NICU Visitor

I met the little one's mother. When they rolled her into the room, she was so excited to see her little one. She was beaming! We talked some about him, and I asked if she had held him yet. Even though he was three days old, she had not held him. This is not uncommon in the NICU. When my babies were born, I could not wait to get them in my arms. I would have been inconsolable if for some reason I could not have gotten my hands on them. But, her baby was too sick to be held at first, and so was she. When she came in, he had already been fed, and we try not to move them or giggle them too much after a feeding, so they don't spit. Sometimes though you have to think about what is best for everyone, and today she needed to hold her baby. Period. He probably wouldn't spit that teaspoon of milk if we were very gentle with him. Mom, however, would really be helped if she could cradle her baby for a few minutes. When I put him in her arms for the first time, tears rolled down her cheeks. At that moment all was right with the world.