NICU

There are many people who have never been in a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and I have been in one many times. I will attempt to explain what it is like.

Before you can even get into the room where the babies are, there is a sink. Everyone, before going into the next room, must scrub for three minutes. It is just like you see on TV when the doctor gets ready for surgery—you must scrub your hands and arms all the way to the elbows for a period of three minutes. This has changed from nine years ago—at that time we had to scrub for five minutes and had to remove all rings and jewelry on the wrists and arms. Now you are allowed to keep rings on. Once you have scrubbed, you must put a gown over your street clothes and then you can go into the room where the babies are.

The first thing you notice when you walk into the room is how dark it is. I’m not talking dark as night, just very subdued lighting. And this is understandable—all of the babies SHOULD still be in a very dark place, their mother’s womb! The next thing you notice are all of the machines. Every isolette has its own station with machines and monitors—everything needed to keep a premature infant alive and well. If the station is occupied, you notice the lights and the tracings on the monitors—these are to track heart rates, breathing, oxygen, etc. As you get closer to a baby, you notice how everything being used is in miniature form. All of the leads, tubes, needles, and other medical supplies are tiny to the point of being laughable. But then, you see how tiny the babies are and you know why everything is so small. It is not unusual to see a baby so tiny that a man’s wedding ring will fit on its upper arm—with room to spare!

The isolettes are clear plastic “boxes” with portholes on the sides. The top can be raised so the baby can be cared for and the portholes can be used to do minor procedures. These isolettes are on raised stands so that the baby is at a comfortable height for the nurses to care for her. If the baby doesn’t need to be under the ultraviolet light, you will often see the top of the isolette covered with a quilt so the baby won’t be disturbed.

Depending on the size of the baby, she could just be wearing a diaper (if she’s big enough to fit into a preemie size), or she will be lying there naked. Sometimes the baby will be wrapped in a blanket, but it is easier for them to do procedures if the baby is unclothed—if it is a matter of saving a life, the quicker you can get to the baby, the better. Often, the baby will be wearing a knit ski-cap. Once you are over your amazement at how small she is (which you never REALLY are), you see all of the wires and tubes. There is a feeding tube, either in the nose or the mouth, you can have an IV, there are leads on the chest for heart monitoring, etc., the foot has a lead to measure oxygen levels, and she could have an oxygen tube. Plus there could be various other things attached depending on how sick the baby is. Some babies look very sick—you really wonder if they will make it—and some just look like miniature versions of full-term babes. You really don’t want to see the sick-looking ones—they’ll break your heart.

It is very hard to spend a lot of time in the NICU. There really isn’t much to do other than sit and watch your baby. If the baby is well enough, it can be held for periods of time, but that is limited. It is unnerving to sit and watch the warning lights and hear all of the warning signals coming from your baby as well as all of the others. However, the more time you spend there the more you begin to recognize what is a very serious emergency and what isn’t. Sometimes a baby will move the wrong way and a lead will detach and that will start an alarm—those are welcome problems. Of course, there are times when an alarm will go off for a very serious reason and those are the times you, selfishly, pray it isn’t your baby setting off the alarm. Day after day you just sit and wait—wait for the baby to begin feeding normally, wait for the oxygen tube to go, wait for the IV to go, wait for the doctor to come and talk to you, wait for the baby to gain another ounce, wait, and wait, and wait. And secretly you are ashamed when you are relieved to see your baby is so much healthier than the rest in the NICU. And you wait and you pray for the day she will be able to go home with you.

For the most part, a stay in the NICU is for a long length of time. Most babies will be there for WEEKS, not days. It is truly amazing the way they are able to take care of the very littlest of the little ones and how very often they are perfectly healthy when they are discharged. I have seen two of my grandchildren make it through the NICU—with the third one there now—and I ask God to bless the nurses and doctors, and I thank Him, daily, for all they do. They are truly gifted and wonderful people. They are heroes. And I hope and I pray this is the last time I will have to watch a baby in the NICU.

And Life Goes On

C was discharged from the hospital on Sunday. Even though she is very sad at having to leave the baby here, she is very glad to be home and with her other kids. I talked with her earlier and she said she is doing fine. She is having a bit of difficulty walking, but that is understandable. Not only is there the pain from her incision, but she has that abdominal infection that has to completely go away. She also has a vein in her right arm that is infected now, along with the one in her left arm. I don't know, this just is one real bad time she has had.

Baby Grace is doing well. She has gained some weight and is a couple of ounces heavier than she was when she was born--this, of course, after her initial weight loss which happens to all newborns. She is now up to 8cc of food at every feeding and is able to suck on a pacifier. Of course, she doesn't know how to swallow food as she is still be fed through a feeding tube. She still hasn't needed any supplemental oxygen, so that is one very good sign. When I was there the other day, I was able to touch her through the isolette portholes--such soft skin! I lightly ran my fingers down her spine and she arched her back like a cat--so funny to see such a little one do that.

Grace has developed jaundice, which is quite common in newborns. They have her under the ultraviolet light and have to cover her eyes with a grey sleepmask to protect them. Not only does it look funny to see a 3 pound baby with a mask on, but the way it is attached is amusing. The mask is not held in place with a headband. Velcro "hooks" have been taped to her temples and the corresponding "loops" are on the mask, so the mask is Velcroed to her head! To say she is not amused is putting it mildly--she tries to pull the mask off every chance she gets.

All in all, things are going quite well. Thank God, cause things could be so much worse.

Quick Update

C was all set and ready to go home today and then she spiked a 102 fever last night. They figure she has some sort of infection and she won't be able to see the baby until late tonight--as long as her fever stays normal. Of course, she is BACK on antibiotics and will stay that way till they figure the infection is gone. NOW, they are saying she will be going home on Sunday--I hope so, cause she is going completely stir-crazy! They moved her into another room today--this is the third one she has been in. This one is even FURTHER from the nurses' station--out in no-man's (or woman's) land, for sure. The babe has a little bit of congestion in her lungs, but other than that, she is remarkably healthy. Don't think she will have to stay here for all that long before they send her home. It will be nice for all of us to get back to normal around here. :)

It's A Girl!

At 12:48 PM Grace came into this world. She is 3 pounds, 11 ounces and 17 inches long. So far everything seems to be going fine for her--no oxygen and they are thinking only a couple of weeks in the NICU. C, on the other hand, seems to have had a bit of a harder time. They had to give her a general anesthetic for the c-section--not the spinal she usually gets. She is on morphine for pain and will be for 24 hours. I didn't get to talk to her, of course, so I have only what her husband told me to go on--I'll see her this evening and maybe find out a bit more. But, for now, the waiting is over! Yippee!

A Child Is Born...Almost

I am sitting here waiting for C to call and say the baby has been born. She called this morning and said they were getting her prepped for surgery and that it will all be done this afternoon. We were pretty sure the babe would be born today--C started labor already yesterday and it continued to progress. This morning they gave her magnesium to try and stop the labor, but it didn't. She is happy it all will be over with, but she also knows the chances of the baby going home with her are very slim. I don't think the babe will have to be here in the NICU for very long--at least I hope not. I will post updates as they become available.

STILL Watching For Baby

I can't believe it is almost two weeks and C just doesn't seem any closer to delivering. Last night we had hope, though. Late in the evening she started having contractions--every 3 to 5 minutes! And they were getting quite strong. Well, she was positive the baby would be delivered by noon today, and the doctor was convinced it would happen soon, also. Around midnight she called her husband to come down to be with her and everything was moving along nicely and then the doctor did an exam--she was only dilated 1 cm. That fact made the doctor reconsider the decision to go forward with the c-section and gave C a muscle relaxant to see if the contractions would slow down. The contractions slowed down so much that they actually stopped! And so, C is still in the hospital, still getting bigger, and still as bored as a human can get.

Baby Watch Update and More

The only thing I can report about the baby watch is there is nothing to report. C is still in the hospital and it looks as if she will be here through the month--or until just before Halloween. Not a thing is changing from day to day--she said the doctors MAYBE spend about 30 seconds with her when they make their morning rounds. There just is nothing more they can say to her or ask her. I guess this baby is going to do things her own way and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Just got off the phone with the cable company--I have been having way too many problems lately with connecting to the internet. I am NOT pleased with any of the answers they gave me. First of all, they blamed the fact that the modem is plugged into a power strip--can't be the problem because I just transferred the plug from the wall to the power strip two days ago and the problems have been on-going for over a month. Then she blamed my router--never had these many problems before and I have had the router since I had my last computer. So, basically, I got nowhere with them. I would change from this company in a heartbeat if there was another option, but there isn't. No, that is wrong, there IS another option but I WILL NOT go back to dial-up!

I got the shock of my life on Saturday--my other daughter, A, stopped in. She hasn't been here for over a year, maybe closer to 2 years! The visit was fine--she came to pick up some more of the stuff she left here when she moved out. Maybe this is the first step to our getting back to getting along--I hope so.

More Baby Watch

C was feeling a bit happier today: she will only have to be here for (up to) four more weeks. After she gets to 36 weeks, she can go back home (or to the hospital there) because there will be no more need for the neonatal unit. She was able to shower today, which made her feel good. However, they have put her in support hose because of the swelling--something she isn't too delighted with. She has an IV going and antibiotics dripping all the time, just to keep infection away. She is allowed to get up to go to the bathroom, but she mostly is confined to bed. Tonight they moved her into a new room--she had been in one of the birthing suites and now she is in a small room. Thankfully she isn't caustrophobic, because it would have kicked in! This new room is only about half the size of the suite and with all the stuff they have jammed in there (monitors, IV stands, etc.) it seems even smaller. Well, I guess she doesn't really need a lot of space when she just stays in bed!

Baby Watch

Talked to C for a short time and not much to report. She is beginning to have contractions--a bit stronger than last night--but no pain and nothing regular. She will be having an ultrasound later today/this evening and she was having a non-stress test while we were talking, so they are keeping a close eye on her. I will be seeing her later, so there might be more to report tonight.

A non-stress test is to monitor the baby's heart rate. While on the fetal monitor, C has to press a button every time she feels the baby move so they can determine if the heart rate went up or not. During the test, the baby developed hiccups, so C was pressing that button with regularity. She said that, hopefully, the baby will move during the test--DUH!--and they have certain ways to make sure it happens. For instance, she drinks a glass of ice water before the test begins--this is supposed to get the baby moving. If that doesn't seem to help, they have a buzzer they place on the mother's stomach and press it to wake the baby up--sort of like a doorbell for the womb! I guess C has "seen" the baby practically jump out of her skin when they "buzz" her--of, course, this was while having an ultrasound. She said it is kind of funny to see--I guess in a slightly sadistic sort of way. :)

Here We Go Again

We received the call that we were hoping and praying wouldn't come: C was brought here by ambulance because her water broke. She is only 32 weeks along, and they want to do all they can to keep her from delivering for a while yet. I went to see her and she seems to be doing okay--of course, she would rather be home than in the hospital. There really is no more news than that--it is wait-and-see time. The doctor said she very likely will deliver sometime in the next 72 hours, but she could also be in the hospital for 8 weeks before delivering--nothing like getting definitive answers to questions, hey? I will post any news when it comes.

The Goddess Body

I have the body of a fertility goddess. That should make me happy, other women jealous, and men lust after me. Unfortunately, my body is NOT like the body of the goddess Brigit, but rather like the Venus of Willendorf. And as I get older, my body looks more and more like the Venus of Willendorf. Now I don't really know WHEN I began to look like this and I don't know when I actually admitted to myself that I was looking rather fertile-like, but I am not a happy camper! I know a lot of what I look like comes from genetics--my great-grandmother, for instance, had NO lap. She would rock me and instead of me being able to sit on her lap, she would hold me up against her massive belly, with my feet dangling. Of course, part of the reason she was so "stout" was the fact that she was only 4 feet 10 inches tall! Not very much area there to hide even ONE extra pound. Another reason for my looking like I do is the fact I have had some medical issues for years. I had a hysterectomy--which caused immediate menopause--and I have a screwed-up thyroid. Combine that with the achy joints and my drug of choice, food, and you have a Venus of Willendorf waiting to happen! And to top it all off, my doctor doesn't think I'm that far overweight! The man either is a chubby-chaser or he hasn't looked at the amount of weight I have gained since I have been going to him, but he isn't making me feel any better by denying what I already know: I NEED TO LOSE A GREAT DEAL OF WEIGHT FOR MY HEALTH! Oh, well, this is something that we have to figure out soon and I'm NOT looking forward to it. Why can't I be 5 foot 10 and have the metabolism of a race horse? Short is not fun.

ONLY $1 Billion?

Forbes recently published their list of the 400 richest people in America. Of course, I had to look through all 400 names just to see if I could find someone I could try and convince that I was a relative--no such luck! :) Anyway, as I was getting down the list, I found myself thinking, at one point, "Oh, only worth $1 billion!" Excuse me! ONLY worth $1 billion? I remember when $1 million was an enormous deal--and now $1 billion is an ONLY! I can't imagine, even today, what it would be like to have $1 million and $1 billion is completely beyond my understanding. Must be interesting to be rich enough to make the Forbes 400. And in a way, I'm glad I'm not there. Really. (I am trying to convince myself that this is true.) :)

More "What Is This World Coming To?" News

I still can't believe this story. Do some people just not think, or do they just crave sensationalism? Words fail.

Just Some Things

Last Friday C was granted full legal and physical custody of the girls from her first marriage. She had petitioned the court a couple of months ago and the case went to mediation--which her ex didn't attend--and then it went to court--which her ex didn't attend. It actually was pretty much a no-brainer all the way--the ex hasn't had any contact with the girls for about 6 months, so the judge didn't have much to think about before making his decision. Even though the girls say they don't feel bad about it, at some point they will feel hurt because he isn't a part of their lives.

C really blew me away yesterday. We were talking and we got around to the topic of the baby. She will have a c-section in two months--providing she can hang on that long. Anyway, I asked her what they will name the baby, and she said Grace. A pretty name and then I asked about the middle name and IT WILL BE THE MOTHER'S! I couldn't say a word. (When I told K, he just gave a little sarcastic chuckle.) So then C back-peddled and said the reason for the name ISN'T to name the baby after The Mother--she wanted one name, her husband wanted another name and they put them together and came up with The Mother's name. Her husband told The Mother the baby will be named after her--and C said she didn't correct the statement. Then C gave a sheepish giggle and that was the end of that. If C only knew the things The Mother has said about her, they would NEVER speak again. (If I told the things The Mother has said about most everyone she knows, she would be mighty lonely, cause she loves to "slice-and-dice" people.) However, I just don't care enough to make The Mother's life miserable--she'll get hers in the end--so I will keep my mouth shut.

And Just WHY Is The Country Going To Hell In A Handbasket?

OK, I might know a little too much about celebrities and what is going on in their world, but I really do have the time to read all the gossip. After all, there is only K and myself in this house, I don't work outside the home, and I definitely am not trying to run the country. That is why this just makes me shake my head--no wonder the country is in the state it is! Even our elected officials--during Supreme Court confirmation hearings!--remind everyone how important Paris Hilton is. Good grief.

The Federfetus Lives

US magazine has announced--as well as other mags, blogs, etc.--that Britney Spears had her baby today. If you don't want to see or hear about it over and over again, ad nauseam, stay away from all entertainment news programs and mags. This may all blow over in a few months--maybe when Angelina Jolie adopts another trophy kid.

It Just Doesn't Seem Right

(I am going to be commenting on something that might be old news. Please don't nail me to the wall--this is, after all, MY opinion!)

I was just reading the newest issue of People magazine and I read something that really upset me quite a bit. They did a short piece on the celebrities helping with the hurricane relief and in one place they listed the money that certain celebrities have donated. Here is what gets me mad: John Grishom has donated $5 million--PERSONALLY-- and Oprah's ANGEL NETWORK (not her PERSONALLY) has donated $1 million. Now, isn't she one of--if not THE--richest women in the US? All I saw her do personally was go to the disaster area--WITH CAMERAS!--and bitch about how this whole thing has racism attached to it. I just don't get how she gets away with the things she does and everyone thinks she is God's gift to the world! SHE doesn't give things away, the corporate sponsors do! Don't people see that? Now she is going to be the most wonderful person because her Angel Network will be giving to the disaster relief--and people such as John Grishom will be overlooked when it comes to thanking those who have helped. (Although, what I have read about him, he probably doesn't want any recognition for his donation.) Oh, well, some people think it is all about themselves.

Get Thee To The Batcave!

Wednesday night, all night, I sat in my car, in the driveway. Here's the story:

It was some time after 1:30 AM (technically, Thursday morning) and K was working the night shift. I was sitting at the counter in the kitchen and the cat was sleeping several feet away. Out of the corner of my eye I seemed to see something move. Sure enough, flying around the light was a bat. Actually, it was more of a BAT! I know it took less than a second to register as to what I was seeing, but I still didn't move--that is until it left the kitchen and came back. By now, I was screaming. Don't exactly know what the cat was doing--it was every woman for herself. I ran from the kitchen, through the dining room, into the living room, and finally into the bedroom. I peeked out the door and saw the damn thing swoop through the living room and knew I had to get out of the house. Quickly I pulled on a pair of jeans, grabbed the cordless phone, and left out the front door. Just for a fleeting moment did I think I was going to get my purse and cell phone--it was NEVER going to happen. My cell phone was in the kitchen and my purse--with my keys--was in the dining room, so I wasn't EVER going to go back in that direction until the BAT was gone. I didn't worry too much about being stranded outside because I had my cordless phone--STUPID ME! Of course, the phone didn't work outside. I had planned on calling K to see if he could come home, but now I had no way of doing that. I couldn't even go to one of the neighbors, as it was so late and everyone else was sleeping. So I sat in my car.

Shortly after 6:00 AM, K came home. He searched the entire house from the upstairs through the basement, and found nothing. He figured the BAT had left the way it got in, or had found a place to sleep for the day. So, with that in my mind, I finally got some sleep. That afternoon, after we had gotten up, we decided to go to C's house and bring Noelle's birthday gift--her birthday had been on Wednesday. We visited with the kids for a short while--they had to get to sleep--and went to visit K's sister, and then we came home. About this time, it was after midnight. K thought that if the BAT was still in the house, it would have come out to feed and he might be able to find it. Sure enough, there was the BAT, just clinging to the wall in the breakfast nook. K managed to get the thing out of the house and all was well, again. No, nothing will ever be completely well--we have no idea how the thing got into the house in the first place, so we can't be sure another one won't find it's way it! Pleasant thoughts.

On that note, I hope you all have a good weekend!

A Chuckle

A college student at a recent football game challenged a senior citizen sitting next to him, saying it was impossible for their generation to understand his.

"You grew up in a different world," the student said ... loud enough for the whole crowd to hear. "Today we have television, jet planes, space travel, man has walked on the Moon, our spaceships have visited Mars, we even have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing, and, uh ..."

Taking advantage of a pause in the student's litany, the geezer said, "You're right. We didn't have those things when we were young; so we invented them, you little shit! Now what the hell are you doing for the next generation?"



Just wanted to leave you with something to read--hope you got a chuckle. We've had some excitement here the last 24 hours, but I'll have to wait till tomorrow to write about it. Stay tuned! :)

A Horse of a Different Color

The particular "horse" I am talking about is the orange 1965 Mustang that has been sitting in my yard for over 3 and a half years. K always wanted an old Mustang, so he bought this one to "fix up." Frankly, I thought the thing was an eye-sore and not worth the money he spent on it. I think what really made me be against the damn thing was this: he informed me one evening that the car would be delivered the following morning while he was at work! He NEVER even mentioned that he was thinking about buying it--probably because he knew I would have vetoed the decision. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no problem if he wants to get himself a "toy." I just want him to have a toy that he can actually play with! This car was driven ONCE--to the garage where an oil change was done. I can't believe it ran well enough to get it there and back, but that was the last time it left our yard. There was NO WAY K was ever going to restore it, because we don't even have a garage for him to do the work in. So, the reason I'm even mentioning this: K has decided to sell the car! Yippee!! The one who will be buying it came to look at it today and if all goes well, I will not have to look at the orange horse after the end of this month. Hopefully K will have learned his lesson and the next Mustang he buys will already have been restored--a plan I could really get behind!