NICU Days - The Chapter No One Prepares You For

If motherhood were a book, the NICU chapter would be the one you never expected to read-yet somehow end up memorizing every line.

Our journey into parenthood didn’t start with soft lighting, baby cuddles, and the perfect first family photo. It started with monitors, beeping machines, tiny diapers, and nurses who became our lifeline. It started with fear and hope sharing the same room.

Having a premature baby is like being thrown into a world where time moves differently. Everything becomes measured in grams gained, oxygen levels, and how many milliliters of milk your baby managed that day. You celebrate the smallest wins because they’re actually huge wins.

And then there’s the emotional math: the guilt for leaving the hospital, the exhaustion of being between two worlds, the rewriting of every expectation you had about birth and the early days of motherhood.

But there’s beauty, too. The strength of tiny humans. The kindness of nurses. The resilience you discover in yourself-the kind you had no idea you even had. Our NICU chapter was heavy, but it was also the start of a love story I wouldn’t trade for anything.

If you’re a NICU mom reading this: you’re stronger than you think, and you’re not alone.