Magazine

Dad holding a tiny organic cotton sleep suit next to NICU monitors

NICU Wardrobe Hacks: Dressing Your Preemie Without Breaking Things

I was standing next to an isolette that cost more than my first car, holding a microscopic, bright red fleece snowsuit my aunt had mailed us. The incubator was humming. The Philips monitors were doing that rhythmic, low-stakes beeping that...

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Father staring helplessly at premature twin daughter through the plastic porthole of a NICU incubator

The terrifying truth about having a nec baby in the NICU

It was 3:17 am on a Tuesday when the alarms changed their tune. Not the rhythmic, steady chirp of the standard heart monitor we’d grown intimately accustomed to over two weeks in the NHS neonatal unit, but a frantic, high-pitched...

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Exhausted mom holding a tiny premature infant with medical tape on their face in a hospital room.

The Conflicting Advice About Having A NICU Baby That Broke Me

I was standing by the ridiculously deep metal scrub sink at 3:14 AM when I realized I was completely, utterly paralyzed by other people's opinions. My mother-in-law had just texted me: Let her rest, touch overstimulates them right now. The...

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A small infant sleeping safely on a firm flat mattress without blankets

The reality of bringing your preemie baby home from the NICU

The hospital sliding doors open and the winter wind hits your face. You're holding a plastic bucket seat containing a human the size of a standard bag of flour. They told you the discharge paperwork was clear and you could...

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Tiny organic cotton baby garments folded neatly on a nursery dresser

Sorting Through the Utter Chaos of Buying Preemie Baby Clothes

I was standing at the hospital sink scrubbing my hands for the fiftieth time that Tuesday, staring at a crumpled plastic bag of tiny garments. My mom had just called to cheerfully suggest I just buy standard newborn sizes because,...

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Tiny premature baby sleeping in a NICU incubator with medical leads.

What Nobody Tells You About Having A Premature Baby At 33 Weeks

It was three in the morning on a Tuesday when the bradycardia alarm went off. The overhead lights in the neonatal intensive care unit were that specific shade of hospital fluorescent that makes everyone look mildly deceased. I was staring...

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A tired mom in a hospital bed doing skin-to-skin with her tiny newborn.

The truth about kangaroo care and why it’s not just a photo op

The biggest lie we're sold about the immediate aftermath of birth is the glowing, serene Instagram photo where the mother, looking dewy and perfectly flushed, delicately holds her pristine newborn to her bare chest. It’s framed as this beautiful, magical...

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A tiny newborn baby holding a father's finger in a hospital neonatal unit.

A Letter To My Past Self About Surviving An IUGR Baby Diagnosis

Dear Tom from exactly six months ago, You're currently sitting in the windowless, overly warm scanning room at St Thomas' Hospital, entirely oblivious to the fact that your life is about to tilt on its axis. The NHS sonographer has...

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Premature baby in the NICU wearing a soft bamboo bodysuit

Why bamboo preemie clothes are the only thing you should pack

I'm standing at the warmer in bed spot four, untangling a mess of yellow and blue lead wires. The mother next to me is holding up a standard zero-to-three-month onesie that someone gifted her at a shower she barely got...

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