You Know You are a NICU Parent if...

So...we've entered into this new world of having a baby in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit...and have noticed things aren't all the same as the real-world. As a small attempt to hold on to sanity...I started to compile a list that I'm sure will grow each day... feel free to write me with your additions or just smile and pray for the small child who will someday have to put up with such a goober as a father ;)

You know you’re a NICU parent if:

-babysitting costs you $1-2k a day
-you present your child’s wet diapers to the nurse as a prized gem to be weighed
-you only get worried if your baby stops breathing for MORE than 20 seconds…
-you kiss plexi-glass goodnight
-you start to wonder if it’s possible to wash the skin right off of your hands
-you find yourself making a phone call about twice a day, just to see how your baby is doing
-all of the sudden, preemie clothes look huge…and you notice your baby could share clothes with the stuffed animals she’s getting as gifts
-you get excited over ounces and cubic centimeters
-you begin to refer to non-preemies as “fat babies”
-changing your baby's diaper becomes a highlight you call your friends and blog about
-you spend more physical bonding time with a breast pump than your baby
-the blanket your child is wrapped in weighs more than she does
-you know people who have children in their stomachs who are older than your child
-visiting your child includes surveillance cameras, being buzzed in over an intercom, a few sets if doors, giving a code, and other steps that make you wonder if you are seeing your baby or stealing the hope diamond
-you know enough medical jargon to at least be a doctor on ER or Grey’s Anatomy
-you start to wonder if babies can communicate with each other through alarms on their monitors
-you wonder if you could somehow fit into your baby's isolet...because it just looks so dang cozy!


to be continued...