02 | A Welcome Home letter from Ali Dunn: It’s Not The End
EPISODE 02
Quick Notes from the Episode:
If you’re a parent of multiples in the NICU, consider the possibility that they may not come home at the same time. It could be helpful to make a loose plan for how to manage being home but also still in the NICU.
Your child’s Pediatrician will be one of the main medical professionals you interact with, especially when you first come home, so it’s important to ensure that they have some extra knowledge about what NICU families may have concerns about.
A great way to work through your experience during and after the NICU is to write and journal your thoughts.
Reading to your child in the NICU and once you’re home is a sweet way to bond and connect.
Ali shared the Welcome Home Letter below as a note of encouragement to coincide with the airing of this episode.
It’s Not the End
Apnea.
Brady.
NEC.
These are terms I had never heard before. Words I didn’t even understand at first. But now I speak them fluently. This is my language.
Kangaroo care shirts.
Pumping-friendly.
These are garments I had never worn before. Clothing that I didn’t know I would ever need. But it became something I wore everyday. This is my uniform.
Preemie family.
NICU Mom/Dad.
Loss parent.
These are people I had never met before. Parents who spent days and months in a hospital, wondering if their tiny babies would survive. Waiting days to hold their children, and only doing so with the help of a team of nurses. These people are my community.
I am a NICU parent. I have “been there.” I have felt helpless because the role I expected to take with my baby was different from what I experienced. I have witnessed the beauty and wonder that watching a tiny baby fight for their life can bring. I understand the trauma, pain, heartbreak and joy that a NICU journey brings. I have celebrated one inch and one ounce. I have changed the tiniest diaper you can imagine. I have advocated for my child’s life. I have witnessed a miracle. Because...I am a NICU parent. And you are too.
All NICU stories are the ultimate tales of hope and triumph over adversity. And these stories make a difference to new preemie parents everywhere, who are entering NICUs for the first time. So while it might be difficult to share, please remember that the messenger matters, and your story can only be told by you.
You are now a lifetime member of a group that you never wanted to join. And even after your baby graduates from the NICU, you will never forget that time. Discharge day from the NICU is not the end. Life after the NICU is just the beginning of so many brilliant and hard things. And the grit and tenacity that you created in the NICU is the foundation for the journey we have all only just begun. And the best part of all, is that you don’t have to do it alone. The NICU community is unmatched at providing support, connection and belonging.
So, welcome to the club.
SPECIAL THANKS:
A special thanks to the Prolacta Bioscience Foundation for supporting the NICU Alumni podcast!
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You can also support our mission and help create brighter futures for babies that have graduated from the NICU (who we affectionately refer to as NICU Alumni) and their families by donating here.
The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment only and should not be viewed as medical advice.
