Day 2

Saturday.

Everyone says that days in the NICU are like a rollercoaster, with emotional peaks and valleys for both Isabelle and her parents. Saturday was an emotional day for sure.

We can start with the best moment of my early motherhood. They call it kangaroo care and it is the best medicine. Brigham and Women’s Hospital was actually at the forefront of skin to skin care back in the 1980’s and they believe NICU babies have better outcomes due in part to skin contact with their parents. They encourage us to hold Isabelle every day and it is already something I look forward to from the moment I wake up.

If you care to read more:

https://www.brighamandwomens.org/pediatric-newborn-medicine/nicu/skin-to-skin-care

I was so grateful to have Kangaroo time with Izzy, because Saturday was probably one of the hardest days of my life. I was discharged from the hospital and after spending most of the day with Izzy, and with the support of my Parents and In-laws, we had to leave the hospital without Izzy. It is a feeling that I can’t quite describe. Watching other new mothers leave the hospital with their babies hurts so much, and I know this sounds weird because we’ve only known Izzy for a few days but it feels like we leave a piece of us behind when we leave and drive home.