The day my water broke, I was on my way to my baby shower. I was expected to get showered with presents, funny stories and enjoy my swollen baby belly for another two months. But Bree had other plans.
I woke up in a puddle, and before I knew it, I was rushing to the hospital while my husband called our host to let her know I wasn’t going to be there. I was devastated. Having a NICU baby, however, taught me many lessons, one of which became a greater gift than any onesie or diaper cake could.
Finding community in the NICU was one of the most precious gifts that I have ever received. It was an opportunity for our friends to be real, authentic, loving and supportive, and for us to accept their love and grace and be refreshed. One of my dearest friends would drive two hours to spend an afternoon on a hard couch in a NICU room while I just stared at my baby. She just let me process, breathe and be. She would often take me for a walk or out to lunch so that I could remember being a normal person again, but she’d always come back with me and just sit and talk.
We were discharged twice, both times sending us back to the NICU. During our last visit home, I had to do CPR on my baby. While the ambulance arrived, and as I was gathering my stuff, a dear friend up the road walked into my house helped me find my keys, get the car seat and diaper bag and stayed with me at the hospital until my husband arrived. These sacrificial acts of kindness imprinted themselves on my hurting heart, changing me forever.
I soon started visiting other mommies in the NICU, checking on them, hugging them, and praying for them. The gift of community is that it is one that keeps on giving. During our second visit in the NICU, I made it my personal goal to welcome every mama that joined this “club” of unknowns, scary terms, and 24-hour bustle. I reached out and my community grew. We were there for each other, cheering on each others babies, and crying with each other when things didn’t go according to plan. Since then we have moved states, but my a piece of my heart will always be in that NICU, with those nurses, doctors, and moms that I don’t even know.