Our NICU Stay

The hardest part of this experience has been our daily visits to the NICU. The girls stay in the NICU began because of my insulin dependence during pregnancy. We were told they would have to spend a day or two in the NICU for their blood sugars to regulate. We were upset but decided to take advantage of the rest and I would try to heal faster. Once the girls blood sugars were normalizing more problems started to crop up. Gracie had trouble regulating her body temperature. Both girls became jaundiced on day 3. They both lost weight, but only a little more than was normal for any baby. Finally on day 3 we were able to get the girls in the same crib. It was so wonderful to see them together. On day 4 the billy ruben counts started to go down and we were over one hurdle.

On day 4 Abby started to drop off of her eating regimen. Each baby had a goal for how many cc's of formula they need to take. Gracie had a little touble with hers at first and lost more weight. Abby was eating less and less each day. We were holding out hope that it was just the jaundice and she would perk up. Instead it got worse and they decided to put an NG tube in her nose to help her. At the time we thought it would be a brief thing. Who knew it would be this long?

Gracie continued to thrive although on day 5 and 6 she lost weight so we thought they might keep her longer. Thank goodness they decided to let her come home. Abby still struggled to meet her goals and remained apathetic. Tuesday came and it was one of the hardest days of our lives. We had to split up our girls and leave that hospital without our little peanut. I cried almost all day and couldn't imagine leaving without her. It was a terrible experience for all of us.

The NICU is an interesting place. The positive is that we have met some of the most amazing nurses. Each one has added so much to our lives and our parenting skills. They have loved and cared for our girls when we couldn't. It is hard to leave the care of your child up to someone else, but these women were all wonderful. When we go in the NICU everyone knows us by name and greets us so warmly. The unfortunate part of the NICU is all the pain and heartache that happens there. So many parents dealing with so many heartbreaking stories. There is such a sense of commrodary amongst the parents of the NICU. Some we have become very friendly with. Other you simply smile and say hello. But even then we know that we are sharing in a similar experience. One day in the NICU is filled with joy when someone elses baby graduates or your baby has a good day. Then the next day might be terrible when you have setbacks.

SO for now Gracie is thriving at home. She has taken on an amazing little personality. Abby is doing a little better each day. She is still so small and pathetic looking but she is a fighter. I hate seeing her with all the monitors and her tube, but soon enough they will be gone. She has a goal of 42cc's of formula. I also supplement her with the pumped breast milk. She is gaining weight and maintaining her temperature. She is now taking between 20 and 30 cc's PO (by mouth) and the rest by tube. She just gets so tired that sometimes she can only eat 7 or 10 by mouth. Each day we pray that she gets stronger and closer to the day she comes home.