While in NICU, Ripley was first put on formula until my breastmilk came in. Then he was breastfeeding with a formula supplement through SNS (basically a straw that delivers formula beside the nipple) every three hours. Next, because the team wanted to make sure he was gaining weight and not tiring from feeding, he was breastfeeding and receiving a formula supplement through an NG tube (a tube placed through the nose into the stomach) every three hours. For the last couple of days, we were given the green light to nurse him on demand without a supplement. He gained weight the entire time he was in NICU, which is very different from the typical newborn experience when they lose some weight at the beginning. Ripley also had some increasing levels of bilirubin that the team wanted him to have flushed out by getting enough to eat. Thankfully, these were the goals for him to accomplish in order to come home, rather than having unanticipated issues with his heart. He did have two echocardiograms while at the hospital and they indicated what the fetal echoes had found, which was reassuring. This led to the expectation that he will have follow-up cardiologist visits in between his discharge and his open heart surgery, but that the open heart surgery can wait for two to three months.
Being at NICU messes a bit with your mind. It's easy to forget what day of the week it is or what time of day it is. You constantly hear beeps and alarms when the leads monitoring your baby's heart rate, breath rate, and oxygen saturation levels go off, which is usually because of the high sensitivity or the movement of the leads on your baby. Still, each time I heard an alarm go off, I would jump up and try to see if there was something wrong with him. At NICU, you also see plenty of other babies with difficult medical conditions, some of which are much more severe than your own child.
While there, I saw a couple whose baby was brought in by a group of EMTs. I'm a bit of a snoop and his room was very close to ours so I could hear what was going on. The baby needed to get surgery the next day so he was not allowed to eat and was crying. The couple, who seemed a little rough around the edge, was irate with the nursing staff about this and demanded to talk to a doctor. They were also pretty abrasive with the doctor, even after being assured that the baby would be receiving fluids from IV. Then the couple seemed to disappear and did not get to signing the consent forms for the baby's operation. The staff and even social worker were unable to get ahold of the parents, who did not arrive back until after the baby's operation was scheduled (so the operation had to be rescheduled). When they came back, they were completely unapologetic about their absence and inability to be reached.
The last night I was at NICU, one of the wonderful nurses let me know that a very sick baby was going to be coming in so it would get a bit loud with many medical professionals. This baby was put in the room next to mine. It was so scary and sad seeing the baby come in and the father could not even be in the room because there were too many people working on the baby. Ripley and I were moved to a different unit of NICU because of nursing staff needs changing, which I predict was due to the increased needs of the new baby who arrived. I went to the family lounge that night to use the restroom and saw the father with the mother sitting on the couch and he was explaining to her that the baby could not breathe on his own. I didn't want to snoop enough more so I don't know anything else. I did want to ask if I could pray for them, but wasn't sure if they would respond well to that.
The nursing staff and everyone else at UCSF's ICN was fantastic. Everyone was so kind and attentive. I imagine it would have been very helpful if I was a first time parent learning how to take care of a newborn and really unsure about everything. I was so impressed by the caliber of care and conduct everyone employed. Nonetheless, I hope not to have to see them in this capacity again!
