NICU--Day 2

Today was a crazy day--maybe not in the eyes of the NICU nurses. It was probably all quite normal for them. But it felt that way to me and now I'm really tired. But I want to get the details of the day written down before I forget.

When Jason and I went down to visit Lexi this morning, she already looked better to me only because all the tape that holds her vent in place had been changed and didn't look so messy and overwhelming. She still hadn't had her hair washed and her blonde fuzz was still quite matted and messy. Soon after arriving, a neonatologist came to see us and told us that in an ultrasound, it looked as though there was some calcifications that they would look into tomorrow during the surgery. Sometimes these occur due to a perferation along the intestine which will often heal itself. They said it was probably nothing to worry about. He confirmed that the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 10 a.m. The nurse said that we can hold her before she goes into surgery but we'll need to be there around 8 a.m.

Soon after talking to the doctor, they came to do the echocardiogram to make sure the heart was okay. The tech didn't see anything concerning and the fact that no cardiologist came to talk to us about it indicates that everything is fine.

Right after the heart scan, the nurse was listening to Lexi's lungs and thought the left lower lobe sounds were diminished. A respiratory therapist and the neonatologist agreed, so an x-ray was done to check the placement of the vent. The x-ray revealed that the vent needed to be inserted a half centimeter deeper and once they did that, her lungs sounded fine. Whew.

When I returned to see Lexi later in the afternoon with Pop Pop and JoJo, I was thrilled when the nurse asked me if I wanted to take her temperature and change her diaper. Never thought I'd be so happy to change a diaper. Even though she can't digest yet, her body is still ridding itself of things from when she was in utero.

I returned to the room and met with the lactation consultant. Ugh. I'm not one of those people who thrives on bonding with my child while nursing. Luckily, the consultant wasn't one of those hard core, my way or the highway, breast feed or die types. But this lactation consultant had to be the most boring, personality-free women I've ever met. She made me so tired! She left her number if I needed anything. I may call her tonight if I have any difficulty falling asleep...

Later in the afternoon, a PICC line was placed in her right foot. She still has her IV for now but hopefully won't need it much longer since she has the PICC line. She had visits from Jason's parents and sister. When I returned to visit Lexi in the evening the nurse finally gave her a good bath. Her fuzzy blonde hair just cracks me up, pointing straight up. It's just screaming for a big bow. Her weight is now at 5 lbs 8 oz.

I am feeling great and will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Luckily, as long as there are extra rooms on the unit, they will discharge me in the computer at 11 p.m., but I can stay an extra night in the hospital. If that doesn't work, a social worker can arrange for me to stay in a room and the hospital's hotel nearby.

Time for bed. Tomorrow is sure to be a long day...