NICU Mom

I never thought I would be a NICU mom. At least that is what they refer to us as when we are there. I never thought that my baby would come early or have to stay at the hospital as I came home. Camryn is now 10 days old. She has been in the NICU all of those days and I have already been home for 4 of them. Leaving my baby there was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life. You are supposed to be wheeled out of the hospital with you baby in your arms. You are supposed to have their car seat ready to go, strap them in, and drive off in the sunset. I never thought I would have to leave my baby girl that early on with people she did not know. I cried the day I left her alone in her funny looking crib. I know that she needs to get healthy because she came too early. We were not ready for her arrival here at home so that part has given me some purpose at the moment. I am recovering because I was sick too. I am getting better and stronger for her. I am getting all the things ready that I was working on before I was admitted into the hospital on March 7. I am buying her tiny clothes because she won’t fit into what we have here. However, my baby girl is doing good. She literally makes progress every day. She will be home soon and I know that, although that does not always make it easier. I think that we are really lucky. Camryn stayed in me until almost 35 weeks. She was born small but compared to some babies in the NICU she is considered big. She was never on oxygen. She had IVs at the beginning and they are out now. She was on UV lights for her jaundice but she is off them now. She is gaining weight and weighs more than her birth weight right now. I am confident that she will be at 4 pounds and even more by next week. She is a strong girl. She is my everything. I still don’t feel like her mom all the time but I know it will come in time. We are doing what we can to bond. I am trying to breastfeed her. However, that is another story for another day. We do kangaroo care and I sing to her. Singing has always made me feel better when I am down so I make up songs for her. I read to her when I visit as well. I count my blessing every minute and pray for all the babies who came just a little early. Dan and I will have the NICU in our hearts forever. So while I never thought I would be a NICU mom, I am one.




This is the outfit that Dan bought for Camryn after she was born.




Here we are doing some kangaroo care at one day old.



Here is the blanket they gave her in the NICU. Purple, my favorite!