We experienced a lot in the NICU. It was very, very trying. Getting to the point where we could coordinate our bottle squeezes with the swallowing pattern of a newborn with a cleft palate was not something that we expected to have to do as new parents. Many parents were not able (either financially or perhaps mentally) to be there with their babies. That was even harder to see. But the nurses are there, doing the best that they can. And sometimes there are volunteers that come to hold and talk to the babies that are healthy enough. Childbirth is supposed to be such a happy time. The staff tried to keep our hopes up as best as they could, but being in that space and situation was still thoroughly tough. I hope you are all able to find some stillness and some thankfulness in whatever spaces you are currently in, even if they are not quite what you had imagined
