Nicu Days 1, 2 and 3

So I am going to try to document our nicu journey. Try is the key word. Life is busy.

Day 1: Friday, April 5, 2013
Evan was born at 9:35AM. Oliver was born at 9:38AM. After they got Evan out, Oliver flipped and my uterus started clamping down on Oliver. They gave me a shot of nitro to relax my uterus and after 3 minutes of dramatic tugging, Oliver was born. Both boys were immediately taken away next door to a place called "the nest" where they were resuscitated and stabilized. They were is rough shape. Evan's initial APGAR score was 1. Oliver's was higher, but still not great. I heard Oliver give a weak cry, but not Evan. After I was sewn up, the delivering doc asked if I wanted to see the "remarkable" placenta. I did. Even as a non-medical person, I could see why it was remarkable. One half was pale, pale pink (Evan's half) and the other half was deep purple.

I was then pushed to recovery to wait for a room and Alex stayed in the nest with the babies for awhile. I recovered well - just the usual exhaustion and post surgery nausea. Eventually, the nurses wheeled my bed down to the nest so I could get a peak. I think I missed the big drama, because although I knew they were sick, I expected them to look worse.

I finally got a room and continued to recover. I tried to get up on several occasions to go to the nicu, but just felt too woozy. Auntie Lauren, Alex and Emmeline went down and Emmeline got to meet her little brothers. Later that evening, I made it down as well. They were doing so well. By the time I went down, Evan was already off his ventilator and Oliver was about to come off.

Day 1 pics:



Day 2: Saturday, April 6, 2013
Woke up, feeling well and headed to the nicu. Both boys were now off the ventilator and Evan was even on room air. They had a good night. Alex and I experienced our first nicu rounds, and figured out that it will be good to be there in the mornings...rounding usually happens between 9-11AM. Emmeline came to the hospital, had lunch with me and got to see her brothers again. In the afternoon, I continued to rest and recover. We headed back in the evening and we both got to hold both boys for the first time. By evening, Oliver was also on room air only.

A Day 2 pic of mom holding Evan:


Day 3: Sunday, April 7, 2013
Discharge day! Took my first shower and headed to the nicu with Alex for rounds. Another good night for the boys. They got to start food today and I was lucky enough to give Evan a bottle. He took most of it, but the nurse warned that as he gets bigger and requires more volume, he may not be able to keep up with the bottle. Still, it was a promising sign that he was practicing sucking. Oliver did the same. We got to hold the babes again. Then, around 12PM, I was discharged. We went home - so good to be home - then headed back in the evening for a short visit.

Day 3 Evan:


Day 3 Oliver:


Day 3 Dad feeding Evan:


Day 3 Grandma visiting Evan: