Life at the NICU

Emma chillin'


The Billy Lights



It's crazy how much you learn and need to learn when your children are in the NICU. We met an amazing couple last night that has been through quite a struggle. They are full of knowledge about life in the NICU. Emma and Mady are doing well. Emma does have an infection, which may be the cause of our early labor. They are treating both of them with antibiotics for 7 days. They are now under the Billy lights which helps with jaundice. They are doing well under those, so they may not be under them for too long. We're hoping that Emma will start with her feeding tube today. They will most likely make that decision after rounds today. Mady is struggling a little with her breathing. She's on a CPAP, which is slightly assisted breathing with room air (I think...it's a lot to try to understand). Her chest x-rays have been showing some fuzziness in her lungs. Her blood gas levels have been a little high and they gave her another dose of Surfactant last night. She did lose some weight yesterday which is a good thing believe it or not. They want to make sure she gets any excessive fluid out of her. The fluid may or may not be what is affecting her breathing. It's hard to watch those two with the tubes in them, especially Mady, but when they grab and clutch on to your finger with their tiny hands it's amazing! We love them so much!

I'm now at home. I was released last night and we hung out in the NICU till about 11:00 to wait for some blood results for Mady. I've started pumping in there as well. I guess it's supposed to really help your pumping if you are there with your baby, even if you can't hold them. I can't wait for the day that we can hold them... even if it's only for 15 minutes. I'm feeling okay, still very tired and a little sore. My breast milk is definitely coming in and I'm feeling very full and sore.

I know that I need to focus on now, but I'm so worried about the time I will NEED with my kids when they come home. They are preemies and will need me for 6-8 weeks after they come home. I'm hoping that my employer and I can figure something out. After all we've all been through, I will not bring my babies home and then leave them right away. I know it will mean time without pay and we will figure that out... they are more important than a pay check right now.