Welcome to NICU
The Drill
Welcome to NICU! If your grandchild is premature and has other health issues, this is where you will see it for the first time, and I must warn you, be prepared! The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is an awesome, yet frightening experience!
Discuss what to expect with your children prior to the birth of your grandchild.
This area of the hospital is usually a Level 3, Priority Area and is the place where all premature babies and other babies with critical conditions at birth are taken for intensive care.
Be also aware that it is a special care area where highly trained nurses and other children's specialists give
around the clock care to babies who are too sick to take home.
You will have emotions that you have never experienced before! A warmth of emotion and relief filled our hearts as tears filled our eyes when we received the news that our daughter and grandsons were all in excellent condition!
Prayers were said, hugs and kisses were exchanged and then phone calls were made. (What did we do before iPhone technology!)
Mom returned from the Delivery Room in less than thirty minutes. She looked so wonderful to have just given a Cesarian birth to twins!
She needed to rest and have nourishment, but was so anxious to go visit her sons.
She was emotional about what she had just experienced, as most mothers are!
FLOOD OF EMOTIONS!
We knew the plan or
the drill as my husband called it. Dad knew that Mom would be back in her room with her parents, just resting and waiting.
According to Hospital Protocol
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First Examination |
According to Hospital Protocol, children weighing under 5 pounds are considered premature or preemies and are sent immediately to NICU where nursing staff and team of Doctor’s will assess the baby's condition! Here the staff is checking out our first twin prior to going to the NICU. |
Welcome
to NICU, Dad, as he followed the boys from Delivery, where he observed
the procedures that took place to get the boys prepared for the NICU
stay.
Dad returned in less than an hour from the NICU with so much emotion and pride!
He breathlessly explained what was happening to the boys in NICU and that the nurses were awaiting our arrival when Mom felt comfortable and strong enough to travel.
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Off the twins go to the NICU with Dad following. He observes all the required activities to make the twins comfortable. |
The boys were placed in specialized warming beds, blood drawn, oxygen given, and hooked up to wires and tubes.
First Visit
NICU Here We Come
Upon her husbands return, Mom decided she was ready to see her little miracles!
So while she was still in bed, a nurse wheeled Mom in the hospital bed so she could go see her sons! Dad and the breathless, emotional Grandparents followed behind the hospital bed (hold that elevator!) which was rolling so quickly toward the NICU and the "first sighting" of our beautiful grandsons! Who has the camera?
Welcome to NICU! Before admittance into this area, there are very strict hand washing instructions as explained in the NICU instructions
that must be followed each and every time that you enter this area. As
it was explained, to ensure that all babies in this area are in a
clean, sterile, germ free environment, the general public and staff must
always follow all these guidelines.
After that process, we were allowed to enter the pod where our Grandson's were waiting for us! Welcome to life and this world our little ones!
Grandparents were only allowed to stay 10 minutes, but the parents were required to participate in a procedure of skin-to-skin contact process called Kangaroo Care for approximately 30 minutes or as long as Mom felt comfortable.
At
that moment, the bonding of their family
began! What a beautiful experience for a husband and wife! Then each
parent would wear a fabric cutout in the shape of a bear throughout the
day. During each visit, they would leave this cloth in the bed with the
baby so it would learn the scent of his parent. Another continual way
that the parents are bonding with each child.
Welcome to NICU....although stressful for the families, it is the world where our grandchildren will be living until they can go home! We learned quickly that the NICU has a schedule and you must follow it…also, you do adjust to the noisy monitors and sounds; this equipment along with the nurses and doctors are there to save your grandchild’s life!
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
When you have a child or grandchild in NICU, you will quickly become aware of this specialized area. The NICU Staff are very helpful and will answer any questions that you may have about the child or procedures that need to be followed.
Skin-to-skin contact process called Kangaroo Care
Find more grandparenting ideas online at our Home Page Grandparenting Essentials
How did you feel when you first saw your Grandchild?
Did you have tears in your eyes, heart skip a beat, knees get weak?
This is a very special time in our lives! Please share your story below so others can feel your excitement!
From Welcome to NICU to NICU Nurses
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