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Profile: Being a Survivor
Profile: Being a Survivor“I am a mom to two preemies. And my first child, Ellie was born at 27 weeks, six days gestation. And then wehave Beckett, who was born right at 25 weeks gestation, 2 pounds, 2.6 ounces, and he spent 88 days in theNICU.”“I would say that initially with Ellie I was more in the survivor mode, like kind of the auto pilot, like, okay, this iswhat's going on, somebody's got to stay strong, so we're going to learn everything that we could possibly learnand then get through this, get her home.”“She was very tiny. She was also very bruised. And so that was very traumatic for me to see my first baby withall these wires and tubes hooked up to her. I distinctively remember being in a sense of denial almost, like Icouldn't believe this had happened to us. It wasn't until probably like the second night, I had started pumpingbreast milk for Ellie and I just knew that, you know what, this was our life. Our baby was now fighting for herlife.”“I mean, this was our new world, and so we wanted to be there as much as we could, we were very involvedparents. We were there to take temperature, change her diaper when we could, kangaroo hold whenever wecould. But it did take a level of bravery, because she was so small and so fragile to have that courage andremember that, yes, I am mom. I get to do some of that stuff in the NICU.”“This is Ellie’s first bath outside the isolette.” “Woooow!”“You have to find how you can celebrate the good things, because there are so many things that are againstthe norm. They're premature infants. We're asking them to breathe on their own. We're asking them to digestfood way before they're supposed to. And so, I would just offer that advice to remember that they aren’t evensupposed to be here yet, but we're asking them to be so brave by doing all these things, and we have to justtake one day at a time.”This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG00015B EN ProfileBeingASurvivor.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 1
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A young couple shares the fears and joys of having a preemie daughter in the NICU.
Life as a mom of twin preemies, and the early days of caring for your child in the NICU.
Watch this video to hear other parents talk about the challenges of having their child in the NICU.
Being a NICU mom or dad can be an emotional rollercoaster. Learn about resources and strategies to help you cope.
