Vicki Cockerill - NICU MUM Blog

Helping out at The Big NICU Family Photo F our years ago, I was sitting alone in a hospital side room after just giving birth. My baby was down the hall after being admitted to NICU and the echoes of the distant baby's on the ward were deafening. I was frightened, had no idea what was happening and was all alone. Lonely Alone with the fear my baby might die, alone that I knew no one who had gone through this. Alone with the fact I didn't know what the hell was happening. I had no one I could text, call just to ask what do I do? How should I feel? Should I be this angry? This resentful and bitter anger bubbled beneath the surface because I felt I was being robbed of my start to motherhood. I shut down, didn't want anyone to visit. If they did I shut myself away in my room and sent then down to NICU with my partner. I couldn't face the questions, the pity. Then during our time no one professional came to see if we were okay. A few leaflets here and there, a quic...

Waiting for an MRI in NICU 5 things I want you to know about being a NICU Mum, this #nicuawarenessmonth In less than four days’ time, my eldest child will celebrate his fourth birthday. Birthdays are always emotional especially when looking back, I class his birth as one of the most traumatic times of my life. I recently wrote about how four years it still haunts me. I didn’t just become a new mum, I became a NICU (Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit) Mum. It was a title I didn’t ask for and we were part of a club we didn’t ask to join. I have now spent nearly 4 years writing about our story on this blog, and for other publications and websites. I have tried to raise awareness of the issues that affected us, I have tried to bring about change but ultimately and I hope I am right in saying I have helped other NICU Mum and CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) parents. I have tried to process some of the emotions surrounding our NICU experience and use them to do somet...