You know you are a NICU parent when:

This isn't an update about the babies; I'm just posting this for fun. We've already been at the NICU so long we feel like veterans, and we still have a long way to go.

You know you are a NICU parent when:

- your skin is completely dried out from scrubbing in daily
- you can hear the beeps of the monitors in your head when you leave
- you know the names of all the nurses, doctors, and front desk staff (and how many kids they have!)
- you call the NICU countless times a day and night
- the front desk no longer asks to see your hospital bracelet to be admitted; they just know you
- you have spent time hanging out in the Ronald McDonald room
- you know all about things you never knew before - i.e. IVH, PDA ligations, Fentanyl, fortifiers, PICC lines, IV lines, arterial lines, O2 levels, etc., etc., etc.
- you get scared every time your phone rings
- you get a collection (not just one) of the children's books they hand out each month - We'll have a library by the time our kids get home.
- you've been visited by every doctor on staff, both NICU coordinators, and the financial assistance advisor
- the nurses have become attached to your babies because they have been there so long