Day 12

We were so close to taking Nicholas home last Saturday (11/6).  We went over the discharge plans with the docs, scheduled a follow up visit with a pediatrician, took infant CPR class, learned how to give Nicholas a bath, and even purchased a car seat made to fit a baby under five pounds.  Nicholas, however, wasn’t quite ready.  He had a hard time maintaining his own body temperature in an open crib, and was transferred to a temperature-controlled isolette on Friday night.

The good news is that Nicholas is eating well and gaining weight.  He lost a little weight at birth (as all babies do), but he has just exceed his birth weight of 5 lbs yesterday.  It should only be a matter of time before he fattens up enough and is able to control his own temperature. 

Razvan and I have been visiting Nicholas and spending 6+ hours in the NICU every day.  We brought him all kinds of stuff to keep him warm, warm blankets, fleecy outfits, and hats.  We’ve also been doing lots of skin-to-skin contact with him (Kangoroo care) to warm him up.  The nurses, of course, have been extremely cautious about putting him in an open crib again, and said that he needs to demonstrate a consistent body temperature in the range of 98.1-98.5 before switching him to an open crib.  He’s been pretty close to that, but sometimes his temperature would drop to like 97.5, and that’s not good enough.

Anyway, around 4am last night, despite all odds, Nicholas transitioned to an open crib.  The nurses still think he wasn’t quite ready, but they had no choice in the matter.  Nicholas had a major “poop explosion” last night and pooped all over his isolette.  His isolette required major cleaning, and the nurses did not have another isolette immediately available for him.  So he ended up in an open crib.  Razvan and I are gearing up for another visit and some skin-to-skin care to warm him up.

I am feeling much better, by the way.  The diuretics prescribed by my doc helped me get rid of most of excess water in my body.  I lost 12 lbs in two days!  I still have some excess water, but it’s nothing compared to what it was last week!  Yesterday was the first day since coming home that I was able to get out of bed without Razvan’s help.  Today was the first time I took our dog out on walk.  I am enjoying healing and recovery, and slowly regaining control over my body.

Holding hands with mommy

Sleeping on daddy's hairy chest

Smiling or pooping?  You'll never know!