Nothing Really Can Prepare You for NICU Life

Having to do IVF, our road to having children never ended up looking the way we had ever imagined. Our birth story was no different. We had our first children, boy/girl twins, born at 32 weeks from PPROM (Preterm premature rupture of the membranes before 37 weeks). They were 3 and 4 pounds each at birth. We were overjoyed and thankful to find out that neither of our kiddos needed any breathing assistance, and that by all accounts, they were healthy “preemies”. But we had no idea that would still mean that we would end up spending 35 days with them in the NICU.

We learned that we needed to wait for our precious littles to be able to do some of the most basic things that we had never even considered before. Things that most babies actually learn and practice in the womb as natural instincts kick in during their normal development. Things that most parents take for granted that their babies just do automatically upon birth. These things proved more challenging than we anticipated. Nothing really can prepare you for NICU life. We experienced several bumps in our kids’ road to getting them home. We shed many tears, but also had so many moments that filled our hearts to the point of bursting.

The NICU is both wonderful and terrible at the same time. It is a terribly difficult place to be no matter what your family’s situation is, but it is wonderfully beautiful as well: to watch your babies be true warriors, to be witness to the miracles they are and to experience the care and love that only the NICU staff can give! Our sweet son and daughter are thriving in life now. I have often had the things we learned from our NICU docs and nurses pop in my mind as we have navigated being parents, making decisions and raising our children. I like to believe that we are better parents because of our unique perspective that could only be learned through life in the NICU!