For the NICU Mom on Mother’s Day
Sahra Cahoon: Executive Director, Founder, and Lily’s Mama
Sahra is a life coach, entrepreneur, wife and mama to 3 girls. Kindness, Empathy, Compassion and Hope, this is humanity and no one should have to go through the dark times alone. Love for Lily is our way of bringing a little light into the darkness. My hope is that we change the conversation around grief and drop the shame and stigma of losing a child. Together we can change the conversation.
Hi Mama,
It’s Mother’s Day and you find yourself sitting in a hospital next to your baby. This was not how it was supposed to look. Here you are, wondering if you did this. If you could have done something to keep your baby inside. Something about meeting your baby for the first time through a plastic window makes you question yourself, retreat from the world and wonder why this is happening to you.
Celebrating your motherhood this Mother’s Day might not feel the way you expected.
You may have planned on still being pregnant this Mother’s Day. You might not feel like a mom yet, you might feel sad that your baby is at the hospital, you might be afraid of what the doctors will tell you when you walk in the door. It can be a bittersweet day. If you are feeling like you are just trying to survive – as if you were to pause to honor yourself you might drown, you are not alone.
Mother’s Day in the NICU is challenging at best, downright hard for many and comes with a lot of big feelings. No matter how you are feeling about Mother’s Day this year we are here to tell you that you are important, and you are a mama and that is cause for celebration. Below are some ways that you can honor motherhood and treat yourself to a little extra love.
- Treat yourself to a coffee day. Grab a favorite coffee and find a place in the sunshine to enjoy it
- Decorate your baby’s hospital room
- Create a milestone card for Mama, 1st Mother’s Day
- Take a walk with a friend
- Sleep in. (For all you pumping mamas, maybe today you can pump and then go back to sleep!)
- Do one thing today to care for yourself: take a bath, go for a walk, connect with a supportive friend or family member, or do nothing at all!
Mama, you are important and this Mother’s Day we hope that you take a moment to celebrate this beautiful, messy life.
You are a great Mama. Happy Mother’s Day!
If you are a mama with a baby in the NICU or have been discharged in the last year, Love for Lily is here for you. Love for Lily offers support for NICU parents and hosts weekly support groups virtually to allow access no matter where you are. Visit us at www.LoveForLily.org
