The First Thing You Learn in the NICU

The first thing you learn in the NICU is:

Don't Compare

Don't compare your child to another child born the same day as yours.

Don't compare your child to another born the same gestation as yours.

Every child follows their own path. Some have longer stays. Some have shorter stays. Some have lots of issues they must overcome. Some don't.

If only I could keep remembering this!

Lately, I have been seeing all the things Princess CAN'T do.

She can't undress herself.

She can't put her shoes on.

She can't jump.

Yet there are other children I see who CAN do these things. Maybe they are younger than Princess. Maybe they were born earlier. But yet, they CAN do things that Princess can't. And sometimes that is frustrating. It hurts me to see it. I want her to be independent like she wants to be, but she's not. It's going to take time for her to figure it out. Maybe she'll have to do things in a different way.

I guess I just have to remember that rule from the NICU: Don't Compare. She's going to follow her own path and get there whenever she does. I've just got to help her along the way. I need to focus on the little milestones again.

She CAN walk up stairs holding a railing or without. (Scares the daylights out of me!)

She CAN take a few sips out of an open cup, if the cup is small enough and doesn't have a lot in it.

She CAN color with various things, even though her grip is still "caveman-ish."

She's doing so much now. I just have to remember to always look for what she CAN do instead of what she can't.