Special Club: Invitation only- Receive Invitation from God :)

When we found out we were pregnant I was so excited to join the "parents" group and "mommy club"!!! I was finally going to be a Mommy!!! It was this world that I wanted to be in, like a secret group filled with play groups and conversations that I had only dreamed about. Except when our daughter arrived God gave us a secret special invitation that only 1 in 8 babies receives. We received our invitation into the premature babies parenting group....a group I wasn't sure I wanted to be apart of.......it was not the group we had planned for.

During our NICU stay some days were lonely and hard, sometimes we felt as if we had no one who really understood us or our situation. The days when we came home many had a hard time understanding why we secluded ourselves (during RSV/FLU season we kept Maelee in the house majority of the time), and we knew our situation was different but still felt alone in our choices. When we have to take Maelee to appointment after appointment sometimes the road feels long and narrow with no one to turn to. So many people love us, ask questions, and care....but finding someone who understands or has been there is sometimes all we want/need.

We have been blessed with friends and family who love us and our sweet baby and for that we are grateful! But there will be moments they won't be able to understand and situations they haven't been faced with and in these times God gave us the preemie parents who have come into our lives with open arms, love, and support!

Lee and I met an amazing couple in our pre baby safety class about a month before Maelee was born.....at the end of that class we never thought we would see any one of those couples again, but we had no idea what was planned. Two days after Maelee was born I walked into the NICU and much to our surprise they were there with their sweet baby boy- born too early as well, a very sad situation to be in. I hated to see them there but found so much comfort in seeing their faces each day. I am forever grateful that God put them in our lives and that we continue to stay in contact! Having a preemie Momma to talk with helps keep me sane sometimes! :)

There is an amazing community of preemie parents out there and we are so thankful to have met some and others who we have just spoken with through email! The support they have shown us in all our decisions is unlike anything else. They truly "get it"! No one will understand a preemie parent's choice to stay home for months on end during RSV/FLU season, not to go to a birthday party with lots of kids in the middle of winter or possibly ever, stay home from big gatherings to avoid over stimulation, hand sanitizing like there is no tomorrow, physical therapy, adjusted vs. actual age, how important even the smallest milestone is, appointments, appointments, and more appointments like a preemie parent! :)

I am proud that Maelee is 1 in 8! She is something very special! And we are glad God gave us our invitation!