5 Things I’ll Never Forget About the NICU

As part of #NICUAwarenessMonth, Miracle Mom Stacy shares 5 Things I’ll Never Forget About The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Penn State Children’s Hospital. Her daughter Addison is a NICU grad. Watch her story below!

1. The sounds of the alarms and the monitors and the smell of the soap in scrub room.
2. How much the nurses genuinely loved my child. They celebrated the “ups” with us and guided us through the “downs.”
3. Cuddlers! We were lucky enough to be able to spend many hours a day visiting Addison, but it was so nice to know that Cuddlers were there to hold her if she needed snuggles while we weren’t there.
4. The excitement and fear of hearing that discharge day was approaching. It’s so thrilling to know that your baby is finally coming home, but the uncertainty of life with a NICU at home, without the nurses and monitors is scary.
5. You kind of miss the NICU once you’re not there anymore. Going home is the greatest feeling ever, but spending 12+ hours in the NICU each day became our new normal. We were used to seeing the same people each day and talking to the nurses. They became our extended family and we missed them when they weren’t there anymore.

Support equipment, family-centered programs and research at our NICU by making a donation at www.CMNHershey.org.