Strauss says she's learned to release timelines, lean on her village and celebrate every milestone as they reach 200 days in the NICU.
Seven months can feel like a lifetime when you're measuring time in oxygen levels, tiny milestones and the hope of finally walking out of a hospital with your baby in your arms. For Celia Strauss, that stretch has meant building her entire world inside the NICU, where her newborn daughter Honor has spent every day of her life.
"It's a New Year, and I figured it seems like a good time to share a little bit about who I am," Strauss says in the viral TikTok that introduced her story to the world. "My name is Celia. We haven't met before."
In the video, she shares that she's 33, a first-time mom and that her daughter Honor was born "extremely prematurely last year out of the blue in June," flipping their lives upside down overnight. "We've been living in the NICU," she says, explaining that the family even moved cities and transferred hospitals as Honor fought to grow stronger.
Now, Strauss is letting people in on what that reality truly looks like, beyond the medical jargon and the milestone charts. In an interview with PEOPLE, she says the shift from a normal pregnancy to an emergency delivery happened so fast it still feels unreal.
"It was an absolute whirlwind," Strauss says, explaining that everything had been going smoothly until the sudden turn. "Before that, I was like, totally healthy pregnancy," she says, noting she was "working out every day" and attending OB appointments that "had been amazing."
Strauss says she and her husband, Cody, were on vacation when she started feeling off, unsure if she was overthinking it. Then her water broke at the beach, and the couple rushed to the hospital, still assuming they'd be checked out and sent home.
"And even at this time, we're still thinking, like, everything's fine," she says. "I remember them coming in the room and saying, like, 'You guys aren't going home.' "
At first, Strauss and Cody misunderstood what that meant, thinking it was just a longer stay than expected. But the sentence that followed snapped everything into focus. "They're like, 'No, like you're not going home until you have your baby,' " Strauss remembers. "And we were just like, 'Whoa. Okay.' "
From there, Strauss was transferred to a hospital that had the level of NICU care Honor would need. She says she was placed on bed rest for four days as doctors tried to stall labor for as long as possible.
"And then the night that we hit 24 weeks, which is like viability week... I went into labor and delivered her," Strauss says. "It was just wild, just totally unexpected and scary."
The biggest shock wasn't just that Honor arrived so early, but how little Strauss and Cody understood about what came next. "We didn't have any idea, even, like, what the NICU was," Strauss says, adding that they didn't know babies born that early could survive.
"It was really just like entering into a whole unknown universe," she says. Suddenly, the life they had been living, and the one they thought was right around the corner, disappeared in an instant.
In the beginning, Strauss says she clung to the timeline other families had shared, believing Honor might go home around her due date. October 18 became the date they repeated to themselves, a finish line they could picture.
"In our mind... me and my husband were like, 'Okay, we can make it to October,' " Strauss says. "And then October comes around, and we're like: 'I don't think we're leaving in October.' "
The two hoped they'd be home by Thanksgiving or Christmas, but those dates passed with no indication they would be discharged.
After the holidays, Strauss says she and Cody finally stopped trying to bargain with the calendar. "So it's just now we've just totally let go of deadlines," she says. "We're going home when she's ready."
As Honor's stay stretched on, the couple had to figure out how to maintain a life outside the hospital, too. Strauss says they're originally from Tallahassee, Fla., but transferred to Jacksonville, a two-and-a-half-hour drive away, as Honor's condition required more specialized care.
For the first three months, Cody was able to take family leave and stay with them full time, something Strauss doesn't take lightly. "We got to go through it together," she says, explaining that it helped ground them during the chaos.
Now, their routine is built around constant commuting and sacrifice. Strauss says Cody stays for four days then returns home for 48 hours before coming back again; balancing work as a first responder with the pull of being beside his daughter.
Strauss meanwhile has been there "around-the-clock" with her own work paused completely; she’s a small business owner but nothing mattered more than staying present through Honor’s hardest days.
One reason they chose to stay in Jacksonville even after Honor’s heart issue resolved was the way the hospital approaches family involvement. Strauss says it’s one of the rare NICUs that allows parents to room in; making it possible for her to truly live alongside her baby.
"I'm in her room right now," Strauss says; describing the setup that allows her to be involved in Honor's care. "That's not a very common thing for NICUs to offer that type of like family integration."
Strauss says the difference was immediate; especially after the pain of leaving her newborn behind at night in the first hospital. "It was just very painful being away from your baby," she says; remembering how unnatural it felt to be separated when Honor was so new.
Even in a place that felt right, there were still stretches that tested everything they had. "There were moments where we... didn't know if she was going to make it and pull through," Strauss says. "She was fully maxed out on oxygen support."
In those moments, Strauss says she and Cody leaned on each other and on the medical team they trusted. And outside the hospital walls, she says their village stepped in without hesitation.
"We have an amazing support system," Strauss says; describing how friends and family kept their lives functioning while they focused on survival. Their support didn't just show up practically but emotionally too; in ways that made her feel carried. "Just texting constantly making playlists," Strauss says; describing the creative ways people found to show love.
For Strauss, motherhood in the NICU has shattered every assumption she once had about what a "good" start looks like. She says pregnancy filled her with ideas about the kind of mom she'd be and what she thought she needed to do it right.
"And it was like you don't need anything," Strauss says. "Your baby needs you and a diaper and the air that they breathe and love."
That clarity has stuck with her; even on days when the fear feels close. Strauss says seeing Honor fight for her life made everything else feel trivial; and in an unexpected way she feels grateful for the perspective.
And yet she says there's also been sweetness inside the survival mode; moments of joy that don't make sense until you live them. "It's been hard and scary," Strauss says; "but it's also been like beautiful and sweet."
As the family edges toward the end of this chapter; Strauss says her emotions are layered. She feels excitement most of all; but she's also heard something surprising from other NICU moms: that leaving can bring its own kind of ache.
"The nurses that we have here... they're like family to us now," she says. Strauss knows it will feel different going from a full team caring for Honor to it being just her and Cody at home.
Still she can picture exactly what she's waiting for; and it's something simple. "She's never even seen outside," Strauss says; imagining fresh air sunlight and pushing Honor in a stroller for the very first time.
It's a moment that feels almost like starting over; except this time they’ll get to do it without hospital walls around them. "It almost feels like we're giving birth all over again," Strauss says.
Looking back; Strauss says she wishes she could go back to the earliest NICU days and give herself two pieces of advice. The first is to stop chasing deadlines and start trusting the pace Honor sets. "The babies here are like sea turtles," Strauss says; sharing the analogy that stuck with her. "It's just this slow steady race forward...don't rush it."
Her second piece of advice is about connection; even when you're scared. Strauss says the more involved you become in your baby's care; the more your confidence grows and the more bonding starts to feel natural.
"The sooner you get your hands on...the bonding just clicks," she says. Strauss encourages parents to advocate; ask questions and take part in everything they can.
And through all of it; Strauss says one of the most meaningful parts of her story is the name she and Cody chose in the middle of chaos. She says Honor wasn't something they planned ahead of time; but something they arrived at in a moment that demanded bravery.
"If we get this baby here; it's the greatest honor of our life," Strauss says. Now she says her daughter has more than earned the name; and so has the life they've fought to build together. "She is so strong and incredible," Strauss adds. "It's been an honor to witness her strength."