Preemie: Lessons in Love, Life, and Motherhood Paperback – Illustrated, May 29, 2012

This book is simply outstanding. Through her stories, Kasey Mathews clearly shows total honesty. She expresses her true feelings which aren’t always a good look when her premie was first born - totally courageous. Her path handling challenges to total unconditional love is inspiring for all, not just for premie parents. A favorite gift for me to give as so many have told me they genuinely appreciate the love and inspiration it brings to their lives and they would not have otherwise found the book. Full of great information and practical ideas too. A must read.

There aren't enough stars for me to select!!! I need about 95 more!In the last 36 hours I have devoured this exquisitely penned book, by author and preemie mom, Kasey Mathews. In the book, "Preemie: Lessons in Love, Life, & Motherhood", Kasey takes us through her journey as a preemie mom, wife, and woman complete with all the nitty gritty details so many of us try to hide. She is open and honest in a way that caught me off guard at times, yet offered so much comfort in knowing that I was not alone in some of my deepest fears as a mother of premature triplets born at 25 weeks. She does not hide behind a facade of having it all together; and when her life is turned on its head, she carries us along her path with eloquence and a sense of honesty that leapt off the page and nestled in my heart.On Tuesday, I eagerly ripped opened the package Kasey sent me as I stood in my kitchen about to prepare dinner. My girls were in the living room at their usual post, seated at the coffee table with a stack of construction paper and an enormous box of crayons. I was mesmerized from the first page and didn't move for a good 15 minutes as I dove head first into Kasey's life. The detail with which she recalls such poignant moments in her life painted such a clear picture, I felt as if I was standing in the hospital room with her, or pushing her in her wheel chair to visit Andie (her 25 weeker daughter) for the first time. I could hear the scratching of the doctor's pen on her paper and all the beeps and bings of the machines in the NICU.While Kasey's story is uniquely hers...it is not unique. Hundreds of thousands of parents go through the NICU experience every day in our country. My own story, though different, had such amazing similarities I had two shows running simultaneously - Kasey's and my own. A slide show of images flashed through my mind of each moment I shared with Kasey along my own path.I am so thankful to Kasey for having the courage to bare her soul to the world, to be brave enough to put in writing her raw emotions. This book will offer hope to new preemie parents currently in the NICU. Likewise for parents like me who are a few years past the traumatic events of giving birth months to soon, it reminds me that I am not alone. That even my deepest held fears and guilt are not unique and as I continue to push forward in my own life, I can do so with tenacity and grace, as Kasey has so clearly exhibited.I highly recommend that parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, caregivers, and healthcare providers purchase and read this book, cover to cover. It will give you a peek inside the thoughts and emotions of us preemie parents who often are so wrapped up in surviving we have difficulty expressing all that lives inside of us, even for years past the NICU.Thank you Kasey...for sitting on the end of my bed these last two days!Keira SorrellsExecutive Director, Zoe Rose Memorial FoundationOperations Director, Preemie Parent Alliance[...]

My grandson was born 10 weeks early so I thought I would find a lot of things that would relate to him in this book and see how this mother handled some difficult situations. I also thought I might gain some insight into what my daughter felt when she delivered a baby so prematurely. What I found was that the mother of this preemie is the biggest wimp I believe I've ever seen. I'm at 70% complete now and I honestly do not know if I can finish it although I'm still hopeful she MIGHT cover problems (other than health problems) that the child went through instead of continuing to whine about the burden SHE is enduring. I just read the part where her husband is half way across the country and she calls him in the middle of the night because she's panicking over the number of times her baby is breathing every minute. Not that she's under breathing or over breathing, just that she can't correctly count the times she is taking a breath. Let's freak everyone out including Daddy who is 2,000 miles away.I'm still hopeful she might cover some difficulties that the baby may have had growing up ... but I'm not hopeful. She just can't get over herself to worry about helping anyone who has a preemie.

Kasey Mathews has tackled a difficult subject with honesty and humor. My own children were born full-term, but my oldest had a condition that required surgery at 8 months. (She's now a thriving 13 year old with no lasting difficulties.) Even though the story focuses on extreme premature birth, it holds resonance for anyone who has had a preconceived notion of what her child's life will be take an unexpected turn somewhere. One striking point early in the narrative is Mathews' assertion that "these things don't happen to me." Not so, Grasshopper. Not so.I think many of us have only a vague concept of what parenting means before we have children, and it is easy to feel alone and unprepared whether your child is born healthy or not. My pediatrician's sage advice on this subject was , "We tend to assume that it's the norm for babies to be born perfect. But it *is* normal for children to have challenges." For inexperienced mothers this can be a difficult concept to grasp.I loved Kasey's unflinching look at how she really reacted to her baby in the beginning, and her gradual move toward acceptance, to love and finally advocacy of Andie, including seeking out alternative therapies and treatments, and standing up to medical professionals who were not as accommodating or understanding as they should have been. I'm not sure that I would have had the courage to admit my own faults in such a story, but it makes the overall narrative that much more compelling.Kasey Mathews' engaging style makes the book an easy and fun read. Her sense of humor and the portrait she draws of her loving and strong family make the story that much more enjoyable. I have recommended this book to my friends, and to my cousin who delivered her triplets at 26 weeks last year. You will find yourself cheering for the entire family throughout the book.

I read this book when my son was in the NICU for a six week stay, it was recommended by the hospital staff. I found it really helpful during such an emotional experience to read and relate to the author and her experience. It's easy to feel alone and wonder why me during the experience of having a baby in the NICU. Reading this book was comforting and it was pleasant to have some bits of humor through out the read.