Frantically Scrapbooking

I'm taking a little break from the frantic scrapbooking I have been doing this week to write this post.  I realized I had not scrapped since the babies were 3 months old and still in the NICU.  I had prepared their books up to that point to show at my baby shower.  Then the babies came home, we had to feed them every 3 hours around the clock for a year, take them to a zillion appointments, and well, that didn't leave much/any time to do anything extra, like scrapbooking.  Now, I'm playing major catch-up because I want to have their scrapbooks current for their baptism this weekend. 

I had purchased several stickers when I was still pregnant.  I have 3 unopened packages of pregnancy stickers.  They have cute stickers of big pregnant bellies that say things like "belly beautiful" and "patiently waiting" and "overdue" and "due date".  I guess the scrapbook companies don't think pre-term labor stickers would be very popular.  I needed stickers that said "16 weeks early" and "not ready yet" and "half-baked".  You can see why those wouldn't be popular!

Aside from the pregnancy stickers, most of the baby stickers aren't even applicable.  "Bundle of Joy" doesn't seem to fit when you are looking at your 1 lb baby struggling to live.  I did later use that sticker at about 6 months old.  You can't use the sticker "he's finally here" when he shouldn't be here for another 16 weeks.  When exactly do you use the sticker "newborn baby" for a micro-preemie anyway?  When they are born or when they should have been born?  One package of stickers says "Who came to visit?"  Well, we were only allowed 4 visitors in the NICU so the list wouldn't be too long on that one.

Then you have a slew of stickers you can't use because they are just so understated to the enormity of your situation like "tiny fingers and tiny toes".  No one knows "tiny" until they have seen a 23/24 week baby.  I didn't use the sticker "love at first sight" either because sadly, I don't think those were the first words that came to mind.  The order of my thoughts went more along the lines of- shock, disbelief, sadness, desperation, pleading with God, mixed with how much I loved them and needed them to live.

I just searched online and found that they do make NICU stickers (pictured above).  I should have searched ealier because I would have probably used a few of these.  Although, I have to say that it does seem a little strange to make a cute sticker about getting a blood transfusion or to make a sticker that says "bradycardia" with a heart for the "a" like it's a pleasant, happy thing.  Come on, scrapbook sticker makers; it's when a baby's heart rate drops significantly and scares the mother half to death.  The cutesy heart really seems out of place. 

 

I will get off my scrapbooking rant now so I can actually get some scrapbooking done!