Last summer was the summer of hospitalizations. Prior to that, no one in my family had been hospitalized except the two times I gave birth and had to stay overnight. Last summer though, not only did I give birth to my son Caleb, but he also had a week-long NICU stay and three subsequent hospitalizations for several days each in less than three months. To say we were overwhelmed is an understatement. In that state of shock, which began in the NICU, we hesitantly (gasp!) asked for help. I am not sure what it is that made us feel ashamed in asking for help when we clearly needed it- perhaps we all want to seem like we are in control (though nothing could be farther from the truth) or perhaps we were afraid it was a sign of weakness. Lucky for us, family and friends stepped in to help when we sent out the SOS call. [Read more]