COVID-19: The Perspective of the Mother of a Medically Fragile Child
Now that you all have your toilet paper and canned goods, I hope you’ll have some time to sit down and read about how a “common cold” virus almost killed my baby. Like everyone else, my social media news feeds are flooded by COVID-19 themed posts. It seems like my...
Medically Complex Child Door Sign
Welcome to the Home of a Medically Complex Child Wreaths aren’t the only thing that decorate my front door, we also have two very important signs that greet all who visit our home. The first is our “Oxygen In Use” sign, and the other is a set of instructions for all...
Dear NICU Nurse
Dear NICU Nurse, I know you are highly trained to take care of tiny babies, but I need you to take care of me, too.
The Noggle: Making Baby Cool Again
What I once thought was a luxury (or unneeded) item, I now know to be a necessity. In my car, the vents are situated where no direct airflow hits Rowan. In the video, you will see that his car seat reached 143 degrees in just about an hour. Can you imagine how he must feel sitting in the hot seat with no air flow?
Operation Round Noggin: Our Plagiocephaly Helmet Journey
Honestly, the helmeting process has been tougher on this mama than on Rowan! I’ll never forget the first time I cuddled him with the helmet on; it felt like my warm, squishy baby had turned into a cold, hard plastic robot. Out of all the things he’s been through, surprisingly this was one of the hardest on me. It’s because it’s a big, clunky outward reminder of all the things we’ve been through. It’s something that could possibly have been prevented, especially had he not been intubated for so long. The helmet was just one more “thing” to add to the list of my responsibilities and monthly appointments.
Not Just A Crib
Whether or not a mother is in my situation, I think a baby registry is a list of hopes and dreams for all the things you’ll do with your baby when he comes home. You imagine baths with the plastic tub that fits in the kitchen sink, swaddling him with the blanket that is too expensive but worth it because it’s so soft, and laying him down for the night to sleep peacefully in the perfect crib.
Story Books for NICU Babies
Special Delivery: NICU Books! One day while Rowan was in the NICU, I received a very special delivery from a dear cousin. Books! We both have teaching degrees, so we both know the value of reading to kids, babies too! Even the tiniest of babies can benefit from...
What Does A NICU Mama Need?
Life is Tough for NICU Mamas The NICU is not part of anyone’s ideal birth plan, take it from a professional NICU mama. My baby was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 186 days, that’s just over six months! We both survived, thank God! I was blessed with a...
Safe Space
An experience recently made me question my relationship with my mother. Like many growing up, I used to think things between the two of us were, well, complicated. There were preteen hormone induced arguments. College years were abundantly stocked with eye-rolls and...