We're excited to participate in this year's Miracle Mile, a fundraiser supporting Today Is A Good Day. As many of you know, our family is no stranger to the NICU roller coaster. Our oldest son Charlie was born at 27 weeks after an otherwise healthy and uneventful pregnancy. Our first days of parenthood were spent cherishing the few moments that we could put our hands through incubator portholes every six hours, wondering if he could really feel that it was us. 72 days went by, each one teaching us a bit more about how to let go of control, be vulnerable in the care of others, and fight with resilience and bravery. Charlie has worked so hard every day since to achieve milestones that others don't think twice about, and we are so proud to be his mom and dad. 

Fast forward 2.5 years, and we were excited to grow our family, adding another boy to adventure with. In a similarly abrupt fashion, Caleb crash landed into the world at 30 weeks, leading us back down a road we truly thought we would not have to travel again. While Caleb showed the same incredible bravery as his older brother, his journey in the NICU was much less straight-forward. I would compare it to riding the roller coaster, only this time in the pitch black, not knowing when the next drop, loop and jolt would be. We faced some major setbacks, a terrifying infection, and hard days that really pushed us to our limits, and beyond. After 66 days, we celebrated finally being home together, and we know that these parts of our story have built such a strong foundation for us to grow as a family with our boys' courage and bravery at the center.

Our NICU was partnered with Today Is A Good Day, and they provided us with support and community in the weeks that we needed it most. Our interactions were much more than just a meal in the hospital lounge-- they created a space for us to sit in the company of people who truly understood what being in a dark room counting down the minutes until the one hour you could hold your baby; how hard it was to receive test results that you didn't understand; the patience it took watching your little one slowly learn to feed and celebrating when they took the smallest amount on their own. Weekly check-ins and getting to know other families' stories absolutely helped alleviate the pain and isolation of the NICU journey. Additionally, resources like their podcast connected us to experts and advocates that helped us continue to process what we are experiencing. We're grateful that an organization like this exists, and we are raising money to pay it forward and continue to support NICU families through the ups and downs of the roller coaster.

Here's how you can help:

• Donate: Contribute whatever you can. Every dollar counts!
• Spread the Word: Share our fundraising page with your friends, family, and social networks. We hope our story can give a glimpse into the experiences of NICU families and how needed it was to receive extra support during that time.

Thanks so much for reading - we hope to share more of our family's story in the weeks leading up to the fundraiser!