Dear NICU Mama,

On January 2, our son Silas was born at 28 weeks via an emergency C-section. His birth launched us into an 87-day NICU stay with one plane transfer from the U of M Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis to Sanford Health in Fargo. There is nothing that prepares a mom to see her baby in an incubator, or to have her first interactions with them be behind a sheet of glass. But there is something extraordinary about the NICU journey and how it shapes a mother.

The NICU can often times be very isolating and lonely because to protect your child means to keep a lot of the outside world out. I remember oftentimes feeling like "mommy blogs" were irrelevant to me. I would read blogs about losing sleep at night and would get so sad because I so desperately wanted to lose sleep with our baby at home. I found it hard to find blog posts or articles of encouragement that felt like they resonated with me.

The first NICU mom I really connected with was the mom next door to us. We bonded over emergency C-sections, ruptured placentas and respiratory support. For the first time I didn't feel like I was alone. About a week later, a veteran NICU mom came and sat with me, shared her journey with me, and gave me sound advice and encouragement. It was incredibly life-giving to me. My heart desperately needed both of these friendships, which then began the stirring of a big dream in my heart.

Toward the end of our stay I started to dream up what it could look like to connect more NICU moms in our region, and also what it could look like to celebrate what they had gone through and the miracle that their child is. After many nights of dreaming and planning, I am excited to say that on Mothers Day, Dear NICU Mama was launched.

Dear NICU Mama is a passion project designed to connect, encourage and create community with past and present NICU moms. One of the ways we celebrated the launch was with a photo shoot with seven other veteran NICU moms, each with their own unique and special NICU story. On April 28, we moms came together and shared our journeys, wrote letters to current NICU moms, and celebrated our kids. Oftentimes NICU moms don’t have the chance to have a maternity photo session done because their babies are born early, and if their babies aren’t born full term they feel like they missed the window for a traditional newborn photo shoot. This shoot celebrated their story and all they had overcome. We celebrated mamas who had babies in the NICU 17 years ago, and mamas who had babies in the NICU a few months ago; mamas who had full-term babies, and mamas who had preemies. While our stories and journeys varied, we had a kindred connection like none other. My heart came alive in a new way that day, and a sisterhood was formed.

I consider it an honor to know these mamas. They are some of the strongest women I know, and I am honored to stand alongside of them. Mother’s Day has a whole new meaning now that I am a mom myself, but also because I understand that the road to motherhood is not always an easy one. Sometimes it’s 87 days in the NICU. But, my oh my, I’m so glad I don’t have to journey through it alone.

If you are a NICU mom reading this, I want to invite you into the sisterhood that is Dear NICU Mama. Whether your NICU journey was 16 years ago or you are still sitting in the hospital today, you are not alone. There is a beautiful sisterhood of women that are waiting to walk alongside you and hear your story.

How To Get Connected

Join our private Facebook group Dear NICU Mama

Follow us on Instagram @dearnicumama

Stay tuned for our podcast Dear NICU Mama being released in June

Read letters and receive updates for future events and gatherings at our website: dearnicumama.com

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