Heather and I are sitting in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Kaiser Hospital on Sunset Blvd. Heather was discharged last night, but Allegra had to stay, because here belly button showed redness, which could mean an infection. Sucn an infection, according to the doctors, can be very dangerous as that area is still a central depot of sorts for Allegra’s body. If there is an infection, it could spread everywhere fast.
But this is Allegra’s second visit to NICU. The day she was born, that’s Saturday, she was admitted because her blood sugar was very low. This is a common occurrance with babies of Type 1 diabetic moms. Heather’s blood glucose level (BGL) got rather high during the delivery and the C-section, so Allegra’s pancreas was working overtime keep her own blood sugar down. When she was born and the umbilical cord was cut, she no longer had that source of sugar-rich blood, but her pancreas didn’t know that yet, so it kept overworking itself.
She was born with a BGL in the 40s, but then it dropped into the 30s, so they fed her some formula almost immediately. The whole first day, she was battling lows, and by the end of the day her temperature started dropping, so the doctors made the decision to take her to NICU until it stabilized, which it did by the next morning.
Luckily, Allegra got plenty of visitors before she had to go to NICU. She got to meet Grandma and Grandpa Venable and Aunt Nancy (they showed up just as Heather went into the last phase of labor). She also got to meet Lisa, Casey, Tessa, Steven, Judi, Sammy, Kathy and Gretchen.
Sunday was really a great family day, once Allegra was back. Heather was getting up and walking about, she got to feed her daughter, and I got to change my first diaper. It was a lot less scary than I thought it would be. I guess when it’s your own daughters poop, it just doesn’t seem gross (at least not yet). On Sunday, she also got to meet Amy and Emily. Emily, as fortune would have it shares her birthday with Allegra.
Monday was a quiet day. We watched some movies, learned to feed our daughter, practiced changing diapers, and just enjoyed being a family. It was wonderful.
Tuesday, was our final day in the hospital. Heather got her staples pulled out and was cleared to leave. At 10:30 in the morning Heather went to her “Mommy and Me” class, but the name’s a little deceiving — Mommy went to class, but Me stayed with Dad. That’s right, my first solo time with Allegra, no Mother’s soothing touch to the rescue here, just clumsey Dad. I was looking at the next half hour with excitement, yes, but much more trepidation than I was willing to admit (at least to Heather, after all, I want her to think she’s leaving her daughter in confident, capable hands!).
So off went Heather to her class. Allegra had just been fed, so I only had two tasks:
1. Burp (the daugher, not me).
2. Get her to sleep.
The first part proved quite a challenge. I sat her on my knee and patted her back for what seemed like an eternity. But no burp. How can it be this hard? Maybe she didn’t know what I was trying to get her to do. So I tried a couple of examples. Apart from a couple of dirty looks from nurses in the hall, my efforts were in vain. So I figured she didn’t need to burp. I patted her and rocked her and sang her “Loch Lommond” until she fell asleep.
She was asleep not five minutes and a doctor walked in for her final checkup. Redness around the belly button. Goes to have another doctor look at the belly button. Daughter crying. Will the doctor be right back? Or will he take a while. Daughter kinda pissed off. Pick up daughter, pat the back, sing “Oh, Danny Boy.” (I gotta learn real lullabys.) Woohoo! Got a burp! Back to sleep, back in the bassinette. Daddy gets a break, sit’s down at the computer, a knock on the door — second opinion on the belly button. “We better get a third doctor.”
Doctor leaving, baby crying, father trying to calm her down. Pick her up, I try “Jug of Punch.” Daughter not fond of Irish drinking songs … uh oh. Dad’s in trouble. Back to “Loch Lommond.” Ah, asleep. Knock on door, Mommy’s back. Thank GOD!
But, alas, the third doctor (who never actually came in and saw the belly button) concurred with the other two. So she was admitted yesterday to NICU for X-rays, an antibiotic IV and 24 hours of observation. Hopefully she’ll be cleared to leave soon.
FINALLY, we get to bring our daughter home.
