Time. It comes and it goes but why does it go so slowly in the NICU? Each second feels like minutes. Each minute feels like hours. Each hour feels like days, and sometimes weeks. Albert Einstein said, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” Can you imagine if everything in the NICU happened at one time? You’d collapse from the anxiety. The doctors and nurses would fall over from the pressure and the entire operation might implode!
Thankfully time is doled out to us a bit at a time. One way to manage time during your NICU stay (or even once you’re home) is to stay present. Be in this moment right now. This is no time for scheduling unnecessary appointments that you may not be able to keep, or scheduling social appointments that will only be a distraction.
A piece of advice I give in Preemie Parents, 26 Ways to Grow with Your Premature Baby is to “lose your calendar”. Life in the NICU is completely unpredictable and there’s little you can do to control it. Scheduling anything more than a few days in advance is going to cause stress – exactly what you don’t need more of!
So put your calendar away. Put your smart phone on vibrate. Release all future commitments and focus on this moment, right now. It’s where all of your power is.
