Dear Emmett,
We got to hold you for the first time today. You've begun to slow your breathing down, though not yet to the point where you can come off the CPAP machine. It was a wonderful experience to hold you in my arms. I could feel your little body working to breathe as I cradled you in my hand. You gave me a bit of a scare when one of your leads popped off and the monitors lost your heartbeat. But the nurse came in and fixed everything back up for you. I only got to hold you for about 20 minutes, but I could've stared at your face for hours.
You also started to digest the food the nurses have been giving you, and that is a great sign. You still have a feeding tube, and likely will for a while yet. When the nurse checked your tummy, there was very little left, so she was able to give you a full syringe of new milk.
Mommy is still at the hospital tonight, but I had to come home to stay with the dogs. I miss you so much. I know it is going to be hard when your Mom comes home tomorrow and you won't just be an elevator ride away. I am glad, though, that we live very close to where you are staying and can come visit whenever we like. I will see you tomorrow and I can't wait.
Love,
Daddy
Showing posts with label NICU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NICU. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Day Three
Hi Emmett!
Your mom and I came to see you three times today. You were still jaundiced, so you still had to have the special lights on you. You had a feeding tube put in so you could begin eating your mom's milk. You weren't digesting anything quite yet, but it's just like priming the engine for now. Soon you should be digesting and getting some more nutrition. Your nurse, Macara, showed us how she can suck out whatever's in your tummy to see how much you have eaten. Whatever you haven't yet gets put back in for another try.
Mommy got to change your diaper for the first time today. She told me later that she was nervous, but that she was glad she did it. We are both getting more comfortable being around tiny little you.
It may sound strange to say it, but every time you cry, I smile. It's good to hear your little voice even though you may be upset. For now, you don't cry a lot though, just when you get moved around too much! It's wonderful to see you kick your skinny little legs and your teeny-tiny toes are so adorable.
On our final visit tonight, your nurse for the night, Stefani, turned off the jaundice lights and took your shades off. I got some good pictures of you and you even opened up your eyes to say hello! I know you don't like all the lights right now. Your mom and I took turns comforting you and even held our hands on you together. You're still breathing too fast, but the nurses and doctors assure us that your lungs will continue to develop and eventually you'll slow down. Then we can hold you!
Night night little one,
Your Dad, Jason
Your mom and I came to see you three times today. You were still jaundiced, so you still had to have the special lights on you. You had a feeding tube put in so you could begin eating your mom's milk. You weren't digesting anything quite yet, but it's just like priming the engine for now. Soon you should be digesting and getting some more nutrition. Your nurse, Macara, showed us how she can suck out whatever's in your tummy to see how much you have eaten. Whatever you haven't yet gets put back in for another try.
Mommy got to change your diaper for the first time today. She told me later that she was nervous, but that she was glad she did it. We are both getting more comfortable being around tiny little you.
It may sound strange to say it, but every time you cry, I smile. It's good to hear your little voice even though you may be upset. For now, you don't cry a lot though, just when you get moved around too much! It's wonderful to see you kick your skinny little legs and your teeny-tiny toes are so adorable.
On our final visit tonight, your nurse for the night, Stefani, turned off the jaundice lights and took your shades off. I got some good pictures of you and you even opened up your eyes to say hello! I know you don't like all the lights right now. Your mom and I took turns comforting you and even held our hands on you together. You're still breathing too fast, but the nurses and doctors assure us that your lungs will continue to develop and eventually you'll slow down. Then we can hold you!
Night night little one,
Your Dad, Jason
Monday, February 7, 2011
Day Two
Dear Emmett,
Today you got to meet your mom for the first time. She cried when she saw how little you were, but she was very happy to see you. I showed her how to cuddle your head and feet. The nurses had to put you back on the CPAP machine because you were still breathing too fast. You were also jaundiced, so you got to wear a tiny pair of protective sunglasses and sit under a special light. You lost some weight from when you were born, but that is natural. In fact, your weight will go up and down for a little while before you start to gain some and grow. We also learned that you have A positive blood. Most importantly, we gave you your name today! We wanted to wait until both your mom and I got to see you. Everyone loves your name and we think it suits you perfectly.
You got to meet a lot of new people today. In addition to your mom, your grandparents came to visit. Grandma Joyce came to see you in the evening and she cuddled you like your mom and I did. She was so excited to see you. Grandpa John didn't see you because he was worried he might be sick and that could make you and the other babies in the NICU sick. You will get to meet him soon.
Grandma Toni and Grandpa Eddie came up after dinner and got to see you too. They took lots of pictures and oohed and aahed over you. They love you and can't wait to hold you.
I love you,
Your Dad, Jason
Today you got to meet your mom for the first time. She cried when she saw how little you were, but she was very happy to see you. I showed her how to cuddle your head and feet. The nurses had to put you back on the CPAP machine because you were still breathing too fast. You were also jaundiced, so you got to wear a tiny pair of protective sunglasses and sit under a special light. You lost some weight from when you were born, but that is natural. In fact, your weight will go up and down for a little while before you start to gain some and grow. We also learned that you have A positive blood. Most importantly, we gave you your name today! We wanted to wait until both your mom and I got to see you. Everyone loves your name and we think it suits you perfectly.
You got to meet a lot of new people today. In addition to your mom, your grandparents came to visit. Grandma Joyce came to see you in the evening and she cuddled you like your mom and I did. She was so excited to see you. Grandpa John didn't see you because he was worried he might be sick and that could make you and the other babies in the NICU sick. You will get to meet him soon.
Grandma Toni and Grandpa Eddie came up after dinner and got to see you too. They took lots of pictures and oohed and aahed over you. They love you and can't wait to hold you.
I love you,
Your Dad, Jason
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Day One
Dear Emmett,
Today, you were born at 7:50 a.m. You came to us about 10 weeks early because your mom had a condition called preeclampsia. We were both scared and overjoyed to meet you. You were born cesarean section, which means the doctor cut open your mom's womb and pulled you out into the world. The doctor held you up for us to see you and then you were quickly whisked away to be treated.
Because you were born so early, you will have to spend several weeks in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) where you will be well taken care of by specially trained medical staff all day long. The NICU doctors were in the delivery room and started taking care of you immediately. Your mom was getting stitched back up and I waited with her to see you one last time in the delivery room before you were transferred to the NICU. The doctors brought you over to us all bundled up in a blanket. You were so tiny!
An hour or so later, I was able to come up to see you in your new hospital room. You were cozy in your incubator and hooked up to a lot of monitors that measured your heart rate, respiration, levels of oxygen and CO2 in your blood and you had an IV through which you are fed sugar water (glucose) for now. You were also hooked up to a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine, which helps you get more oxygen in your lungs. One of your doctors told me that you have HMD (Hyaline membrane disease) which basically means your lungs are not fully developed. Because of that, you're breathing faster than you should be.
I took a few photos of you to show to your mom because she cannot come to see you just yet. She has to spend 24 hours getting a special medicine (magnesium sulfate) and lying in bed. She is anxious to meet you and give you your name.
Later in the day, I came back to see you and your nurses had taken you off the CPAP machine. I got to see your cute little face and all the dark hair on your head! You were super cute all curled up on your tummy. I snapped a few more photos and some video since you were moving around. The nurse let me change your diaper for the first time, I'm sure the novelty will wear off! I also gave you a little sugar water in your mouth while the nurse tested your blood sugar.
I said goodbye and promised to bring mom back tomorrow morning.
Love,
Your Dad, Jason
P.S. - Today was Super Bowl Sunday. The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV. A little bit of trivia for when you get older.
Today, you were born at 7:50 a.m. You came to us about 10 weeks early because your mom had a condition called preeclampsia. We were both scared and overjoyed to meet you. You were born cesarean section, which means the doctor cut open your mom's womb and pulled you out into the world. The doctor held you up for us to see you and then you were quickly whisked away to be treated.
Because you were born so early, you will have to spend several weeks in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) where you will be well taken care of by specially trained medical staff all day long. The NICU doctors were in the delivery room and started taking care of you immediately. Your mom was getting stitched back up and I waited with her to see you one last time in the delivery room before you were transferred to the NICU. The doctors brought you over to us all bundled up in a blanket. You were so tiny!
An hour or so later, I was able to come up to see you in your new hospital room. You were cozy in your incubator and hooked up to a lot of monitors that measured your heart rate, respiration, levels of oxygen and CO2 in your blood and you had an IV through which you are fed sugar water (glucose) for now. You were also hooked up to a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine, which helps you get more oxygen in your lungs. One of your doctors told me that you have HMD (Hyaline membrane disease) which basically means your lungs are not fully developed. Because of that, you're breathing faster than you should be.
I took a few photos of you to show to your mom because she cannot come to see you just yet. She has to spend 24 hours getting a special medicine (magnesium sulfate) and lying in bed. She is anxious to meet you and give you your name.
Later in the day, I came back to see you and your nurses had taken you off the CPAP machine. I got to see your cute little face and all the dark hair on your head! You were super cute all curled up on your tummy. I snapped a few more photos and some video since you were moving around. The nurse let me change your diaper for the first time, I'm sure the novelty will wear off! I also gave you a little sugar water in your mouth while the nurse tested your blood sugar.
I said goodbye and promised to bring mom back tomorrow morning.
Love,
Your Dad, Jason
P.S. - Today was Super Bowl Sunday. The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl XLV. A little bit of trivia for when you get older.
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