Life in the NICU

We have been learning all sorts of things since joining the NICU family. It's a whole new world of language and routine. The Methodist team is A-MAZ-ING. These nurses are incredible and treat your child as their own. They also have great skills with the parents, always explaining what they are doing and taking the time to answer all our questions.

Spencer is on a schedule - 12 - 3 - 6 - 9, around the clock. Every three hours he gets something called "cares." This is when we get to reach inside his little incubator and touch him! As Matt and I have become comfortable, we get to help with cares. This includes changing his diaper, taking his temp, feeding him some breast milk on a q-tip and other duties as needed. Soon it will include bath time! The respiratory specialist and nurses also use this time to check his vitals.

The idea with the schedule is actually to create minimal time where he is touched. Since he came so early, we have to help Spencer feel like he is in the womb for 14 more weeks. The room is kept dark, everyone talks in quiet voices and his incubator is warm. It's a very peaceful place to hang out all day.

In addition to cares, we get kangaroo time once a day. This is when we actually get to hold him. Most days, Spencer loves this time. He just sleeps on our chest and usually his vitals (heart rate and oxygen) are even better during this hour. He knows the smell and sound of mom and dad.

The staff use what is called '"corrected time." Rather than saying Spencer is nearly two weeks old, they say he is 27 weeks and 6 days corrected. So, they continue to count his age by gestation weeks until he gets to 40 weeks. This is because there are multiple milestones they are looking for him to achieve to track his growth and development. What that means for the future is that Spencer will most likely be delayed up to 14 weeks on most developmental milestones until the age of 3. For example, he might technically be 12 months old, but his body won't be ready to walk for another 14 weeks.

I have gotten some good advice from other moms who have had babies in the NICU -

"NICU life is hard. Don't be afraid to admit that and ask for help when you need it"

"Journal your thoughts and feelings. You go through a lot in the NICU so use a journal to sort through it all"

"Don't watch the monitors and alarms. There are a lot of them, and you will feel overwhelmed if you do. Just enjoy time with baby."

"You get to decide who sees or touches your baby. Everyone has good intentions, but do what you are comfortable."

Spencer continues to do well. Today is weight is 2 lb 3 oz! He is still just on the C-PAP with a little oxygen. His feeds are up to 16 cc/3 hours.

 Caught him with his eyes open, trying to suck on his paci

Kangaroo time