NICU Doozies

I know it was aweful of me, but I was jealous of other mothers who had been able to hold their children after their birth and hear them cry. On day 7 I was able to hold Emma and as I mentioned in my earlier posting it was a fantastic experience. What a little miracle! Two days later I "kangarooed" Jehu for about 15 minutes. Since neither had much of the fat acquired in the last couple of months in the womb our snuggles couldn't last very long. Once they gained some weight and were able to maintain their body temperature better our cuddles lasted longer. The NICU experience is something you never forget...especially your first visit. First you scrub your hands and forearms then you sign in. Seeing all of the isolettes and little ones makes you realize how precious life is. Your hearing is bombarded with beeps, whistles and alarms. Medical personal circulate throughout the six rooms assessing each child and documenting EVERYTHING on a chart. Several of the nurses became quick "favorites". Meredith made sure our twins were reunited in the same room as soon as a spot next to Emma became available. Donna was so encouraging. Laura was extremely gentle. Michelle made us laugh and practically adopted Jehu. Joycelyn became Jehu's "girlfriend." Cindy was like a mother and grandmother. We settled into a routine fairly quickly with daily visits. Joe would go to work then visit in the evening. Since I was recovering from the c-section I had eight weeks off of work and generally I would visit by mid-morning. Occasionally we couldn't enter because doctors were performing a procedure in the room. In the beginning we felt so badly for those families who had already had a child in the unit for a couple of weeks or a month. We couldn't imagine what it would be like to have one there for a month or longer. We soon found out. Some days were better than others. Jehu had liver and gall bladder difficulties in the beginning and turned very red. He and Emma would be off the respirator one day and on the next until finally they could breathe on their own. Emma was a squirmer. One day she moved to the bottom of the isolette and had her feet against the wall. Another time, as daddy was filming, she straightened her legs underneath her to push her bottom in the air as if she heard him when he said, "stand up Emma". If we didn't have the video I wouldn't believe she did it.

The twins spent their first Christmas in the NICU. Some of the nurses had made Christmas quilts for all of the babies. Ours received matching ones with gingerbread men and stars...they were so precious. We hung tiny stockings given to us by our neighbors, Jim and Shannon, on their isolettes.