November is Premature Birth Awareness month. I will always be passionate about premature birth awareness. It's also strangely fitting it's this month, since it was a November nine years ago that I found out I was pregnant with my twins. I actually didn't know it was twins at the time, or know what a scary, intense time was about to be our pregnancy journey. Looking back, I … [Read more...]
Unexpected Discoveries: From Pregnancy to NICU
Unexpected Discoveries From finding out you are pregnant to complications that arise, unexpected discoveries can happen during any part of the pregnancy. The NICU is also a place where you never know exactly what to expect. Throughout my twin pregnancy, I discovered that doctors don't know everything and unexpected discoveries happen more often than we make think. They can … [Read more...]
Strong, Yet Fragile: Julieta’s Story
Strong, yet Fragile Preemies are amazing. They are so tiny, yet so mighty. So tough, vulnerable.They are so strong, yet so fragile at the same time. Premature babies must fight to do things that full-term babies do automatically. Their systems aren't fully developed yet, including their immune system. So, even though they beat the odds that are stacked against them, they … [Read more...]
Scars: When They Start to Fade
Scars Scars on our bodies can come from many different places. They can be a sign of past trauma from an accident, an injury, or in my case, even giving birth. I was sitting with the twins the other day when the topic of scars came up. It's not a typical thing to discuss with children, but the twins didn't have a typical birth or newborn period. Each had a surgery in the … [Read more...]
Complicated Stories: How Sharing Helps
Sharing Complicated Stories After having a baby, sharing their birth story is something many women like to do. However, if that birth story involves a preemie or NICU baby, sharing complicated stories can be very hard. Not only can it be extremely difficult for the mother to tell, but it can be hard for her family and friends to hear. Do people want to hear about your … [Read more...]