Sunshine and Sippy Cups

“Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.” – Lin Yutang

I remember this moment perfectly. This is in the tiny visiting room, in our hospitals NICU wing… It was only the second time that I was able to hold Abby, and it was the first time that I was able to bring her into the visiting room, so that my family and friends could finally see her too. She was born almost 3 weeks early – totally unexpected. She was my first, and only, baby. And her delivery was terribly traumatic – the NICU team was brought into the room during delivery, and had to whisk her away before I could even hold her. I knew that she’d been in distress, but wasn’t sure what was going on – I was just focused on pushing. But she came out white as a sheet, not making a sound… I watched the worried faces of the people in my now over-crowded room as they rushed her out… When the doctor came back to talk to me, he said we would know in the morning whether or not baby Abby was going to make it. It was the most emotionally exhausting day I’d ever been through.

“Making the decision to have a child – It’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”– Elizabeth Stone

Thankfully, by the next day, Abby was improving. By that evening, we knew that she was going to be ok. Slowly they were able to take all of the tubes, and IV’s, and monitors off of her – so that I could finally hold this sweet baby girl I’d been waiting so long to meet. But I remember that first day, waiting. Going between my hospital room where people came to poke me and ask questions or talk to me about Abby, and the NICU where people would poke Abby and do tests and give me updates. It was incredibly stressful, feeling so helpless…. And I really remember how the small acts of kindness from friends, family, and even strangers truly made a difference in my life. One girlfriend learned that I had packed a last minute diaper bag, and had forgotten so many things. She brought me a bag of my favorite snacks, plus hair bands, lip gloss, and toothpaste. Love her. One of the nurses walked with me down to the garden, to give me a place to try to relax and get centered. And, remembering those things that helped me when I needed it is is part of why I am now a huge supporter of a wonderful program from Johnson’s Baby. It’s called Johnson’s Baby Cares, and here is how it works:

• Care Kits: Johnson’s Baby is putting together Care Kits, filled with baby essentials like lotions, washes, shampoos, diaper creams, etc. These will be distributed to families in need immediately after a disaster. Imagine how scary it must be to go through any type of natural disaster anyway – but how frightening it would be dealing with the aftermath while caring for a new baby?
• Donations: Provide funding that enables Save the Children programming, such as Child Friendly Spaces, which supplies moms and children with safe areas to recover, play and experience the joy of being together as a family following a disaster.

What an amazing thing for a company to do. All moms know and trust Johnson’s Baby products, but learning that they are using their power and profits to give back to communities in need makes me appreciate them so much more. When you’re going through a crisis, having someone step in to offer you a little help, and tell you that they care, can make all the difference in the world.

“There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill

Ok, am I the only one crying here? That video really moves me – it reminds me of my favorite piece of advice that I received while I was in the hospital with Abby. One of the nurses sat with me for awhile, next to Abby in the NICU. I was feeling so overwhelmed, and unsure of myself as a new mom. She said to remember that as a mother, to always “Do your best, and forget the rest.” As long as you know that are you are doing the very best that you can do, and always striving to learn and grow along with your new baby – then you’re doing good enough. Her words have stuck with me all this time.

“God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.” – Jewish Proverb

If you’d like to help support Johnson’s Baby Cares, and the Save the Children organization, visit them on Facebook to learn more. If you remember a time that the help from someone else was a blessing in your life as a mother, this is a great way to honor that memory, and help give back to another mom out there who needs a little bit of help from you…

{Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Johnson & Johnson and received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.}