by Lyndsee Baldwin According to the CDC, 1 in every 10 babies is born preterm. Researchers define preterm as a baby being born before 37 weeks gestation, and the more preterm a baby is, the more at risk they are for more significant andsevere complications. November is Prematurity Awareness Month, helping raise awareness of preterm birth treatment and prevention. When […]
Today is an ending. An ending to one of the most intense chapters of our lives. I’ve sat in this room for 72 days, waiting for THIS day to come. This room has held some of the biggest pains of my life, and also some of the biggest miracles.
It was truly an up and down rollercoaster trying to understand everything that was happening, trying to understand what all the dings and chimes and lines on the monitors meant, trying to decipher if the news we were receiving was sugar coated or really good news.
After being admitted into the hospital at 21 weeks pregnant with twins due to my daughter’s sac rupturing, I was starting to be ok with the fact that I would be spending four months on hospital bedrest.
“Fathers’ Day holds a special significance for me as it was the first day I ever held my son. I have to admit that becoming a Dad as early as I did came as an enormous shock, as it would anyone in that situation, but I kept telling people I didn’t ‘feel’ like a parent. I just was *there*.”
…But what if trusting your gut had failed you once before? As a mother to two daughters, shouldn’t I be a parenting expert by now, or nearing a certification of some sort? After all, the advice we received from experienced parents when we are expecting our first child, all the parenting books we read in […]
Personally, I also feel judged since my birth story did not go as planned.
“When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, we were terrified. Hearing about how COVID was affecting the respiratory system was a nightmare for us because Addition had issues with her lungs.”
…With tears streaming down my cheeks, I looked up at the nurse and said, “What do I do – he’s having a seizure?” She looked up and I will never forget her words she said, “Just hold your baby mama”. After the seizure ended, we put him down and all the doctors started checking him over.
“Millions of questions and concerns came into my head, but nothing could prepare me for those first moments walking into the NICU.”
Graham’s Foundation is a not-for-profit organization recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3).
Our mission is to inform and guide parents of preemies so that they may confidently navigate the journey of prematurity.
