NICU Support The NICU is one of the toughest, most emotional experiences a person can have. Whether you have a partner or not, co-workers or friends, a nurse or a fellow preemie parent, you must have some type of NICU support to make it through. No matter how strong you are, or think you are, you can't do it alone. Some people are lucky enough to have a supportive partner … [Read more...]
Emergency Room Visit: The First Time
Emergency Room Visit This isn't exactly the First Friday that I wanted to write, but life doesn't always go as planned. It's actually hard to believe we haven't been to the emergency room with the twins before this week. Of course, I think their dramatic entrance into the world, and subsequent 3 month NICU stay must have earned us that good fortune. But, our luck ran out this … [Read more...]
Premature Mother’s Guilt: Merrick’s Story
Premature Mother's Guilt All mother's experience guilt at one time or another, but a premature mother's guilt can be overwhelming. Not only is there guilt about "normal" parenting decisions (like the guilt from choosing one feeding method over another, for example,) but there is guilt about the actual prematurity. Not being able to carry a baby to full-term can really play … [Read more...]
Happy Endings: Change your Perspective
Endings It's that time of year where things are winding down. A couple of weeks of school left, one dance performance done, my student's performance in just a few weeks, and hopefully the end of Winter. (Seriously. This Wisconsin weather has been pretty crazy. I think we've had both our heat and air conditioning on this week.) Endings are happening, and I think we're all … [Read more...]
Battling Anxiety: Five good things on Friday
Anxiety I've talked about it a little bit, but I've been battling anxiety for most of my life. It's not just a little nervousness or healthy fear, it's full-on, debilitating, makes my life stop anxiety. It is truly an illness. I've tried dealing with it on my own, talking to my family doctor, seeing a psychiatrist, and taking medication. It's taken years to find the right … [Read more...]
