Move to the NICU

That first night the nursery kept the wee-one so that we could sleep.  Ben got almost 3 hours and I got almost 2 (I had nurses still coming in and checking on me) but we both felt rejuvenated. They brought in the baby and the nurse sat with me and helped me nurse her.  She was still ADORABLE and we were both still in awe that we had a perfect little baby girl.  After nursing her the nurse (Katie) was going to take her back to the nursery so we could get a little more sleep.  Less than five minutes later Katie returned with some troubling news.  She said that the baby wasn't looking right after leaving our room (she was blue) so they did an extra check in the nursery and found that she was having respiratory problems.  Her oxygen levels were down between 60-70% (which is really low) so they decided to do some tests.  

We took this picture right after that first feeding- can you see she is blue? We didn't notice.

This experience made me really grateful for our nurse and her training and instinct.  Ben and I did not notice that the nursing had caused the baby to turn blue (she stopped breathing while sucking), we thought she just looked like a new baby.  Our nurse said she was worried but did not want to shock us so she didn't say anything but decided to check the baby just in case.  We are so glad that she did and that the baby was able to get such great care so quickly.  

Ben went with the nurse to go be with the baby during the tests (I stayed and slept- which was probably good because Ben said it was rough watching them poke the baby).  They did an x-ray to see if she had any cloudiness in her lungs; this could tell us if she had aspirated any merconium in the womb.  The x-rays came back a little foggy but clear of merconium.  They did a white blood cell count and found that her count was elevated, showing that her body was fighting off an infection.  They also did two different blood draws and sent them to the lab; they would then grow her blood in a culture to see if anything bad grew.  (It turned out that nothing did grow; which means that whatever infection that was causing her to be sick did not reach her blood.  This is fantastic!  The doctor said she probably got pneumonia right after birth and it went straight to her lungs- how that happens, I don't know but I am glad we caught it so early.)

They immediately started her on two different IV antibiotics, oxygen, artificial heat lamps and hooked her up to all sorts of monitors to keep track of her stats. So at less than 6 hours old our little wee one was officially a patient of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). 

Our sad little girl after all her tests.

The NICU is a secure wing with buzz in doors, sinks and sanitation as you walk in and limited visitors.  Most of the babies in the wing were premature babies and were very sick- we felt lucky that our little girl was so healthy in comparison.   We, as her parents, were aloud in to see her all the time however we were not able to have visitors unless they got a special pass (we got one for both grandma's).  This meant that family and friends that came and visited us in the hospital were not able to see the baby.  This was kind of sad but it was nice that people would still come to see us.   

You are not allowed in the NICU if you are sick (or you have to wear a face mask).  I was feeling sick after the long night of labor and no sleep, so I had to wear a mask the first day and Ben started feeling sick that first night so he wore a mask most of the time we were in the hospital.  

It is also kind of hard in the NICU because she is hooked up to so many monitors so we were not really able to hold her if there was not a nurse there to help us.  I was able to hold her a lot, because I was still coming in every two hours to nurse her, but Ben felt bad having to get the nurses help so he spent hours just gazing in at our sweet baby girl. 

Because the baby was in the NICU it meant that we would have an extended stay in the hospital (5 days). Usually you only stay in the hospital for 48 hours after giving birth; She was born Saturday morning and so I was discharged Monday morning.  However we were able to 'board' at the hospital for the rest of the time she was in the NICU.  This basically means that we were using our room as a hotel. It was so nice that we were able to stay at the hospital.  Our room was just down a long hall from the NICU and it was nice to be able to go back to my room in the middle of the night between feedings and to be so close, if we were needed.  The only down side to boarding at the hospital is the risk of over crowding and being kicked out. 

To follow our luck this is EXACTLY what happened.  We were going to be able to take our baby girl home on Thursday February 14 (Valentine's Day) and they were still unsure whether we would be taking oxygen home with us or not.  However Wednesday morning they came to us to let us know that the maternity ward was filling up and they needed our room (in an hour); so we had to pack up and get all our stuff out.  Ben took everything home and I set up a 'permanent' station in the NICU (that is not usually allowed but I didn't have anywhere else to go). 

Knowing that we were 'homeless' the pediatrician and NICU nurses took a look at the baby and decided that she could be released that night; they usually like to keep them overnight after the last dose of antibiotics to make sure their body is handling it but they said we could take her.  They also took her off her oxygen so they could monitor and make sure she would be okay when we took her home (she was- yay- no oxygen needed). So it was kind of good that we got kicked out because we got to bring our baby girl home one day early- healthy and oxygen free.  

GOING HOME!!

This experience makes me grateful for the reassuring power of the spirit and priesthood blessings.  When we were trying to get pregnant I was very nervous about the health of the baby; because of my medications there were huge risks and I did not think I would be able to handle having a sick child.  I fasted and prayed about this for months before and during the pregnancy and my fears and worries were put at ease that everything would work out how it was supposed to.  I was reassured that Heavenly Father had a plan for me and my family and that if I had faith and trusted in him everything would be okay.  This reassurance helped me to be calm during these scary and unsure times in the NICU.  

*Special Shout Out to the amazing nurses and doctors in the NICU who helped keep our baby alive and healthy and helped support Ben and I during this confusing and hard time.