These two years have taught me more than I could have ever imagined and more than I can put into words. As I reflect on this time, these are some of the biggest lessons I've learned.
Faith is a must. It doesn't matter which faith, it doesn't matter if you are praying towards God or a higher power you can't define, but having faith in something bigger than you is a must. Our experience changed me. During our worst days, praying became more important than it ever had. I prayed for her life, for her to grow, and some days just prayed to not breakdown. In the NICU we were surrounded by 2 families that could not have been more different than us. One family was Kenyan and Jehovah's witnesses. The other family was Muslim. I will never forget one morning walking in, knowing she was having a tough time and Adnan, the father of Gabriella's "neighbor ", said to me, " I'm praying for her". At that moment it didn't matter how he was praying or which faith he was; he was praying for my daughter and throughout our stays, we all prayed for each other's babies. It didn't matter that we were different. All we knew was that all we could do was pray and believe in the power of our thoughts.
Parenting is hard. Being a parent is tough. Your heart is outside of your body in the form of a little person. All of a sudden everything you do, every decision you make, is made with this little person in mind. Some of the hard parts are funny; when you have to put your daughter in time out for biting your butt. Literally biting your butt cheek. And yes, that is a true story. And sometimes the hard parts are really tough; from the early days of watching her struggle to live to the more mundane things like leaving her with a babysitter or watching her get immunizations. So many moments you have to put your own feelings aside and do what's best.
Support systems are another must. Our families have helped us in countless ways over these past 2 years. For every unexpected thing that happened, someone was there to help us along. We also have a great group of friends, some we've known for years and some we've met recently who are always available for advice, a laugh, or a cry.
To our Gabriella: you changed our lives 2 years ago and have made us better people. We have learned so much from you and are so proud of how far you have come. Every day you do things that surprise us and make us laugh. We can not wait to see you as a big sister! Happy birthday sweet girl! We love you!!!
