NICU reunion

On May 9, 1998 Matthew was born at Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego. As most of you already know, he was 3 months premature and weighed 2lbs 10oz / 13in long. Even though he was so little, those two months that he spent in the NICU showed me what a tough little boy he was.




8 years later...

We're BACK!!!!! But only for a reunion! (I don't think I could go through all of that again!) Every year they have a picnic for all the graduate babies that were in the NICU. This was our first year going and the kids had a lot of fun!

All those years ago, when I would visit Matt, the hallways that lead to the Neonatal Intensive Care unit were lined full of pictures from the reunions of previous years. I stared at those pictures endlessly, praying for the day when it would be our turn to come to the reunion and get our picture on the wall. Those pictures are now replaced with hand and foot prints. These are the hand and foot prints of children that were once in the Balboa NICU but fought for their life and made it. They give the parents who's children are there right now reassurance that other people understand what they are feeling and give them hope that it WILL get better. It's not easy being a NICU parent but you'd be surprised at the strength you possess when you have to walk in that room everyday and see your baby laying there in the middle of all those tubes. My prayer was answered today...







I hope my baby's handprints give a fellow NICU parent some kind of comfort and reassurance in the long days and nights they will spend with their child!