Party of 5: Lucky to be in the NICU

This Sunday, March 10th, is Parents of Preemies Day and I am so proud to be one of the families hosting the Los Angeles event on behalf of Graham's Foundation . This weekend has brought back memories of our time in the NICU and one word that comes to mind when I think of that time is LUCKY.

Some may find it odd that I chose the word lucky to describe our time in the NICU, but I think it sums up our journey in more ways than one. After 13 1/2 long, scary and eventful weeks on bed rest we welcomed 3 tiny, but relatively healthy babies at 31 weeks. For 31 weekers we were very lucky to have no major health issues with the exception of Dylan's premature lungs, which were a minor set back. We were so lucky that we did not have to deal with a lot of the issues many premature babies deal with during their NICU stay. We were there mainly to feed and grow. We were lucky that medical advances have created amazing technology that allowed our 31 week triplets to thrive.

First time holding all 3!

We were also lucky from the standpoint of being cared for by an amazing team of people every minute of every day. Two of the hardest things about having your baby/babies in the NICU is not being able to be there all the time and not being able to take care of them like you would if they were at home with you. The nurses, neonatologists, respiratory therapists, OTs, PTs, and staff took care of our tiny miracles as if they were their own when we weren't able to do it ourselves just yet. We were lucky enough to have made lasting friendships, during our 8 week stay, with many of the nurses and staff. We keep in touch with many of them and we go back to the NICU often to visit .

Dylan

Emma

Jake

And if you didn't think lucky described our NICU stay enough just yet, I have one more reason why we were so lucky to be in the NICU. After my first night visiting the NICU I remember Scott wheeling me down the hall in the wheelchair. I looked up at another mom who had just walked out of the NICU with us. She looked friendly so I figured I would ask her a question. I said, "How do you do this everyday?" She said, "You just do the best you can." Little did I know 2 1/2 years later Lauren would turn into one of my best mommy friends. Her little girl Addyson was born at 25 weeks and our NICU stays overlapped. Emma even had some of Addy's hand me down preemie clothes at one point! I was so lucky that we were in the NICU at the same time... I met a lifelong friend for myself and Dylan, Jake and Emma have met a lifelong friend in Addy!