Welcome back to our #askanicuparent series! This week, I’m sharing my personal NICU journey. I’m Kirstie, a mom to a 33-weeker who spent 47 days in the NICU. Throughout the journey, my son faced several challenges, including: 🦖Aspirating (needed thickened milk and liquids for over a year) 🦖Hypotonia (weak muscle tone) 🦖Delayed motor skills and speech I was considered high-risk with my son Elijah. I spent half of my pregnancy on bedrest including 9 weeks at the hospital before delivery. After Elijah was discharged, he did occupational therapy, feeding therapy, and speech therapy for about 3 years. I also dealt with anxiety and depression. My main symptom was anger. I didn’t seek help until Elijah was 15 months old. Elijah is 9 now and loves to swim, ride his bike, and play video games. He has recently started telling me “No, I'm not doing that" for instance, when I ask him to unload the dishwasher. So, there is that. 😜🙃 💬 Do you have any questions about my NICU journey or how I managed these challenges? Drop them in the comments, and I’d be happy to share my thoughts! 💚💚

Posted by Kirstie at Hand to Hold at 2025-04-18 14:00:03 UTC