby, thinking of everything you went through, with a different outlook on motherhood – so grateful for every snuggle, giggle, and smile. Healing is not something that happens overnight. Share your story, talk with others about it, and honor your journey because it is meaningful.”
Love,
Allie
More of Allie + Archie’s NICU Journey:
“Our rainbow baby Archie was born at 31 weeks with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. We underwent an emergency C-section and I was sedated and unable to see him for a few hours. We were in the NICU for 3 months and 1 month post-open heart surgery at 3.5 months old. He then returned to the hospital for hernia surgery. We are home now and Archie is a happy and determined little guy and our miracle baby who continues to inspire us.”
