Dear NICU Mama

We talk about it often on our social media, but the bond between two NICU sisters is an unmatched bond. And today we have the honor of hearing the story behind the extraordinary friendship of Charleen and Lizzie! One day while in the NICU with her daughter Emerson, Charleen noticed that another preemie baby had been born. Because she wanted this new NICU mom to know that she was never alone, Charl...

Our podcast episode for you this week is a mini episode! And during this time of COVID, we wanted to offer a self-compassion centered mindfulness exercise that any mama can do in or out of the NICU. Certified yoga and mindfulness instructor Stephanie Ashem leads us through a 10 minute mindfulness exercise called, “The Compassionate Friend”, that is modeled after a similar exercise created by self-...

On today's podcast episode, we have the opportunity to hear from the one and only, Vilma! The NICU journey of her son Bradley is full of great hope and strength. Vilma delivered her son via an emergency c-section at 38weeks and 5 days. Her pregnancy leading up to the delivery was smooth and by the book, so to have her son rushed away to the NICU was very unexpected. After 54 days in the NICU...

In an effort to celebrate Father's Day and NICU dads everywhere, we have a very special podcast episode to share with you all this week! It's no secret that NICU mamas and NICU dads process, heal, and work through the trauma of a NICU journey differently. And while we hope to eventually do an episode with a more scientific/emotional response to what those differences often times look lik...

May is Preeclampsia Awareness Month! And for today’s episode, we have the opportunity to sit down with Rebekah Tompkins, MD to chat about not only preeclampsia, but also HELLP Syndrome. Rebekah Tompkins not only specializes in high-risk pregnancy, but she personally experienced preeclampsia, HELLP, and a NICU stay with her firstborn son. Not only does she offer sound doctrine on the medical and ph...

This week’s Dear NICU Mama podcast is dedicated to the second half of Justina’s journey.  After only a few months of grieving their son, Carter, Justina and her husband were shocked to discovered that she was pregnant again, six months before they planned on trying. They guarded their hearts through the rollercoaster emotions of a high-risk pregnancy, and at 29 weeks welcomed Aron. In this episode...

For some NICU Mamas, the journey doesn't end with homecoming.  In this episode of the Dear NICU Mama podcast, we interview Justina Oldehoff, mother of two NICU babies and founder of Carter's Cause, a resource for families in the NICU and those who've suffered infant loss. Justina and her husband, Dan, endured the unimaginable when their precious son, Carter, was born at 24 weeks and...

NICU Mamas, we see you. We know that things like social isolation and “quarantine” are not new for you and your family. Which is why we hope that this episode offers some new and fun ideas to interact and bond with your NICU grad with Kindermusik! This past month, Chaycie reached out to us and conveyed how she wanted to give back to our DNM Sisterhood during this time of COVID. Dear NICU Mama is p...

Excessive hand washing, fear of germs, social distancing and isolation... sound familiar? It may be because there are some uncanny similarities between the recent COVID-19 regulations and NICU regulations. And because of these similarities, we wanted to bring awareness to the fact that this can all be very triggering for NICU mamas. We are so honored to have high risk pregnancy specialist and trau...

Part 2 of our Let's Talk About Postpartum series is officially here! And we are so excited to be sharing it with you all today. As we talked about in part one, so much changes in our bodies and in our minds after having a baby. Especially for NICU mothers as they are navigating the grief and trauma that often times accompanies a NICU stay. But thankfully, there are tools and practices we can...

We all know that our bodies change after we have a baby. But what happens to our minds? For the month of February we focused on all things NICU Postpartum and how we can learn to love and embrace our bodies. We asked Natalie Reiter with Prairieland Counseling to share her wisdom regarding NICU postpartum, the changes that our minds undergo when they experience trauma, and how we can heal and grow...