Love, Emily

“Dear NICU Mama, When I look back on 2023, I see a mama who grew, despite, and in spite of, everything the world threw her way.

I see a mama who handled set backs and road bumps, facing the all too familiar worries and grief that came with them. The unfairness of having to stay strong yet again. A mama who struggled to articulate and explain to those unfamiliar with her path to parenthood.

I see a mama who slowly learned to take the positives and beautiful moments at face value, beginning to breathe through them and let herself celebrate her child without always waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under her.

I see a mama of a warrior who became a fighter herself. Who broke and powered through and  cried and broke again and picked herself up, time and time again. A mama who leaned on others and found sisterhood along the way.

I see a mama who knows that even in the darkest moments there is goodness ahead. A mama who tries to share the goodness with others in their own dark places. Who knows that even in the quietest, loneliest, grief-filled moments there is always love.

Happy New Year to all the mamas, parents, and warriors out there who fight the fight and find love through it all.”

Love,
Emily

More of Emily + Zoe’s NICU story:

“Our story: At 24 weeks and 6 days I went to the doctor for my routine gestational diabetes screening, and ended up admitted to the hospital that same day to monitor symptoms of what would become pre-eclampsia. My hospital stay ended up lasting for a month until my blood pressure became unmanageable through medication, and Zoe entered the world at 29 weeks and 2 days weighing 2 pounds 7 ounces. She spent 51 days in the NICU. Along the way we’ve navigated hernia surgery, feeding challenges, bilateral hip displasia and a brace, and EEG monitoring resulting in an additional hospital stay. Zoe is now a (mostly) happy, healthy almost 3 year old!”