Sounds of wet, choking gasps replace what should be a newborn baby’s typical cry.

As nurses move quickly around the room, their footsteps squeak as they rush across the hospital floor. Monitors beep steadily while doctors issue hurried instructions, and the energy begins to shift with each passing second.

In the middle of it all, 30-year-old Stephanie Price watches as doctors work to revive the second boy of the twin set she just delivered.

After struggling with low blood sugar, aspiration and a dropping heart rate, the seventh addition to Price’s family is rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit.

Turning what should have been a celebration into the start of an exhausting journey, Price travels between her own hospital bed and the NICU unit for 10 days. 

Attempting to recover from childbirth while living out of a small bag, she relies on thin hospital socks and low-quality toiletries to get her through long days and even longer nights. Then, she’s discharged — sent home while her newborn remains in the NICU. 

“Once you’re discharged as a patient, no nurses are going to help you,” she said. “It’s no longer their job, and now it’s all about the baby. Although my priority was to take care of my baby, no one was really taking care of me.” 

That experience, one that unfolded in a California hospital, became the starting point of a hard recovery, Price said.

“When I finally got home, I knew that was really brutal,” she said. “I was glad my baby ended up being OK, but my soul, spirit and body, all of it, were just a mess. We’re a mess anyway, after pregnancy, but the NICU was just like another layer of pain and feeling pretty unseen.” 

From there, Price began assembling care bags for mothers navigating similar NICU stays. After moving to Colorado Springs with her family, she continued the effort, eventually turning it into the local nonprofit, Mama, I See You.

Now, five years after the birth of her twins, Mama, I See You has provided more than 75 high-quality care bags to mothers across the city since its November launch, along with 150 bags from Colorado Springs to California.

“Mama, I See You was basically born out of the desire that every mom should feel seen, cared for and valued in the NICU,” Price said. “I think it’s easy to get lost in the postpartum stage anyway, but the NICU life is so isolating. It’s easy to put your head down as a mom to just get through it and not really ask for much help.” 

The bags are made possible through donations and fundraising efforts, with Children’s Hospital Colorado serving as Mama, I See You’s primary recipient. 

“Part of my vision is to empower people to help NICU moms by just knowing what to give and knowing what they need,” she said. “For me, I needed very tactical support. That’s why we came up with a NICU bag that encapsulates some very basic needs.” 

The care bags include high-quality shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a Stanley water bottle and typically a $100 DoorDash gift card, among other items.

One recipient, Kayla Webber, received a care bag while her newborn son was in the NICU due to feeding difficulties and a congenital heart issue. 

“I got the Mama, I See You bag just as I was struggling to get my baby boy to swallow and feeling so discouraged about his feeds from the night prior,” Webber said. “I felt so understood and supported. I cried when I opened the card and saw the handwritten note.”

Written inside each bag is a personal note from Price: “I’ve been in your shoes. I hope you know how brave and strong you are for just showing up as this baby’s mom. You’re already teaching them resiliency, and I hope this bag helps you feel seen and not alone.”

Webber said the gesture resonated with her deeply. 

“I don’t think people understand what mothers with babies in the NICU go through until you’re going through it yourself,” Webber said. “It’s emotionally draining. One minute you’re happy your baby finished a bottle, and the next thing you know, they haven’t finished one in three days. The guilt is terrible, and it’s so exhausting being at the NICU until dinner time, coming home, then waking up to do it all over again.” 

After exiting the NICU, Webber was one of many mothers who reached out to Price to express their gratitude, Price said.

“One of my favorite things is hearing people’s journeys,” she said. “I’ve found a lot of moms who have said they didn’t know they needed this bag and didn’t expect how hard it would be. That getting this bag just made them feel seen, which is so heartwarming to me.” 

In honor of Mother’s Day, Price said she hopes to deliver at least 50 care bags to local hospitals in May, each one containing a variety of items set to help mothers navigate the NICU experience.

In partnership with another local nonprofit, Live Wholly. Walk Boldly, Mama, I See You will host a hands-on opportunity for attendees to assemble care bags. The night of refreshments and volunteer packing will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday at Kinship Landing.

“We really want to double down on the community aspect in Colorado Springs,” Price said. “As we grow, I’d love to come up with chapters, eventually finding people in other cities to run the same thing as Mama, I See You. For now, I’m a one-woman show, but I’d love for every mom to receive one of these bags and have it be a golden standard at some point.”

If you go

What: Mama, I See You Packing Night

When: 6:30 to 9 p.m. Monday

Where: Kinship Landing, 415 S. Nevada Ave.

Price: Free