Counting On You

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) story told from the point of view of the baby's older sibling. </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>The main character Otto is an eight year old boy with sparkling blue eyes and long curly hair. His mum has just given birth to his baby brother but the baby needs some extra medical attention from the doctors and nurses in the NICU. While he waits to bring his baby brother home he learns more about NICU and all the special machines and equipment they use to help the babies grow healthy and strong. There are lots of new big words to learn and lots of numbers to count watch and calculate.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>Otto finds it difficult being away from home and away from his new baby so he uses his love of numbers counting and patterns to help him pass the time and work through the difficulty and uncertainty that comes with having a baby sibling in NICU.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>Otto's heartwarming story of connection and resilience helps him make sense of his family's NICU journey. During the long weeks while Otto's baby brother is in NICU he draws pictures for the baby and picks bunches of oak leaves for his mum. His love of maths and numbers and his ability to see patterns everywhere helps him get through a worrying time.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(34 34 34 1)>His hopeful and comforting story helps to deepen compassion for our own and other people's difficult stories.</span></p><p></p><p></p>