It was May 14th, two years ago, that our little boy Cache was born at 31 weeks be emergency c-section down at Mckay Dee. We live in Logan and I was transported by ambulance because of symptoms related to pre-eclampsia. I was also teaching 5th grade at the time and had 15 very busy days of school left. Though we were so excited for the birth of our sweet boy, we were not ready for him to come at that moment. In fact, not very long after his birth the nurse asked if we had a name, a car seat, a crib, a living will ( of all things!), anything, and the answer was NO!
After the initial shock, we settled into the realization that our little boy was here, ready or not, and would be in the NICU likely till his due date which was July 9th. This meant that I would be staying in Ogden in a guest house a few blocks away (courtesy of the hospital, I love that they have them available and free!) with him since I couldn't bare the thought of leaving. Someone would just have to cover my class till the end of the school year and my husband would have to drive back and forth every other day to see us since he would still have to work. I was by myself for the majority of the time though we did have family and friends that would stop by once in awhile. They would only get to see me when they came, they couldn't see Cache because of the strict visitor policy for the NICU.
Our little guy did remarkably well. He weighed 3 1/2 lbs and was 16 1/2 in long. He was only intubated for 6 hours a short time after he was born. He was off and on oxygen until he was released and had a feeding tube for the first 4 weeks. He got his blood drawn often and had IV's in him what seemed like the whole time he was there. He did have apnia so we ended up taking an apnia monitor home with us. He had jaundice for a little while as well so they had him under the lights but was over it in just a few days.
Cache was on a 3 hour schedule so I would come in at 1-4-7 and 10 to help with his changing, feeding (holding him while he was fed through his tube at first), checking temperature, baths and so on. This is when I would get to hold him and do skin to skin. Once we left though, we couldn't come back until his next feeding. At about 4 weeks Cache was doing so well, with eating and oxgen levels and gaining weight that we thought we might be able to take him home. However, we were so extremely disappointed when they found that Cache had somehow gotten a urinary tract infection, very strange for babies and especially little boy babies, so he was put on an antibiotic and we had to stay and extra week.
We took him home on June 18th When he was exactly 5 weeks old. Almost 4 weeks earlier than we had initially expected. Exactly a week after we had him home he was life flighted to Primary Children's for an emergency surgery on a hernia they did not discover while in the NICU. He/ We survived that and has been healthy ever since.
By now most of this, I'm sure, is all sounding too familiar, though maybe a few things have changed in the last two years or are just different. So that is the short version, if you can believe that, :) of our story.
Some things I LOVED about the NICU:
#1 The great care my baby received from the NICU nurses. It really is the best care they could receive. They were our angels and we wouldn't have made it without them!
#2 The chance I had to recover from the c-section. While Cache was feeding through a tube I pumped every 3 hours and then would bring my milk in right after except for the 1 AM and 4 AM feedings. Those times I took to rest and heal. Plus I was scared to go in the middle of the night by myself. I would pump and just store my milk in the fridge and not try to go to the hospital. This was a very important thing for me to be able to have that resting time. I think I may have healed faster in part because of it. It was nice to know that a nurse would give my baby loving care during those times.
#3 I learned some wonderful new ways to care for my baby from the nurses.
#4 It got Cache on a great feeding schedule for me.
#5 By the time we got him home he had already gotten through some of the most difficult weeks of being a new born.
#6 Spending quiet time with my baby. Though the monitors would go off occasionally it was really special to be able to sit distraction/technology free and just love my baby.
Some things I learned:
#1 Swaddle Bathing - I hope they still do this there. My children still love it.
#2 Using Alcohol free Lotion on their skin.
#3 Best breast feeding advice available.
#4 Little girls usually progress faster and are generally tougher than little boys in the NICU.
#6 It helps to just have a friend or family member stop by some times.
#7 Taking the chance to go out with your husband while your baby is in the best care available is well worth it.
#8 If you don't have unlimited minutes on your phone watch out. I think we ended up paying a $300 bill to the phone company just cause we talked to anyone and everyone explaining our situation and just talking to people.
#9 Priesthood blessings not only help the baby but comfort the mom and dad as well.
#10 The Beer Battered Fries from the Food Court are the best! :)
Some things that were hard:
#1 Having to leave my little guy and not being able to hold him whenever I wanted.
#2 Being alone.
#3 Seeing him attached to all the tubes and IVs.
#4 Watching them put in a tube or IV.
#5 The fear of the unknown. There is so much I didn't know, medically speaking.
#6 Disappointment when it seemed like he was moving backwards not forwards.
#7 Watching other people's children struggle.
#8 Not being able to show my newborn off to the world.
#9 Pumping. Not Fun!
Thinking back to our Mckay Dee NICU experience I can honestly say I loved it. From the moment we found out Cache would be born early we knew he would be in the NICU and it was a blessing that we were at Mckay Dee. The nurses were kind but also very knowledgeable. They kept us informed of Cache's needs and helped us be as involved as possible. We are grateful for the Mckay Dee NICU reunion so we can see those special nurses again that saved our baby Cache's life.
1 comment:
Love the bangs on you. I don't know if you've had them for awhile, but I just noticed. Hot hot hot stuff! :)
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