Dear NICU Mama

Welcome to Episode 1 of our Baby Showers Mini Series ! This week, we are diving into the emotional side of planning (or not planning) a baby shower while navigating a high-risk pregnancy. For many, baby showers are a moment of joy and celebration—but for NICU moms and those with high-risk pregnancies, they can bring complex emotions, uncertainty, and grief. In this roundtable conversation, hosts A...

In this week’s special teaser episode, Ashley and Aisha introduce an exciting new mini-series all about baby showers—a topic that brings up a mix of emotions for many NICU moms. Whether you’ve attended a shower after a traumatic birth, celebrated while your baby was still in the NICU, or never had one at all, this series will explore the deeply personal and varied experiences of baby showers in th...

In this episode, we sit down with NICU mom and Joy of Creative Play founder, Lauren, as she shares her extraordinary story of navigating a high-risk pregnancy, in-utero procedures, and the overwhelming uncertainty of a rare diagnosis. Lauren opens up about the realities of facing the unknown, the power of advocating for her daughter’s care, and the unexpected ways joy and hope showed up along the...

Happy Valentines Day, NICU mamas! In this episode, we are honored to welcome Ashton, a well-known Enneagram expert, content creator, and fellow NICU mama, as she shares her unexpected journey into the NICU. Ashton’s pregnancy with her second child, Evans, seemed routine, until an unexpected bleed at 33 weeks changed everything. What started as a quick check-in at the hospital turned into an urgent...

We are excited to be back on the podcast with this sisterhood! To kick off our return, we are honored to share Jamie's story. Jamie, a labor and delivery nurse, never expected to find herself on the other side of care, but at 20 weeks, unexpected complications changed everything. She opens up about the emotional toll of bed rest, the moment she realized she wouldn’t be leaving the hospital un...

The holiday season is often filled with joy, but for families in the NICU, it can also bring a unique set of challenges and emotions. In this roundtable episode, Aisha is joined by fellow NICU moms Kamille and Taylor, who share their experiences of spending the holidays in the NICU with their babies! Together, they share what it’s like to navigate the holiday season while balancing the realities o...

In this episode, we sit down with Rachell Dumas, founder of A Light After Nine , to hear her journey through loss, resilience, and advocacy. Rachell shares her experiences of multiple pregnancy losses, advocating for herself and her babies, and finally welcoming her son after an incredibly challenging journey. She opens up vulnerably about her path to bonding with her son and offers encouragement...

We are excited to be back after the Thanksgiving break! On today’s episode, we have the opportunity to hear Serenity’s NICU journey with her daughter Amirah. Serenity opens up about her unexpected high-risk pregnancy and her daughter Amirah’s premature birth at 25 weeks. Through her story, she reflects on the challenges of balancing life as a NICU mom and a full-time student, the difficult decisio...

This week’s podcast episode is a replay of an episode from season 3 with Natalie Reiter of Prairieland Counseling! With the holidays approaching and with many of us having hard conversations with loved ones about boundaries, we wanted to share this episode as an extra boost of confidence. This sisterhood believes in you, is so very proud of you, and is wishing you a very gentle Thanksgiving. We wi...

In this week's episode, we are joined by Chrissy and Naomi from Courageous Parents Network (CPN) , a nonprofit with a mission to orient and empower parents and others caring for children with serious illness by providing resources and tools that reflect the experience and perspective of families and clinicians. Together, we dive into the realities and misconceptions of pediatric palliative ca...

In this episode, Makayla shares her journey of navigating the NICU as a single mom. She opens up about her pregnancy, her intuition that something unexpected was ahead, and the sudden complications that led to an early delivery and a challenging start for her daughter, Winona. Makayla reflects on the emotional experience of seeing Winona in critical condition, the many moments of fear and hope, an...

It’s time for another Mamas Call In episode! This episode’s prompt was, "Share a moment, in or out of the NICU, where you experienced unexpected joy." Thank you to each of you for submitting your stories of unexpected joy for this month’s prompt. It’s an honor to celebrate these moments with this sisterhood! To get connected with DNM: Website  |  Private Facebook Group  |  Instagram Host...

In this week’s podcast episode, Taylor shares her unique journey of becoming a NICU mom through adoption. She opens up about her and her husband’s decision to adopt, their struggles with infertility, and the emotional experience of meeting their daughter, Selah, who was born four weeks early and spent a month in the NICU. Taylor reflects on the challenges of navigating both adoption and the NICU e...

In this episode, Mollie shares her motherhood story of carrying identical twin girls, navigating a high-risk pregnancy, and experiencing both the joy of motherhood and the heartbreak of loss. Mollie opens up about the unexpected challenges she faced as a NICU mom, from giving birth at 26 weeks to her daughter Veronica’s fight for survival in the NICU, and the devastating loss of her daughter Athen...

On this week’s podcast episode, we hear the story of Anne and her son August’s unexpected unexpected NICU journey. She shares vulnerably about the moments leading up to his delivery, the emotional rollercoaster of seeing her son in the NICU for the first time, and what it was like to navigate their NICU journey as a full-term NICU family. She also shares about life at home and how they celebrate h...

It’s time for another Mamas Call In episode! This episode’s prompt was, “As a NICU parent, what were the moments during your NICU journey when you felt you needed the most courage? Or when do you believe you demonstrated the greatest courage?” We're now accepting submissions for our October call-in episode: "Share a moment, in or out of the NICU, where you experienced unexpected joy.&quo...

On this week’s podcast episode, we continue Sarah’s remarkable NICU journey with her twin boys, Noah and Uriah. Throughout this episode, Sarah shares the challenges of navigating complex medical decisions, including both boys’ heart surgeries and Uriah’s extended NICU stay. She opens up about the emotional process of bringing Noah home while Uriah remained in the hospital and the life-changing dec...

The Dear NICU Mama podcast is back! While we’re grateful for the extra time we had with our families this summer, we’re so excited to be back in this space with all of you. To kick off Season 9, we are honored to share part 1 of Sarah’s powerful NICU journey with her twin boys. In this episode, Sarah opens up about the unexpected complications during her pregnancy, her time on bed rest, and what l...

On this week’s episode we have a conversation about life after NICU with Mary Farrelly with The NICU Translator! Mary Farrelly is a certified NICU nurse, doula, nurse educator, mom of two and the founder of The NICU Translator where she helps to bridge the gap between the NICU and home through education, community and 1:1 support. In this episode we continue our theme of life after NICU and Mary s...

Walking Letter of Hope Day is THIS SUNDAY, July 28th! And to celebrate, we have the honor of sharing Daniela’s NICU journey with her full-term son Mateo. She shares openly about her unexpected complications during labor that lead to an extended NICU stay, what it was like to deliver and navigate the NICU during the pandemic, and how she found the courage to grow her family again. We also chat abou...

Three years after Ashley’s first son, Vinson, was born at 21 weeks gestation and passed away shortly afterward, she welcomed her second son, Kolin, at 25 weeks gestation via emergency c-section. Just days after his birth, Kolin was diagnosed with bilateral brain bleeds. During his stay he also developed hydrocephalus and required a shunt, not to mention the PVLs. Despite being told of all the thin...

What if indecisiveness is a result of our birth and NICU trauma? On today’s podcast episode, we have speaker and somatic trauma consultant Parijat Deshpande on the podcast and we have an insightful conversation all about indecisiveness how we can identify it as a signal rather than a problem to be fixed. Throughout this episode we talk about: • The different types of “threat state patterns” and a...

This week is part 2 of Trisha’s motherhood journey! Throughout this episode, Trisha shares about the early days at home with her twins, what it was like being pregnant after a high-risk pregnancy and NICU journey, and her daughter’s diagnosis with Down Syndrome. She also shares openly about the journey to becoming the advocate she is today, encouragement for medically complex families who are navi...

On this week’s episode, we talk with Trisha Stibbe and hear the story of her identical twins, Sam + Jack who were born at 28 weeks! Trisha shares about her journey navigating twin to twin transfusion, an early delivery, and advocating for her twins in the NICU. She also opens up about isolation, how friendships shift and change, and the new identity that NICU moms often go through on top of naviga...

It’s time for another Mamas Call In episode! In honor of Father's Day soon approaching, we want to celebrate the NICU dads and partners in your life! We asked our community to share a time, inside or outside the NICU, when they felt deeply supported by their partner and/or when their partners showed remarkable courage as a NICU parent. We also want to acknowledge that this topic may be sensit...