Phil and I had a quick romantic dinner for two at the local burger place tonight, which was nice. We also wished our little love Jensen happy Valentine's Day this morning. The doctors are still trying to figure out what's going on with his tummy, and there appears to be some fluid around his bowel which may be causing the problem. He has managed a bit of a poo this evening, and his aspirates(gastric juices) are clear, so that is all good news. We just want him back to his thriving little self as soon as possible, growing in leaps and bounds.
The last couple of days I have been struggling with the whole 'why is this happening?' What have we done to deserve this? And of course there is no answer or reason, and I'm hoping my brain will stop tormenting me with such questions and just focus on getting Jensen to where he needs to be. He was pumping out the breaths this morning, and is now having a good deep sleep. His heart rate and oxygen levels are all good as well.
Now onto this great little thing I have recently become aware of. It's called a Zaky hand pillow and it looks like an amputated Muppet's arm. The purpose of this thing is to imitate a mum or dad's touch for preemie babies. It is filled with some sort of bean, that can be moulded to allow the right amount of pressure for your baby. It can be used to comfort a baby, particularly a preemie, and give comfort as it imitates the womb by cradling the baby. It can be placed on top of the baby, as in a parent's hand when they are restless, and can be warmed to create the heat of a life like hand. The physiotherapist here has given us one to try which I have taken home and washed ready to snuggle the little Mr. Here's a pic for you all to visualise.
It turns out that I know a couple of the mothers here with their babies, which is very random indeed. I bumped in to one in the expressing room. Turns out she is a teacher at a school I had done some casual work at last year. Her baby was born at 36 weeks, but very underweight (1.6kgs), she is here with her little one in the Low Dependency Unit and preparing to go home very shortly. Another here with twins, I have paired up with at the gym for boxing. She too is a teacher funnily enough. Her babies were born at 30 weeks, but had Twin Transfusion Syndrome I think, which is where one twin takes all the nutrients from the other, so had one sick little bub upon birth. They have just moved this week from intensive care after 7 odd weeks to the High Dependency Unit across the hall. Although both of these ladies are just acquaintances, having chats with them has been a good outlet, everyone here is experiencing their own journey, none harder than the other, no mother wants to give birth to a baby they can't be with or take home right away. Poor things have had me crying on their shoulders in the hallway with breast milk in one hand, and my pump and timer in the other. A great way to get to know someone quickly I guess. I expect they may do the same to me one day, or even better...we can share stories of the little milestones of our little ones, and the eventual discharge from the NICU.
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