... the stroller purchased for your baby is 'accepted' as a 'wheel chair' as you push baby and equipent around.
... you can SPOT a preemie outfit from across the store.
... you know which department stores carry preemie clothes.
... THE PREEMIE clothes are so big that you cry as you search for appropriate doll clothes.
... you have called the Ronald McDonald House "home."
... weight gain of a few ounces in a month is a victory!
... your 31 month old child is wearing the same outfit today that she wore for the 4th of July when she was 5 months old!
... your child is bilingual thanks to speech therapy and the use of American Sign Language!
... your friend's 9 month old is hitting the same milestones as your 31 month old, and you are just as proud!
... you've learned a second language in a matter of a few weeks. (Language of an NICU)
... you know what weeks gestation is a 'good baby'.
... the first thought you have at the news of a pregnance is, "is everything going OK?"
... people think your child is a genius because she can speak in sentences but is smaller than a 1 year old.
... you visit someone in the hospital and you know how to mute the pulseox alarm
... your daughter is running in her first sports day at school and you scream yourself horse even though she is coming last.
... you have to explain to your five year old son that he can not wear a school uniform because they do not make one small enough for him.
...you are tired of telling people to keep their nonwashed hands off your baby or to PLEASE take their sick selves away from your baby because you don't want him/her back in the hospital and on a vent... again.
... you find yourself constantly backed into a corner and having to explain the every day facts of your child's life to others, i.e. size, monitors, reflux, meds, developmental delays, etc.
... your cild is over 30 months old before she outgrows her first 12 mo size clothes.
... your child has been walking for well over a yr and still is wearing 'pre-walker'shoes.
... your daughter's "first diamond" was on her daddy's wedding band, worn like a bangle bracelet on her arm at the age of three weeks.
... 3 words in a row means the world to you. ("I love you")
... your child rides a tricycle for the first time thrills your heart.
... your child's first day of school is almost as exciting as the day she/he came home from the hospital for the first time.
... your child's first pair of dirty socks are such a blessing to you that you frame them.
... WINTER is a nasty word. (RSV)
... your 2nd grader, goes through the box of baby clothes and can fit into a extra large onesie perfectly.
... a YEAR after the apnea/heart monitor is gone, the McDonald's French Fry alarm continues to scares you.
... you keep hearing alarms ringing in the background even when the saturation monitor is not.
Click poem to return to Elizabeth Grace's Index Page
... the stroller purchased for your baby is 'accepted' as a 'wheel chair' as you push baby and equipent around. 
