“We often look back on the day our lives changed And it’s hard to recall how we did it How we loved the smallest child we’d ever seen From their first moments, our hearts committed To their tiny noses and beautiful eyes Frail fingers, we could barely touch Filled with moments, and dreams, all their “first times” Something so fragile, yet loved so much
Without question, without hesitation Without pausing – there’s no time to rest ’Cause while most moms go home with their babies We all went home with our biggest test We learned medical terms, medications We read monitors, not lullabies We learned to listen for alarms ringing Instead of our baby’s soft cries While most mothers dread all of the vaccines Meeting colic or baby’s first fever We are hopeful for sniffles and teething Glad to trade our worries for either
As we share our babies with nurses Instead of close family and friends Watch the day pass as we watch our children For we have to leave them when it ends Trying daily to make the best of it We make friends, plan showers, buy gifts All the while in our minds we are screaming There is nothing normal about this!
Though we dare not cry out in our weakness We don’t want God to think that we doubt Him For He promised that He’ll answer prayers And we can’t make it through this without Him In the NICU there’s no intermission Introduction; the coaster’s not mild Plus you never thought so much equipment Would ever be hooked up to your child
But no lesson in life lasts forever With one season, another begins One day you will notice that their frailty Seems to be coming to a slow end Now you’re holding your baby, there’s feedings And you notice they smile when you sing The CPAP is no longer needed And the monitors no longer ring It’s as if they decided in their own time That’s enough of this darn NICU stay! And you’ll notice that determination Will be with them the rest of their way
Yes, the last few months were long and weary The emotions were so out of hand It’s a feeling you’d never imagined One friends and family can’t understand It was your special journey, your experience And now you and your child can both heal You accept God chose you for a miracle And you know for yourself God is real Here’s to all of the amazing NICU parents And our babies who from day one, fought Now we know that we, and our children Are so much stronger than we first thought”
STRONGER THAN WE THOUGHT
DEDICATED TO MY FELLOW NICU MOMS AND DADS
BY: KALEENA BERRYMAN (Mom of Jharid, 24 Weeker Miracle)
www,praying4mypreemie.com
