“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” — e.e. cummings

“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” — Lord Byron 

“Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion” — Truvy (Steel Magnolias)

Any length of NICU stay is fraught with emotion. Parents enter the NICU scared, confused, and unsure about what the coming days will bring.

My identical twin girls were in the NICU for 38 days – not the longest stay, but long enough for us to settle in a bit and make ourselves at home. I became great friends with our primary nurse and was a fixture in Bay 3 day after day. Outside of the heart rate drops, the multiple attempts to insert a tiny PICC line into my smaller twin, her inability to digest her minuscule amounts of food for the first few days…outside of that, we found pockets of joy.

Wearing clothes for the first time.

Catching a photo of a silly face.

Happy smiles on babies that we were pretty sure were too little to really smile.

Our favorite “had us cracking up uncontrollably” moment? Putting our identical girls side by side, inverted. We may have been a bit delirious. But I also remember that day as being full of joy. Three weeks into our stay, it was the first time I got to hold them together.

Laughter is important. It will get you through the difficult times, even if it’s only a short respite from the worry and pain.

That’s why we asked our communities on the Preemie Babies 101 and Life After NICU Facebook pages to tell us what made them laugh in the NICU. What gave them a brief moment’s relief from the stress and uncertainty? See many of the answers below, or check it out on Storify. And tell us your funny NICU stories in the comments!