My brother was a NICU baby because when he took his first breath, he tore the daylights out of his lungs. Unfortunately, the NICU he was initially in wasn’t equipped for that kind of medical trauma and he had the audacity to be born during a blizzard, so they had to do the best they could until the blizzard passed & he could be airlifted to another hospital with the machines & tools he needed. His doctors and nurses at hospital 1 were absolutely stellar & did the best they could with the tools they had because they wanted to make sure he was able to get to hospital 2. Now he’s a 32 year old thriving (other than the ankylosing spondylitis, which btw, thanks Zach for the videos about AS) that’s in the process of adoption with his amazing husband.
It is SO important to have the whole conversation about "it's not just the politicians, its also ALL of their policies." Very good to bring it up with your experience Becky! Happy Birthday Henry 🎉
Thank you for remaining vulnerable and trusting in sharing your stories Becky. Would y’all be able to please make a short out of the segment where Becky talks about impact of overturning Roe v Wade on pregnancy care? It’s such an important message to share and that could get it to more people
Our son's birth was super traumatic, thankfully he was only in the NICU for a little bit, but we both got an infection and had to stay 5 days. I was absolutely convinced I would never have another child, the first birth was so traumatic, and we loved our son so much I couldn't imagine having another child. Let me tell you, when my son started asking for a sibling when he was six, I realized I wanted a chance to do it all over again. Birth number two was absolutely magical! I needed to have that second birth to heal from the first. Becky, I'm sending you THE BIGGEST HUGS!!
Can a clip be shared of what Becky said about the impact of Roe v Wade? I would share it far and wide. It’s SO eye opening for those who don’t understand the impact.
My twins were 28 week preemies, and now they're 1 year almost 2 years old and causing chaos all over the house. This video would have helped me so much while they were in the nicu. Thank you for shedding light on this subject. I'm sure it's going to help so many nicu mamas. Also, happy birthday, Henry!
When Keith and Becky got married I was 14 and like so beyond moved by how in love they were, and now I’m graduating college and listening to Becky talk about her experience with Henry. Thanks Try Guys/You Can Sit With Us for another moment of feeling like I’m aging! 💀❤
My oldest was a 25 weeker and spent 90 days in the NICU. It took him so so long to figure out how to eat and breathe at the same time. The alarms would go off CONSTANTLY when we were trying to feed him. And every time that alarm goes off, his go home day would change. If you haven't been through it, you won't understand just how hard it is emotionally.
I had a COVID NICU baby! Talk about uncomfortable. We didn’t know what to think or do. Our son was not allowed to stay on the NICU after a few days because of the COVID risk. We were sent home with all of his medical equipment. That was terrible. I felt guilty for wishing we were in the hospital but we were both so anxious we would miss something detrimental. That’s happened to so many people we were lucky.
I said with our first 12 months of baby that time felt like it was somehow in slow motion and fast forward all at once. Totally felt the same as Becky - like no time was moving & every day was the same. Then looking at every milestone and the massive changes in your tiny human each month makes it feel like it’s flown by 🥺😭
Your content warnings in the beginnings of the episodes is such a wonderful addition! While dont stuggle with any of these particular topics ive had times in my life where CWs were life saving for me. Thank you for caring about your listeners
Just for future reference, if you have tiny shards on the floor you can try wiping with a piece of bread or an old sponge as that will pick up the shards even if you miss any with sweeping!
I personally did feel like an imposter in the nicu because I was lucky enough to only be a nicu parent for 3 days. I did very much feel awful because I didn’t think my child was sick enough to warrant a nicu stay.
Congratulations on a year Becky and Keith! Baby Henry is about 6 months older than my little one, we also had a little NICU baby. He too had bilirubin issues though he was full term (39 weeks) and was taken a few hours after birth to a hospital an hour away while I recovered from a c section. He was under his "grow" lights and was admitted to Room 420 so we had a little humor in the scary situation 😂 I have the same condition as you, also had a rough pregnancy, and you sharing your journey really gave me comfort that everything would be okay ❤
Hi there, I think she went over all of the issues and complications in a previous pod, it was before or after a pod Keith was on to talk about his side of the experience.
Thank you all so much for using inclusive language when you talk about pregnancy 🌟 it doesnt bother me when people dont, but this podcast makes me feel so seen 💜 Anyway this whole video was amazing thank you Becky & team!!
I had a lot of nightmares from my birth when my daughter turned one. I’m still dealing with PPA, although it is much better than it was. I was told by a family member that my traumatic birth was my fault, and that was tough to get my mind out of.
I LOVE that you added "do your thing" to breastmilk at the end. I exclusively breastfed my first because she would NOT take a bottle. We went through HELL. Oral ties that needed multiple revisions, latching issues, nursing strikes, supply problems, weight issues, we had to see an IBCLC for 7 months. I hated every second of it, yet somehow I kind of miss it a little bit. But with my second, I tried breastfeeding for 2 days and was like "HAHAH absolutely not" and switched to formula. I am a much happier, calmer, and better mom because I'm formula feeding this time. People can tell me until they're blue in the face that "breast is best" - well, my formula is guy is super healthy and doesn't have any weight issues like my breastfeeding child did. I love the idea of breastfeeding, I think everybody should just give it a try, I fully support breastfeeding, but it soooo was NOT for me and nobody can try to make me feel guilty about that!
The first year and a half went so slow with my first. I jad pist partum depression, we struggled with breastfeeding and then he had conplications from rsv that led to him having breathing problems and being hospitalized multiple times. It was hard and went by so slowly. The past 6 months have been much quicker, especially since having our second baby 6 weeks ago.
Also, with my first child I had 2 post partum hemorrhages. One immediately after birth and one 3 weeks later at home. I needed a DNC to clear clots and other debris from my uterus to help prevent another hemorrhage and infection. Abortion bans could have prevented me from receiving that banned procedure. I had a newborn at home and that procedure made sure that newborn had a mother well enough to care for him. DNC procedure is Healthcare.
Thank you, Becky, for sharing. Your perception and takeaways are so similar to my own, even though our NICU experiences were different (fully cooked, unexpected admittance for a two week crash course). I want to clip so many segments to send to everyone who asks, but I think I'll just refer them to the whole video instead.
Thanks for sharing your story Becky. I was wondering if you and Keith had any difficulties in the conceiving process or if you'd ever been diagnosed with PCOS? I just ask because I was recently diagnosed with PCOS and that currently I am infertile, but there are ways to have a pregnancy but if that could possibly be a factor that might lead to a more difficult pregnancy/birth? Totally understand if this isn't something you wish to disclose, but thought I would ask. If anyone else has/had PCOS/reproductive/fertility issues and have gone through pregnancy I'd love to know your story!
I wont lie, when I hear the initial pod warning for the birth topics I'm like "UGH this story againnnn?!" But as soon as Becky starts talking I end up feeling awful for even thinking that and I love hearing every second of it
Becky! Candy is sugar! Why give bubba candy (which is just extra processed sugar) but not put sugar in cake Soz not trying to me crazy but am just curious haha
I wonder if there are groups for single dads like mommy & me, I hope there is. Cause they’re one of those “invisible” groups of people that I feel like really don’t get enough credit or community support. I do believe it’s societal perceptions due to things like the Patriarchy. Cause men are “not the child-readers” or whatever the fuck.
Happy Birthday Henry!!!!! Happy for you Mama!!! My Nicu baby boy came home on the day he was due and hes now 7 years old. 🥰🥰🥰 It's wild how time flies after the first couple years. Hold your babies tight while they still enjoy it. 🥰😅
this was a hard watch for me (appreciate the note at the beginning 🖤) because I've lost a baby I desperately wanted, but I'm in Canada; so I remember feeling grateful that at the very least I (mostly) had Dr's on my side who wouldn't turn me away like I knew was the case for so many people in the US at the time. if I had lost my daughter while living in a place like Texas I would've been turned away from the hospitals even after her heart stopped and likely died with her. unfortunately even here in Canada now we have our own French version of Trump who wants to take away our reproductive rights and I just had to explain to my female coworker why she shouldn't vote for him 😕 thank you Becky and the team for speaking on this incredibly important and difficult issue so candidly
Thanks so much for sharing all this, Becky! I can't have kids but was a moderate preemie myself back in 1982 - my mom was type 1 diabetic which she passed on to me. We lived in Illinois but due to her condition her pregnancy care was being handled at a specialist hospital in Iowa. I probably wouldn't be alive now if the current laws had been on the books then. There are a million reasons I wont vote for Trump, but that's definitely one of them!
my baby was a nicu baby for 2 weeks. it was difficult but we were so lucky compared to all the other babies I saw there. I appreciate nicu nurses so much, they are special people.
