Bath Time for All

Tuesday morning was a good day for both Alexandra and Mommy. Jessica Ward (a hybrid of her two cousin’s name by coincidence) was the nurse who gave them both some touch time and news updates. Her weight is at 2lbs 11 ounces. She has been desat-ing, or not breathing well during her feeding times. What that means is Ali tends to deoxygenate herself (exhale) as much as she needs to. But instead of the nose tube (nasal canula) she will get a small hose of oxygen in front of her if her respiratory rate goes lower than 50. What does that mean in English … no sé. Actually it means that when Ali goes home with us she will have a respiratory monitor during feeding and bed time to ensure she breaths when she needs to. What does that mean in English … she may be a blond, not able to walk and chew gum at the same time until we train her. So we may have to nick name her “oxygen” to go with her mother’s nickname (by some) as “helium”. Which then means Liana’s nickname (if we continue the theme) is “fire”, Amanda’s nickname “Hydrogen” and mine if deduced from the other items would be “Hindenburg”.

Go to this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZ_129_Hindenburg to see how I deduced that metaphor.
If you are unsure what a metaphor is go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor

My turn to see Alexandra came after the “witching hour”. The time when we try to get the girls to bed at 8, which turns into 8:30 due to extra activities such as:

• SpongeBob episode we like (usually my fault)
• I can’t get myself dressed (Amanda)
• No … 1 more minute please (Liana in bath
• Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the bathwater is toooooo HOT (usually my issue as I test it with my hand and always say “NO ITS NOT” … take after my mother)
• My booboo hurts and I reply “I don’t see anything”, that argument ensues for a while
• Gotta find a book routine
• I don’t want that pajama struggle
• Clean up NOW time
• De-tangle cob-web-hair.

I ran out of the house and made it to the hospital just after 9, and the nurse Jessica was prepping Ali for a house change. That meant I was able to bath her, hold her, and change diaper.

Alexandra enjoyed the bath until I had to use the soapy water to scrape off the tape. Premie's have a bath process, which is head first using a damp cloth. Then the trunk using a soapy cloth. Head and hair with a soapy cloth, then feet and bottom. Bathing her with my arms in the holes was hard but keeping her from exposure to the cold air was important (the bubble is temperature controlled according to her body temp). After her bath I was able to hold her during her feedings. She is currently getting 25ml of milk every 4 hours (which converts to .85 ounces or .00555 Imperial gallons for all you Brits). They use a plastic syringe with a tube that goes into her mouth to her belly. A machine slowly induces the milk over a controlled period of time (30 minutes). When I bathed her she was free of tubes, constantly licking her lips, moving her tongue since the feeding tube was out. During her feeding the baby girl next to us had a few nurses and a doctor studying her vitals. It was hard to see the baby's parents endure the struggle their child was on. Health of a small baby can usually be determined by size and amount of equipment surrounding the baby. In Alexandra's case is seems like she has an ipod around her. She has a couple wires and one monitor. The other baby girl has a 1980's like audio system setup (not to be comical). A lot of wires, equipment, sounds and attention to her activity. After about 30 minutes holding her the nurse was ready to put her in her new bubble and the other baby girl was about to get an x-ray.


The design of the bubble carts for a NICU baby have a lot of details. I observed the technician put the x-ray tablet inside a tray under the baby. Usually adults or children have to contort themselves standing to receive one, or laying down and the machine moves over the body. For a NICU baby they just position the baby, in this case on her back for an x-ray of the lungs. Then a mobile machine comes by with a long neck (like a giraffe) and they position the rays over the intended area (much like a dentist). Minutes later the technician sends the results over the network to the doctors in the same room. They can then determine what results or needs the child has based on medicine or the condition.

The evening ended as I took the above picture of Ali on her side sleeping after a meal. She is now filling out, adding weight (no change in two days) and growing. If anyone wishes to see her, usually during the evenings with me or day time with Jeanette, email me in advance. We can easily meet you at the hospital and then escort you to her room. My visits tend to be under an hour but you could spend less time if you wish.