My Preemie Pumpkin

PreemieWorld’s Blog is back up and running full blast in honor of World Prematurity Day and World Prematurity Month.  Many things are in store for you now and ongoing.  We start off with this little gem on Deb Discenza’s look back at “Becky’s Memory Box,” a box she collected together items from her 30 weeker’s stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as well as the homecoming in 2003.  

 

We had just gotten home a week or so prior and also had a hospital readmission with my 30 weeker preemie girl, Becky.  That was 15 years ago. So going into Becky’s memory box to pull out the outfit brought back a flood of memories.

 

We were at BabiesRUs and while in line at the cashier, I turned and looked at the Halloween costume racks.  So many HUGE costumes for toddlers and full-term babies. Becky was still so tiny and swam in full-term baby clothing.  Among the large clothing, I spied a tiny pajama onesie and thought, “I wonder if that is preemie-sized?” Leaving my husband in line, I zoomed over to the rack and immediately saw the size “Preemie” on the label.  I grabbed it.

 

Maybe we would have to keep people away from Becky for her first Halloween.  Maybe we would need to have her in her bouncy seat at the far end of our living room far, far away from the front door.  But in her own way, and in her own costume, Becky would celebrate her very first Halloween, preemie-style!

That outfit is more than just a costume, it is more than just a onesie.  It is a reminder to me that despite the challenges of an oxygen tank and a monitor at home, medications, home health people coming and going, a team of therapists and so much more, we were doing something truly “normal.”  

 

How did you spend the first Halloween with your preemie?  Was it in the NICU or as a NICU grad?  We’d love to hear from parents, preemies that are older and yes, NICU professionals too!

 

Let us know ! Interested in being interviewed on our blog?  Have a particular topic of interest you’d like us to dive into about preemies in the NICU, NICU grad life, school, adulthood?  Contact Us!