When my daughter was born in 2010, our family was thrown into the  medical world. My daughter was hospitalized for cardiac issues for the first 66 days of her life.

My first 66 days as a mother were spent at least partly in a hospital.

Those 66 days changed were some of the longest of my life. We were forced to live hour to hour, as outlooks could change just as quickly.

I had to learn how to be a mom while feeling like my baby belonged to her medical caregivers as much as, if not more than, she belonged to me. I struggled through each minute with very little in my own control.

I can tell you now with all sincerity that it was our nurses that set the tone for each of those 66 days.

The nurses who checked on us as well as our baby.

The nurses who listened to my worries as I cried.

The nurses who took time to teach us how to do skin-to-skin “kangaroo care” so we could hold our baby outside of her isolette.

The nurses who made sure we took breaks from the bedside, and that I ate as a pumping mom.

The nurses who offered encouragement and empathy and even hugs.

The nurses who cared.

The nurses who I will never forget.

Thank you to ALL the nurses out there. Your job is difficult and often thankless. Please know how appreciated you are.

(Pictured are 2 of our favorite nurses from those first 66 days, taken years later in 2017. Thank you Kristen and Sandy. For everything.)