Love, Melissa

“Dear NICU Mama, I see how much courage it took to recognize you needed help, and I want you to know that asking for support is a sign of incredible strength, not weakness. Your love and dedication to your baby are undeniable, even on the hardest days when the weight of the journey feels overwhelming.

You’ve been navigating a world you never planned for, filled with beeping monitors, medical jargon, and the ache of longing for a sense of normalcy. But in the midst of it all, you’ve shown a fierce resilience and an unyielding love that speaks volumes about the kind of mother you are.

Please remember to give yourself grace. It’s okay to cry, to feel tired, to wish things were different. It’s okay to take a moment for yourself, to lean on others, and to allow your own heart to heal. You are doing the best you can, and that is more than enough.

One day, when you look back on this chapter, I hope you’ll see the immense strength it took to keep going, the courage it took to love through the uncertainty, and the beauty of the bond that you and your baby share.
You are not alone, sweet Mama. There’s a whole community standing behind you, cheering you on. We see you, we honor you, and we are here for you every step of the way.”

Love,
Melissa

More of Melissa + Her Son’s NICU Journey:

“My husband and I chose IVF for our first and only child so that we could avoid passing on a genetic mutation, from my side of the family, that causes heart defects. At 32 weeks pregnant,  I was diagnosed with preeclampsia with severe features and I was required to stay in the hospital for two weeks. The goal was to make it to 34 weeks but everyday came with so much uncertainty. I’d wake up, get my blood drawn, and essentially wait for the doctors to do their rounds so they could tell me if we would have to deliver the baby that day or if we could wait. The hospital stay itself caused me such a great deal of anxiety. Luckily, we did make it to 34 weeks but we had a traumatic birth coupled with 16 days in the NICU. Once we all made it home, I suffered from post partum anxiety and NICU PTSD— I think both of these were cause by the stressful IVF journey, the anxiety filled hospital stay, and then of course, the unsettling NICU stay. At around 7 months post partum, I realized what I was feeling wasn’t normal, I was doing the dishes and I couldn’t get the intrusive thoughts to turn off, I realized they were taking over my mind. Thats when I realized I needed help. Therapy and anti-anxiety meds helped me immensely, and now  my son and I are happy and healthy!”