Love, Kristen

“Dear NICU Mama, When joy finds you, I hope you will allow yourself to feel it and receive it.

It may come in a small moment or a huge leap forward, but anything that brings you joy is worth celebrating. Maybe you feel it when your warrior baby has finally gained some precious, needed ounces. Or maybe your joy comes when you finally let yourself breathe as you walk out of the doors of the hospital together for the last time. Whether it be something big, small, or in between, it is worth pausing to reflect on the moment and just feel peace. The NICU has more than its fair share of hardships, so embrace joy any chance you get.

Sometimes you may even have to CHOOSE joy in the midst of difficult times. Make that choice; do it for yourself. Eventually, you will begin to accept the things that are out of your control. 

Remember that joy and sadness can coexist. One does not negate the other, and please remember that you deserve joy and goodness! You can grieve the pregnancy, birth, and life that you had dreamed of when you first became pregnant. Those feelings are valid. You can also look toward the new path that has been paved for you and find those moments of joy in places you would have never thought to look. 

There’s joy in this journey. Savor it, and remember for the rest of your life what brought you joy during what is undoubtedly one of the hardest seasons of your life. These will be the moments that will begin to heal your heart through the trauma that you have endured.

Mama, when you find joy, I hope you can share it. You may not see it right now, but someday someone else will long to hear a story like yours while they’re frantically searching for joy and peace inside the walls of a NICU. Your story is meaningful, empowering, and important.”

Love,
Kristen

More of Kristen + Owen’s NICU Journey:

“My youngest son, Owen, spent his first ten days in the NICU. We received a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, and through a routine weekly ultrasound at 37 weeks discovered some issues regarding his heart that sent us to deliver via C-section that evening. He had a large PDA in his heart and spent his NICU time gaining the ability to breathe without the help of extra oxygen and the endurance to take full feeds without the help of a feeding tube.

Down syndrome was never on our radar prior to his diagnosis when I was about 17 weeks pregnant, but this baby brings us more JOY than we ever imagined. He’s everything we never knew we needed.”