June 30, 2012- An Important Lesson
First, let's talk about Will's day and then I will get into the lesson I learned today. When we arrived to the NICU, Will was on his 2 Liters 30% oxygen and he looked super comfortable. When I picked up Will and snuggled him, his respiratory status was normal, regular and his percentage of oxygen went down to 28%. We have found that Will loves to be held, especially by Brandon and myself. I tried to nurse Will and he was not having it today. He just laid with me but didn't want to nurse. I was slightly frustrated with our lack of progress and Brandon had to quickly remind me how far we have come in our NICU journey and that Will is still quite small. Brandon and I kept trading off snuggling with Will and we all loved it, especially Will. He was so relaxed and his respiratory status was really really stable.
After Will's morning feed, we let him sleep for a while and then we needed to bathe him. We definitely had the smelly kid in the NICU. He needed a bath! This time Will loved his bath. He didn't cry at all during the bath, and only cried when I was done washing him and it was time to get dressed. Brandon and I dressed Will in his first outfit that came from our home. His other outfits were NICU outfits. We were so happy to have him in our clothes. After Will's bath, he was pretty tired and he just laid on Brandon while he was fed through his tube.
Tonight, I made a solo trip back to the NICU to attempt to nurse Will again. When I arrived, Will was starting to stir in his crib. The nurses all say that it is a good sign when Will starts to wake up right before his cares and feeding. This means that his body knows when his belly is empty and that it is time to feed. This is help him know that it is time to nurse or feed from a bottle. I tried to nurse Will again and this time he did better, but he fell asleep after 2-3 minutes. I think he was so tired from his bath, that he was too tired to nurse. I was a little disappointed, but I know that Will is getting better everyday, and that he will catch on to nursing soon. I was able to snuggle my little baby while he had his feeding through his tube and he sucked on his pacifier. This helps him grasp that sucking and getting a full belly go hand in hand. Will did have a nice weight gain tonight. He now weighs 4 pounds 7 ounces! Way to go!
So the lesson I learned tonight... I was walking in the NICU tonight when I saw a friend from work. Her nephew was born yesterday at 30 and a half weeks. She was telling me about why he was born early and that his entry into the world was pretty scary. This made me think back to the day Will was born and that he came early, but that he was relatively stable when he came out. I remember those first days in the NICU, and how scared I really was. I am scared at times now, but not like I was back then. I know that Will is going to do well in life, and that he is just taking his time getting well. I told my friend to let her brother in law and sister in law know that the first days are the scariest, but that they are in the best place for their son and that things get better. I told her that I would be happy to visit with her family and let them know about my experience in the NICU. I would love to be a resource for someone like one of my friends was a resource for me since she had had a NICU experience with her daughter. The entire time I was holding Will, I thought about how far we have come and how lucky I am to have him in my life. I hope my friend's family has a good NICU experience and that their baby has a good journey through his NICU stay. Many prayers are needed for their little family!
First, let's talk about Will's day and then I will get into the lesson I learned today. When we arrived to the NICU, Will was on his 2 Liters 30% oxygen and he looked super comfortable. When I picked up Will and snuggled him, his respiratory status was normal, regular and his percentage of oxygen went down to 28%. We have found that Will loves to be held, especially by Brandon and myself. I tried to nurse Will and he was not having it today. He just laid with me but didn't want to nurse. I was slightly frustrated with our lack of progress and Brandon had to quickly remind me how far we have come in our NICU journey and that Will is still quite small. Brandon and I kept trading off snuggling with Will and we all loved it, especially Will. He was so relaxed and his respiratory status was really really stable. 
After Will's morning feed, we let him sleep for a while and then we needed to bathe him. We definitely had the smelly kid in the NICU. He needed a bath! This time Will loved his bath. He didn't cry at all during the bath, and only cried when I was done washing him and it was time to get dressed. Brandon and I dressed Will in his first outfit that came from our home. His other outfits were NICU outfits. We were so happy to have him in our clothes. After Will's bath, he was pretty tired and he just laid on Brandon while he was fed through his tube.
Tonight, I made a solo trip back to the NICU to attempt to nurse Will again. When I arrived, Will was starting to stir in his crib. The nurses all say that it is a good sign when Will starts to wake up right before his cares and feeding. This means that his body knows when his belly is empty and that it is time to feed. This is help him know that it is time to nurse or feed from a bottle. I tried to nurse Will again and this time he did better, but he fell asleep after 2-3 minutes. I think he was so tired from his bath, that he was too tired to nurse. I was a little disappointed, but I know that Will is getting better everyday, and that he will catch on to nursing soon. I was able to snuggle my little baby while he had his feeding through his tube and he sucked on his pacifier. This helps him grasp that sucking and getting a full belly go hand in hand. Will did have a nice weight gain tonight. He now weighs 4 pounds 7 ounces! Way to go!
So the lesson I learned tonight... I was walking in the NICU tonight when I saw a friend from work. Her nephew was born yesterday at 30 and a half weeks. She was telling me about why he was born early and that his entry into the world was pretty scary. This made me think back to the day Will was born and that he came early, but that he was relatively stable when he came out. I remember those first days in the NICU, and how scared I really was. I am scared at times now, but not like I was back then. I know that Will is going to do well in life, and that he is just taking his time getting well. I told my friend to let her brother in law and sister in law know that the first days are the scariest, but that they are in the best place for their son and that things get better. I told her that I would be happy to visit with her family and let them know about my experience in the NICU. I would love to be a resource for someone like one of my friends was a resource for me since she had had a NICU experience with her daughter. The entire time I was holding Will, I thought about how far we have come and how lucky I am to have him in my life. I hope my friend's family has a good NICU experience and that their baby has a good journey through his NICU stay. Many prayers are needed for their little family! 
As I was the friend that you saw tonight visiting my sweet nephew in the NICU, can I just tell you THANK YOU SO MUCH for your kind, caring words to my brother-in-law. You have no idea (or maybe you do from experience)what a help and relief it was for him to be able to speak to another NICU parent. I went back to my sister-in-laws room and told her everything that you had told me about your experience, and she said that it was so nice for her to feel like her feelings and fears were normal. As soon as I found out where my nephew was being born, I told my brother and sister-in-law that I had an amazing, strong friend going through the same thing that they were, and that I had to get you guys in contact with each other, because I knew what a help you would be to them. I was so disappointed to get there tonight later than I had wanted to, hoping that I would run into you. Then, as I was sitting outside the NICU doors with my husband, waiting for our turn to go see our nephew, I happened to look down the hall, and here you came! I could have cried!! Then you spoke to my brother-in-law so kindly and gave him your words of wisdom and wonderful suggestions, I couldn't have hoped for a better experience. Afterwards, I felt so bad that we had taken so much of your time away with your precious son. I cannot express how much we appreciated it, and how much your words helped my brother and sister-in-law. Thanks again! You are an amazing friend!
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