How the NICU Supports Our Babies and Families

It’s NICU awareness month now, and I’ve gone too long without saying anything about it.

The NICU is an amazing place. It holds the world’s biggest tiny miracles in its sometimes darkly lit and quiet hands. It’s not only where those sweet babies’ families go through almost every emotion they know, but the team of doctors and nurses do too. We celebrate milestones that other babies are naturally born with. We scrub our hands raw to avoid passing on germs. And everywhere we look, there’s another baby and his or her family clinging to their bedside.

It’s not for the faint of heart, and experiencing it can give you a sudden lesson in adulthood, but the people who make it their passion to help are right there alongside you. They hold your hand, help you care for someone you didn’t expect to meet till weeks later.

I can’t tell you exactly how many hours I spent staring into my sweet boy’s clear box or hospital crib in the NICU. And yet, it became less and less sad and more “normal” as he fought and overcame. His doctors and nurses stood behind him the whole time — there for him and cheering when he did well. And yet ready to carry his load when he got too tired to keep up. And they did the same for me.

So let’s remember the NICU. Pray for its current babies and families. And let’s say thank you to the amazing doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and many others that make up the team. We couldn’t have done it without you!