You know your baby better than anyone. Speak up, please. They need you! ~ Carley Guill, For the Littlest  I'm so excited to share my interview with Carley Guill from For The Littlest. It was great to get to know more about her and her amazing NICU advocacy work. Make sure you check out her blog and connect with her on Instagram. ~ Ali  How Did For The Littlest begin? When I was ten years old, my little sister was born prematurely with an obstructed bowel. My family spent 80 days with her as she battled through the NICU, surgery, feeding tubes, ostomies, and constantly beeping IV pumps. It was so foreign to me, but it became so formative. I’ll never forget my mom telling me that there are sick babies that only get held by the nurses, because their families never come; there are babies that get the private room in the back because they’re so sick; there are parents that can only see their babies once a week because the whole region gets transferred here and they can’t pick up and live upwards of two hours away while their baby’s life hangs in the balance. I took what my mom told me and ran with it, because it touched my heart and bothered me at the same time. That's how For the Littlest was born! Though there were good things and bad things about my experience, the NICU is full of miracles, and I want people to know that there are little warriors out there who need advocates to demonstrate awareness and to fight for them. For the Littlest seeks to spark hearts for NICU advocacy, because we have the power to treat these babies and give their families hope. What do you want people to know about life in a NICU? What are the biggest misconceptions about NICU babies? I want people to know that it isn't all bad behind those doors. So often there are nurses and doctors who genuinely love on these babies and care for them so deeply. I know that the thought of such small and seemingly fragile babies is scary for most people, but the NICU can be a force for good in people's lives. It isn't all rainbows and miracles, but goodness, we need to rejoice as much as possible when it is!! The more we know and support our NICU's as advocates, we improve care for babies and we make them feel known and loved. What kind of impact do you hope that your platform (i.e. writing, speaking, research) can have in the NICU community? I hope that For the Littlest can spark a fire for NICU advocacy in people's hearts! There are things that have changed in the way things are done since my family's experience, but there are a lot that haven’t. There are still disparities in distribution of qualified NICUs; disparities that force parents and babies to separate and impede healing. There are still some institutions with visitation policies that alienate siblings and family members. But luckily there are still good nurses, good doctors, and generally good people working in these NICUs, so there is still hope too. Through this platform I hope to change the bad things for the better and show off all of the good things! What inspires you to keep advocating for preemies? NICU babies and their families give me so much hope. I look at my little sister and how much she's thriving and I remember that one day, she was small and fragile like them too. I have so much hope that there's a light at the end of the tunnel for these babies and these families, and I know that advocacy brings that light even closer. What are some of your favorite tools, resources, or gadgets that make a NICU journey easier? My NICU journey was fueled by McNuggets and Top Chef reruns, so I do highly recommend those! Also, I recommend as much of a support system as you can get, even including social media, make it easier - no one is alone!   Comments are closed.
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