Guest Post- Kristina Mulligan from One in a Mulligan

I’ve also learned that strength is not dependent on one’s size. The toughest person I’ve ever known fit in the palm of my hand.​​

~Kristina Mulligan, One in a Mulligan

Being a preemie parent does not end when the NICU doors swing closed behind you after discharge. Being a preemie parent doesn’t stop when your child’s due date passes, nor when they turn two and adjusted age is no longer relevant. Parenting a preemie is for the long-term and, in so many ways, the journey never ends.

Prior to becoming a parent, and even long before my struggle with infertility, I had so many notions about what I would be like as a mother. My dream of motherhood began when I received my first doll and I felt that I always just knew what my parenting style would be. I thought that I was so aware of the type of person that I was and would become, and then my son was born at 28 weeks. What is so fascinating about people is that two individuals could share an experience and, while no situation is identical and neither are the persons involved, it will shape them in completely different ways.

Prematurity is something that can only be completely understood by those who experience it firsthand. I’ve felt the gaping hole in my heart each time I left the hospital without my child. I’ve grieved losses, even though our family was one of the lucky ones. I’ve wept over grams gained and lost, and milliliters of painstakingly pumped breastmilk spilled. I was jolted from a life of comfort into one that was so uncertain and traumatic, yet I survived. And I’ve had to quickly turn from quiet and timid to an advocate for someone who doesn’t have a voice.

Just as giving birth to and caring for a preemie is a rollercoaster, so is the evolution of the preemie parent. There are ebbs and flows from the time the baby is born, to discharge, to their first birthday, and beyond. The shift from survival mode to every day life was the most difficult, and I’m still working past the traumas almost three years later, but through this transition I’ve become wiser.

My strength has been pushed, pulled, twisted, and put through the elements, but I made it through. I’m braver than I ever thought I could be.
I’ve also learned that strength is not dependent on one’s size. The toughest person I’ve ever known fit in the palm of my hand.
I’ve lost relationships as I learned the influence of those close to me on my personal mental health and, in turn, the wellbeing of my family.
I have a new respect for my body and what I put on it, in it, and around my home.
I’ve discovered that all messes can be cleaned up, and that life is more fun with a little chaos involved.
I’ve learned that every cause, no matter how small, is worth fighting for. And I found mine.
​
With small beginnings comes appreciation for what the typical parent believes are little things – each gram gained, every single breath taken, even every dirty diaper. After all that we’ve been through as a family, it’s easy to only focus on the negative, but over time I’ve learned to look at our experience as a gift, not as a punishment. Parenting a preemie alters you forever and I’m far from the mother that I thought I would be, but I choose to believe I’ve been changed for the better. I’ve changed into who I needed to become.

Find Kristina on her blog or Instagram.