I lived at Logan Regional Hospital for 20 days. Here are some reasons why I liked it, and some pictures to show you my experience.
1. It was just me and him. I spent a few hours with the kids in the morning, and the rest of the day was just me and Walker. We bonded, we snuggled, it was great. I nursed him uninterrupted which would never have happened at home.
2. I had the best nurses ever, and we had so much fun together. Seriously, I LOVED them. We had wonderful, quiet talks behind my closed curtain in my room. We had hilarious, loud talks by the front desk. They were probably glad to get rid of me, but I was sad to leave them. All of the NICU staff are like a family. It was a privilege getting to spend 2.5 weeks with them. Oh yeah, and they took great care of Walker too. ;)
3. I learned things in the NICU, and I LOVE to learn. I learned amazing things medically, I even learned more about baby care, which I thought I had a pretty good handle on after raising 4 of them. I tirelessly ask questions, and I love to have them answered by someone other than Google.
4. The facility is amazing. I don't know how many NICU's are like ours. Ours is huge. We had our own room the whole time, and it was quite large. It has a big curtain, so we had privacy as we nursed.
5. Common bonds. It is an organization formed by parents who have been through the NICU experience. They provide snacks for all the parents, gifts every day or two that they leave in your room (not small gifts either, they were pretty substantial some days and they really brighten your day), and they provide a camera and printer so you can capture moments of your baby when you are unprepared.
6. As I'm typing this I'm just realizing that every new mother would like an instruction manual for their child. I felt like for 2.5 weeks I had one. My own personal nurse taking constant care of my baby and helping me with every decision. I looked at them with helpless eyes when I couldn't figure out how to make that baby eat. They responded with so much experience. I have raised 4 babies..... Who knows how many they have taken care of, but.....quite a few more I'm sure! They changed most of the diapers and weighed each diaper to make sure everything was in order. They were certain to alternate sleeping positions to keep his head nice and round. They bathed him every other day. They helped me decide how best to feed him for that particular day to help him the most. They weighed him before and after he ate so that we knew how much he was getting and how much we needed to supplement through his ng tube. And they called me when it was time to feed him. Goodness, they handed me a fresh blanket and burp cloth and offered me a drink with every feeding. It was wonderful.
I wish I could let you all in to my experience there, it was so special. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It wasn't hard at all, it was a pleasure. I worry that I will feel like I'm missing something if I don't have a NICU stay with my next baby. I know that sounds so weird!
Pre and Post weights to see how much he ate (measured in grams)- yes I have many chins, and yes, I hope to transfer them to my baby!
He was in room 2 which has "Angel Baby" written on the wall. It was so appropriate, he was the most angelic baby in there I think. He was really well behaved. Still is. That recliner was where I sat every 3 hours.
The pump that fed him.
Our little wired up baby. We've gone wireless now. :)
His cute little feet
Notice how big my hand is next to him. He was so tiny. It makes me crazy that he's grown so much already.
Every time we fed him we had to match the number on his ankles to the number on the label of the milk I pumped. That way I never fed him someone else's milk! I was kind of sad cutting off his shackles when we got home. He's no longer a prisoner... I mean patient!
Look how small he is next to my cell phone. And I have a small cell phone!
The equipment side of the room. monitors, oxygen, etc.
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