August 30, 2005

August 30, 2005

NICU nurses are some of the most astounding people I will ever meet on
God’s green earth.  Maybe it’s because I grew up around
conservative left-wing fanatical’s, who generally  have a vaguely
suspicious attitude toward the rest of the world. Whatever the case, I
leave the NICU every night pretty much astonished with how nice people
can be.   It’s like Barbie meets Ronald Reagan, with a healthy
dose of Andy Griffith, but as comforting as your favorite
Grandmother.   I sheepishly admit I can get along with
anybody, but underneath it all I can be harshly critical. 
However, even the worst nurses are nicer and more competent
than…well  me ( not that I’m either of
those)..  Still, I find it somewhat frustrating, that just when I
get used to having one nurse, twelve hours later I get a new
one.   With one hundred and seventy five nurses, rotating
between sixty babies,  it’s rather improbable you’ll get the same
nurse for more than a couple times (if you’re lucky).   On the
bright side,  every single nurse has their own opinions about a
variety of things (burping, nursing, bottle feeding) it’s like a crash
course in parenting every twelve hours, so I’m not complaining.
By the time we take Jamie home, we should be experts (ha, ha)
A few the more memorable ones.
Rachel:   Cutest, most beautiful nurse you’ll ever meet.
Except for the missing white dress and hat, she was the stereotypical
nurse you’d picture in a Norman Rockwell painting.  Helpful, funny
and humble, I sincerely hope she wins some sort of medal.
Dahli:  Probably my least favorite nurse, but definitely one of
the wisest.   She was an ancient little Chinese lady, with
more tricks up her sleeve than….(I’m not sure what).   The
other nurses joked about how she’d been in the NICU for thousands of
years.  She rules the place in her own sort of way.  Even the
Dr.’s run terrified from her.   I don’t know if she didn’t
speak much English,  or if she just enjoyed repeating,  “You
no do right….you amateur mother”. all the time.   After
about two hours of nearly putting me in tears,  I discovered her
bite really wasn’t as bad as her bark. 
Paula:  Stands above the crowd for having no
personality.   Sometimes I had the evil desire to pinch her
and see if she was real, or just a realistic looking
droid.    I still have a sneaking suspicion she’s not
quite human, some how she was vaguely like Data from
StarTrek.   She did absolutely everything perfectly,
she was perfectly nice, perfectly competent, so I don’t have anything
to complain about,  it was just a little eerie.
Mark:   I never would have guessed that the gay, male nurse
from New Zealand would be more helpful than the lactation specialist
when it came to breastfeeding.    Oh well for
stereotypes.    He’s also the most intelligent nurse
I’ve had
yet, and if not the most intelligent, he was definitely the most
interesting conversationalist.   While most nurses discreetly
stand in the background keeping an attentive eye on your baby and
monitor,  Mark pulls up a chair and carries on a lively
conversation about any number of cool and fascinating
things.   It was a nice change.
Well I’m off to the NICU again.  I apologize for the lack of
diversity in blog entries.  When my life ceases to consist
entirely of eating, sleeping, or living in the NICU,  I’m sure
I’ll include fascinating things like, what diaper brand I like best, or
whether or not Carter’s or OshKosh makes the best baby
clothes.  
Until then…

August 19, 2005

August 19, 2005

was going to write a “real” entry but find I’m a little more exhausted
than I previously thought.  So many apologies, but I’m just going
to copy the update I just wrote.>
Jamie’s doing well all things considering. I’ve learned that there is
no such thing as normal in the NICU. It’s a progression of events…two
steps forward and one step back. Last weekend he was transferred to a
level 3 NICU due to GI tract “issues”. He couldn’t keep anything down,
gain any weight, or poop. Anyway, that was resolved (after a few
terrifying days) and the latest “crisis” is his blood sugar. Apparently
it’s normal for IUGR babies (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) to have
problems with their blood sugar dropping dangerously low, but it
normally resolves itself in a few days. Jamie’s however was
continuously dropping, resulting in a constant glucose IV. They sent
out blood tests to the lab to see if he has a hormone problem of some
kind. The results haven’t come back yet, but when the neo-natalogist
found out high metabolism’s run in the family, he felt that was most
likely the cause, so they upped his calorie intake by fortifying my
breast milk, and have slowly weaned him of the IV. yay!
To come home Jamie needs to be able to do four things consistently.
One, he has to breathe on his own (which he does well, he’s never had
any problems with his lungs). Two, maintain his body temperature
without the help of an isolette (they just moved him to an open crib
today, so we’ll see how he does with that). Three, he has to
consistently gain weight (which he is doing…finally) Four, he has to
get rid of his feeding tube, and be able to either nurse, or take a
bottle. (this is proving to be rather difficult, but we’re working on
it). He also has to avoid any more “episodes” as his nurse calls them.
That includes his blood sugar remaining stable, and any other
unexpected “issues” that may surprise us. All in all we’re quite
grateful he’s doing so well. Jim and I were holding him the other night
and marveling at how tiny he is, and his nurse
reprimanded us, telling us to look around the NICU and see that Jamie
is not “tiny”
he’s just “petite”. He’s surrounded by babies who are only barely a
pound and can’t breathe on their own, while he’s a whopping three
pounds and his lungs are perfectly fine.
Jim and I are doing fine. I don’t know where I got this head cold, but
it sure came at the worst time. You can pray I get better soon, as I’m
not sure how much longer I can stand not seeing Jamie. His daddy’s with
him now, and Jim promised me he’d say hello, so I guess I’ll have to
console myself with that.
Hope this didn’t bore you all…

August 19, 2005

August 19, 2005

August 11, 2005

August 11, 2005

I finally got Elizabeth’s laptop to connect to the wireless from my new room.  I contemplated sneaking back into my old room just to borrow the Internet, but I doubted how understanding the new occupants would be.

Jamie is here,  he arrived at 8:43 PDT.  He weighed 3 lbs. .4 oz (why the .4 is important I don’t know).   He was whisked directly to the NICU, which was fine with me.  He’s healthy and that was the truly important news. 

I have lots of questions, ramblings, and descriptions (which I’m sure most people will find disgusting), but I’ll save those for a later date.  Between the drugs and faulty wireless connection I’m completely incoherent.  I’ve had to stop writing this small update several times just cause I can’t for the life of me remember what I was going to say next, then before you can respond with the obvious, “How is that different from normal?” … I’m sound asleep.

Off to take more drugs…

An Update

Jamie's doing well all things considering. I've learned that there is
no such thing as normal in the NICU. It's a progression of events...two
steps forward and one step back. Last weekend he was transferred to a
level 3 NICU due to GI tract "issues". He couldn't keep anything down,
gain any weight, or poop. Anyway, that was resolved (after a few
terrifying days) and the latest "crisis" is his blood sugar. Apparently
it's normal for IUGR babies (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) to have
problems with their blood sugar dropping dangerously low, but it
normally resolves itself in a few days. Jamie's however was
continuously dropping, resulting in a constant glucose IV. They sent
out blood tests to the lab to see if he has a hormone problem of some
kind. The results haven't come back yet, but when the neo-natalogist
found out high metabolism's run in the family, he felt that was most
likely the cause, so they upped his calorie intake by fortifying my
breast milk, and have slowly weaned him of the IV. yay!
To come home Jamie needs to be able to do four things consistently.
One, he has to breathe on his own (which he does well, he's never had
any problems with his lungs). Two, maintain his body temperature
without the help of an isolette (they just moved him to an open crib
today, so we'll see how he does with that). Three, he has to
consistently gain weight (which he is doing...finally) Four, he has to
get rid of his feeding tube, and be able to either nurse, or take a
bottle. (this is proving to be rather difficult, but we're working on
it). He also has to avoid any more "episodes" as his nurse calls them.
That includes his blood sugar remaining stable, and any other
unexpected "issues" that may surprise us. All in all we're quite
grateful he's doing so well. Jim and I were holding him the other night
and marveling at how tiny he is, and his nurse
reprimanded us, telling us to look around the NICU and see that Jamie
is not "tiny"
he's just "petite". He's surrounded by babies who are only barely a
pound and can't breathe on their own, while he's a whopping three
pounds and his lungs are perfectly fine.
Jim and I are doing fine. I don't know where I got this head cold, but
it sure came at the worst time. You can pray I get better soon, as I'm
not sure how much longer I can stand not seeing Jamie. His daddy's with
him now, and Jim promised me he'd say hello, so I guess I'll have to
console myself with that.
Hope this didn't bore you all...

A baby!

I finally got Elizabeth's laptop to connect to the wireless from my new room.  I contemplated sneaking back into my old room just to borrow the Internet, but I doubted how understanding the new occupants would be.

Jamie is here,  he arrived at 8:43 PDT.  He weighed 3 lbs. .4 oz (why the .4 is important I don't know).   He was whisked directly to the NICU, which was fine with me.  He's healthy and that was the truly important news. 

I have lots of questions, ramblings, and descriptions (which I'm sure most people will find disgusting), but I'll save those for a later date.  Between the drugs and faulty wireless connection I'm completely incoherent.  I've had to stop writing this small update several times just cause I can't for the life of me remember what I was going to say next, then before you can respond with the obvious, "How is that different from normal?" ... I'm sound asleep.

Off to take more drugs...

Finally a plan

It's frustrating when the best OB's and Perinatalogist's also happen to
be the busiest.  Why can't they just sit around and answer my
questions, while waiting on me hand and foot.  After all, I am
paying around $40,000 for their services.
So...after much deliberation, confusion, and irritation (at least on my
part) The official news (likely to change at any given moment) is
c-section at 8:00 pm.
Until then....