Get cozy....

I have found a parenting magazine that I actually like, no love! "Brain, Child" is the name. Wow. I was so impressed! It has essays that say SOMETHING, that address parents on a deeper level. Instead of the superficial nature of other magazines. I suppose that is why it is called the "thinking parents magazine".

Everything did not feel like i was being advertised to with the newest gadget or toy. So refreshing.

The above discovery is due to the fact that I went to the library. Something I love doing and adore, but also dread a little. Because I have to choose books that I want to read. I form emotional attachments to books, and choosing which to bring home can seem like a loaded decision. I want to learn so much about, well everything. I have started a list of books I want to read. It is several pages long and I am adding to it faster than I am accomplishing anything. So last night I came home with 8 new books to read. Now to discuss with God the addition of a few extra hours a day in which to do this.

Callings....
Do you have one? Or should I say have you found yours? I have never felt a calling that I could do something tangible about at the juncture that I felt it. Until now.

This NICU support group has become a raison d'etre for me. Something that I have no formal education in but have been educated through living. Living it has been more of an education than any classroom or book could be. Living the triumphs of the first 2 mLs taken orally....the struggle of setbacks, the loneliness... I have been there, lived it, wallowed in it occasionally. I have done the silly happy dance of being weaned off of a C-PAP and then crying 5 min later when a new IV is established. Learning to fall in love with your baby not in the comfort of home but in the fishbowl of the NICU through the portholes of an isolette. Leaving part of your heart and soul at the NICU when you leave.

Parents need to feel like they can do something to help their baby. Anything. Someone to tell the crazy things they are feeling and thinking, and have someone tell them that they are not really losing their mind. Feeling heard is half the battle.

I have realized that this is what I can do. I cannot cure the ills, save the babies, or anything but I can listen to the parents, try and offer them support from someone who has stood in their place. Try and teach them to let their amazing babies teach them.


as an aside if you read this please link to me. Iwould like to get more people involved anyway I can I can. Thanks!