Having a baby in the NICU is always
difficult, whether your baby is there for a few days or a few months. You’re separated from your baby and it’s hard
to even feel like a parent because you’re not your child’s primary caregiver. In the beginning, you have to ask permission
just to hold your own kid! No matter
what milestone your baby has just reached, every day is dominated by the
constant fear of what will go wrong next.
The babies are so young and fragile that there are bound to be some
hiccups along the way. No matter what
great thing EJ had done that day or how optimistic I was feeling, at some point
during the day the exhaustion and emotions and worry would catch up with me. I cried every day until EJ came home.
After his very scary first week, EJ
turned a corner and never looked back.
In his second week, they started considering him a feeder and grower,
which meant he had no major problems and just had to keep eating and growing so
he could go home. He had some goals he
needed to meet along the way, like breathing on his own, maintaining his body
temperature, and taking all his feedings orally, and these took time. It was frustrating
sometimes because he had so much to accomplish before being discharged and it
felt like he would never go home. It
helped that it seemed like every few days he was meeting a goal, and he
consistently met them sooner than the doctors told us he would. The nurses called him the Tiny Overachiever,
but around here he’s known by the nickname our friend Rachel gave him: EJ
Horton, Super Preemie!
We were
very, very fortunate with EJ, and most families aren’t as lucky as we were. On top of avoiding any major health issues,
we had a wonderful support system. Our families
and friends were all encouraging and praying for EJ. Friends of friends who we didn’t even know
were sending good wishes! My Dad is a
pediatrician and works in the NICU, so he was able to answer questions and
explain things, and my younger sister was a preemie, so I’d had some experience
visiting her in the NICU and caring for her.
Up until EJ was born, I was a nanny for eight year old twins who were
thirty weekers in the very same NICU EJ was in, so it was incredibly
encouraging to see how they were normal, smart, strong kids. I felt so fortunate to be able to talk to
their mom about the situations we were dealing with since she had been through
exactly what we were going through, only with two babies! The doctors, nurses, and staff at the
hospital were all very kind and helpful, and all in all we couldn’t really ask
for more.
After
39 long days, EJ was discharged from the hospital and came home. It was that happiest moment we had been
waiting for since I got pregnant. We
didn’t get it the moment he was born, but we got it just the same, and it’s
even more precious to us in light of the journey we took to get there.
Here are some pictures from EJ’s time living in the NICU.
So tiny!
My Mom came to help us for two weeks and EJ loved meeting his Grandma Karen!
Oops! This was waiting for us one day.
Our good friends Rachel and Dean came to meet EJ when he was 2 1/2 weeks old.
Three weeks old and breathing on his own! EJ's nasal cannula was removed (Pete's taking it off in the upper left picture) and all he had left was his NG tube for feeding. We can finally see that little face! We were so surprised by how different he looked.
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