nicu dad s speech

Having a baby is an adjustment for any new parent but not all new parents get to walk out of the hospital with their newborns a couple of days after birth. For a number of reasons, oftentimes due to prematurity or birth complications, some babies have to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) anywhere from days to months. During their stay they're closely monitored for signs they can start spending more time outside of the incubator.

Incubators regulate temperature, humidity, optimize oxygen levels and monitors a baby's vital signs. New dad, Ed Andretti, recently welcomed a baby girl, Cathara, who is having to spend some time in the NICU after being born three months early. But it was his sweet motivational speech he gave to his daughter through the plastic of the incubator that has everyone's heart melting.

Andretti can be seen looking into Cathara's incubator saying, "you hear that beeping? That's you. You're breathing so good the machine is like 'yo, take this baby down on oxygen.' That's you, you're doing great."

"You're amazing. You're wonderful. Your lungs are expanding," Andretti continues.

This is Andretti's first child and he's proving to be his daughter's biggest cheerleader. The new dad explains in the caption that Cathara is gaining weight, her lungs are getting stronger and she's beginning to become more vocal. He even has some encouraging words for fellow NICU parents experiencing something similar.