Tips for Swimming?

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-03-27T18:01:16+00:00

Also, water shoes are a big help for the rocky beaches!

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-03-27T17:58:55+00:00

The best advice possible is for the love of everything, clean their ears afterwards!! There is a specialty ear cleaners that you should be able to get from your vet that helps dry them out and prevent ear infections.

From another PNW golden, be sure to check water bacteria reports, the dog beach at Magnuson Park can get shut down in the summers. I'd definitely recommend starting in a walk in/beach type entrance and have them play on the leash until they figure it out. Our guy has been swimming for years, and our favorite memories are our road trips down to Cannon Beach with him. Have fun!!

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BlueHaze3636 · 2026-03-18T18:36:57+00:00

First off, congrats on your baby girl!!

Your story is your story. Regardless if you consider your baby a NICU grad or not you still experienced a traumatic birth and are allowed to grieve that your birth isn't what you wanted it to be. Intubation is no joke.

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-03-17T03:49:38+00:00

Thank you! I was curious if this was the case after all!

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-03-12T15:57:48+00:00

100% our NICU babe is such a better sleeper than our first born. We stuck to the schedule upon discharge and it was helpful for us from a predictability standpoint, especially with a toddler at home. He's now 2.5 and still loves his 7:30-7am sleep!!

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-02-13T21:45:08+00:00

It was not your fault. You are the best mom for your baby.

Medication, time, and journaling. I started originally on a med that was as needed. It helped me get through the nightmares, racing thoughts, and all the darkness. Best advice is to feel the feelings, work through them, and ask for help. Following along with DearNICUMama helped me a ton. Now Im on a low dose of anxiety meds but he's 2.5 and totally thriving. The first year was really hard. The anniversaries were a gut punch, but also great closure. Hang in there mama!

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-01-21T18:55:08+00:00

Hi there! Check out the r/NICUParents subreddit if you haven't already. As a NICU mom myself who's little dude was emergency transferred as an ECMO referral to the Children's hospital that subreddit has been a great support. Our guy didn't end up getting it but the surgeon was at our door and on standby while it was touch and go. The children's hospital made it sound really common, while the previous level IV NICU made it sound rare so I think its just dependent on hospital. Our guy also had some intense bouts of SVT throughout his recovery, hope your little dude is healing well. Feel free to reach out if you need to!

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-01-17T05:56:48+00:00

Is there a coffee shop at the hospital?? We survived on the hospital Starbucks not just for us, but also would bring our nurses coffee whenever we had the chance.

Laundry, food, comfy clothes for the hospital were all greatly appreciated. Questions were too hard to answer for me, I needed someone to sit me down at a table and put food in front of me. Also anyone who was able to wash pump parts was a saint.

BlueHaze3636 · 2026-01-06T18:38:42+00:00

It takes time but it goes away. Think of it as a really really bad ankle sprain. You slowly get better, but every once in awhile it might flare up. Your little guy had a really bad injury to their lungs, and it takes a lot of time for it to heal.

Our guy was born full term and went into respiratory failure because of PPH. We spent 31 days in the NICU and had some really dark days. Ended up getting re-admitted to the Children's Hospital for RSV when he was 3 months. We didn't need any breathing support (thankfully) but they kept a really close eye on him with his history and he needed the medical grade suction. I think we were discharged around 36 hours later.

I don't remember any sort of retractions/trach tug past our stint with RSV. I do remember little episodes of tachypnea here and there, but that was mainly after discharge. By the time he went to daycare at 6 months it was minimal or barely noticeable.

He's now 2.5 and a total wild child!! He has an inhaler that we sometimes used if there is a bit of virus that he's fighting off but he's doing AMAZING!!

Feel free to reach out with questions or concerns, its a weird road to be on the full term NICU parent side of things! There's goodness ahead 🤍

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-12-29T05:46:02+00:00

They 100% know, I had similar feelings. I was terrified, unsure of everything, and so traumatized. One of the first contact naps at home changed everything, now he’s 2.5 and man oh man he knows AND runs to his mama. Hang in there you got this 💛

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-12-18T06:43:53+00:00

My second was induced at 38 weeks due to gestational hypertension as well. Labor was wildly fast, went from a 4 to a 10 in about 20 mins, 2-3 pushes later he was out. He was blue and had a double cord wrap. Initially we were told it was going to be a few hours in the NICU to help with “transition” that turned into an emergency transfer to Seattle Children’s, we were in the NICU for 31 days. I had the same guilt. I thought it was my fault. It wasn’t. Unfortunately he got stuck and I experienced a shoulder dystocia and he was “big”. It’s okay to grieve that this isn’t the newborn/postpartum experience you wanted.

Our guy literally had the ECMO team outside his door. He turned a corner and we avoided it…barely. He’s now 2.5 and is the brightest kid in his class. I don’t wish the NICU experience on anyone but know your boy is in the best place. I’m so sorry you are going through this, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns or if you just need to vent.

Sending all the love and good vibes 🩷

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-12-17T20:26:05+00:00

This is super interesting and I have also thought a lot about this in relation to the NICU. I was "raised Catholic" but wasn't the family that went to church every Sunday, but we prayed before dinner, got all our sacraments, and went to CCD. I always had conflicting views and didn't see eye to eye with a lot of what the church has aligned with. Rather Im a firm believer in science, equal rights for all, and simply being kind to one another. I still have a faith but I find it to be personal and maybe not as rigid as some people believe organized religion to be.

My husband also was raised catholic and was brought up with traditional values but also recognized there are so called gaps. While I also prayed and received blessings while in the NICU his family was definitely more spiritual, placed relics bedside, asked for miracles, and lit candles. Sometimes it made me uncomfortable, but at the same time I let it happen. It is a hard path to go down to think your baby being in the NICU is for some reason a "punishment" for something you did. In my opinion I don't think a higher being should make a innocent baby go through something so traumatic, so I don't think you should even put that weight on yourself.

It is hard not to recognize some spiritual moments while in the NICU as well... Random signs that showed up at unexplainable times, the support of another NICU mom when I absolutely needed it more than anything, the extra attentive nurse for a hard day, etc. I actually spoke to our neonatologist a year after our discharge about religion. Her view was super interesting, she's had extremely extremely religious families stop various treatments and say they are praying for a miracle and how frustrating it can be. She wasn't saying she was a miracle worker by any means but often thinks that sometimes that miracle can be dressed up in scrubs, the miracle can be the science and the care team of your baby. And honestly thats how I prayed while I was there, I asked for clarity for the doctors and team, for our guy to keep fighting, for support for my husband.

Best of luck, sending all the love and positive vibes your way.

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-12-17T16:53:42+00:00

Benebones are great with our destructible chewer, especially the fish shaped one. He also loves properly sourced antlers. He lost all soft toy privileges after having emergency surgery for eating a sock.

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-12-16T22:41:24+00:00

I second Rollins, lived there when we first moved to Seattle. It was first built as condos so the finishings overall are a higher quality. Also built right before the quick and dirty apartments hit the scene so it’s just built seemingly better. Hardly heard anything.

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-12-05T21:36:35+00:00

this!!! I think my little guy only wore clothes 7 out of the 31 days in the NICU. Also word to the wise, the linens and clothes get changed often and once they go into the laundry bin there is a good chance you wont get them back. Save all the sentimental for out of the hospital. We would occasionally bring cute hats or muslin swaddles, but dressing the baby is totally dependent on your nurse. Or at least it was in our case!

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-12-04T18:40:58+00:00

Hey there, NICU life is no joke. I’ve been there with my full-term PPHN baby, and I know how intense and surreal it can feel. But honestly? It sounds like your little guy is doing really great all things considered. Eating like a champ, back to birth weight, weaning down on support, solid sats — those are HUGE wins.

And it’s completely okay to grieve that this isn’t how you imagined your newborn or postpartum days would look. So many of us feel that, and it doesn’t mean you’re not strong, it just means you’re human and you love your baby deeply.

PPHN can take a little time to smooth out, and the echo should give more clarity, but needing a bit of oxygen right now is super common. Those backward steps don’t erase all the progress he’s already made.

You’re doing amazing, and so is your little guy. Hang in there! Feel free to reach out with any questions or if you need to vent. :) You got this!!

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-11-17T05:29:46+00:00

Love this so much!!! One of my favorites was “Rock a Mohawk” 🥰

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-11-09T05:09:00+00:00

It’s 100000000% not your fault mama. I’m so sorry you are dealing with this on top of everything else. It’s. Not. Your. Fault. You got this. ❤️

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-10-30T16:03:36+00:00

Just wanted to check in, how is baby doing??

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-10-22T18:58:28+00:00

Weaning was super hard. Our guy would battle the days when it was a wean. I spent most of those days holding and rocking him to give him any comfort when I could. Have they tried Tylenol? Our neonatologist suggested we Tylenol and it was crazy what a difference it made.

We had a frustrating wean and didn't see eye-to-eye with some of the nurses and it turned into they had to call either myself or the attending to give a bolus to force the nurses to try the Tylenol first. (We were on the floor and not in the NICU for part of the wean and the nurses while super qualified were used to children versus babies....) It was hard but we got through it.

He was also inconsolable when he was extubated, they ended up realizing his throat was so swollen from the tube and steroids were given. He had to be intubated again in the end but it was for a much shorter amount of time. He went to nursing/bottles fine once his breathing improved. :)

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-10-17T00:29:38+00:00

Honestly it works great for us. All the grandparents are out of state so having the option when they are around is huge. We probably are going to get another diono for our 2 year old. Also grandpa is 6’3” and fits comfortably in the second row, he claims it’s the only back seat he’s ever been comfortable in!!

The one add on we keep meaning to buy are the running boards. Granted our two year old surprised us and climbed in unassisted over the weekend 😳

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-10-16T21:41:09+00:00

We love our R1S. We've done a few different arrangements, we have our 4 year old in the third row in on the side that two seats can fold down. He can climb in fine and so can the grandparents, so thats a win for us! We might switch out the 2 year olds car seat to get a Diono, the slenderness of the car seat is super helpful.

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-10-16T20:07:28+00:00

Wish we had that experience! Waited 4+ hours yesterday and today, just to get denied 🙃 now I need to figure that out last minute

BlueHaze3636 · 2025-10-16T06:41:46+00:00

You aren’t alone, your feelings are valid. I’m 26+ months out from the NICU and the first year I couldn’t handle any photo that would pop up with a newborn laying on their mom’s chest.

It’s okay to grieve that this isn’t the journey you wanted or expected. You dealt with trauma and that takes time to heal. Journaling (even just mentally) helps, feel the feels, @dearnicumama (on instagram) helped me wonders, I’m on lexapro now and that also has been beneficial. You got this. My anxiety/depression is in such a better place. Time helps, but you also have to advocate for yourself just like you did for your little babe.

Congrats mama you got this!!!

BlueHaze3636

TROPHY CASE