The Beginning of Our Journey: Part II

So, onto part two!  As I said in my last post, we were in the hospital for two weeks after Levi was born.  This post will explain more about our experiences there, and what it was like to spend time in both the NICU and pediatrics at RUH.

On October 15, 2013 at 2:52 pm, our son was born and Ryan and I were so excited to finally meet him!  When he was delivered, he wasn’t crying as he should, and our excitement turned to worry as we wondered what was wrong.  The doctors and nurses hovered over him as they tried to get him to cry, and we didn’t get a chance to really see him for several minutes while they worked on him.  It was very nerve-wracking to not know what was going on.  Eventually, a nurse came over with the information that it was a boy, born with cleft lip and palate and he was breathing, but not quite as efficiently as he should.  She mentioned that they were going to take him down to the NICU where they would assess him more thoroughly.  I was allowed to hold him for a few minutes, and then they whisked him down for his assessment. 

Ryan and I were worried, but glad that he had safely arrived and knew that he was in good hands as they tried to figure out what was wrong.  Eventually, we learned that Levi had been born with a collapsed lung, which was why he hadn’t been breathing quite right.  They were going to perform surgery on him to place a tube into his lung and were going to keep him in the NICU while they monitored his progress.  We waited for what seemed like ages until we were able to go visit him.  It was heartbreaking to see my son lying in an isolette, hooked up to all those IV’s and monitors, but I was happy that he was breathing on his own and the nurses said he was doing relatively well.  We weren’t allowed to hold him at that point, as he had just had the chest tube put in and it was so hard for us to watch this tiny little person lying there so helplessly, and not be able to cuddle and kiss him. 

Levi spent the first part of our hospital stay in the NICU, which was quite a difficult time, especially because it has quite a few rules to follow.  This was understandable, as it is a very sensitive environment, but also draining as a parent.  Only two visitors were allowed to see Levi at a time, and one always had to be a parent.  When a visitor came to see Levi, Ryan or I would take them into the room, teach them their proper hand washing protocol, then spend some time with our little man.  We also had to call in to the receptionist every time we wanted to see Levi, and there were certain times of the day when we weren’t allowed to visit him.  This was certainly not how I envisioned my first few days of having a baby.  My dreams of having a newborn included having a night or two on post-partum, a cute take-home outfit and a happy welcome home shortly after having our baby.  I did not anticipate the reality of what was happening…  the requirement to call a receptionist before I could see my son, having my little boy laying in an isolette with wires and tubes strapped to him, and not being allowed to hold him.  Ryan and I could not understand why this was happening, and asked God to give us strength to deal with this trying situation.  And God is faithful.  He gave us patience and strength as we dealt with nurses and doctors and also as we started to learn about Levi’s condition. 

Over those first couple of days, we met with several specialists, and it was fairly overwhelming to have just had a new baby and have all these people explaining what was going to happen with your child.  One of the people that we met with most frequently was a speech language pathologist, whose specialty was in feeding.  Because Levi has a cleft palate, he is not able to provide the suction necessary for breastfeeding, so she taught us how to feed him using a special bottle.  I was still very adamant that I wanted make sure Levi was getting breastmilk, though, so I began to express milk to use in his bottle.  This in itself has been a test of patience, as I not only have to feed him, but also spend time after his feeds to express my milk.  It’s been a long haul, but I’m glad he is getting the most nutrients that he can.  Also, one positive to having Levi using a bottle is that I’ve been able to share the joy of feeding him with not only Ryan, but also Levi’s grandparents and auntie! 

While he was in the NICU, he was being fed initially through an IV.  When they decided he was ready for milk, they used an NG tube, which ran into his nostril, and straight into his stomach.  Because he was fed passively for this time, it took us a while to learn how to feed him using the bottle.  At first, we would only be able to feed him a small amount by the bottle and the rest would be placed into his stomach via the NG tube.  Slowly, we learned how to feed him and he became much more efficient at eating.  Before we were allowed to leave the hospital, however, the doctor’s continued to monitor his weight gain.  They decided that he was healthy enough to leave the NICU, but not to be discharged, so we were sent to pediatrics. 

This was both a blessing and a disappointment.  It was a blessing, as now we would be able to actually stay with Levi in his room, but a disappointment, as we would have much rather taken our son home!  The rules in Peds were a lot less strict, but the day to day routine became draining.  Levi would wake up, I would call a nurse to bring some milk, they would take his vitals, I would change his diaper, feed him, then he would go back to sleep.  Repeat every few hours.  For days.  Each day ran into the next… a blur of beeping machines, a different nurse each shift, doctor’s rounds in the morning and waiting.  Always waiting.  Waiting to hear new information, waiting for nurses to bring milk and take Levi’s vitals, waiting for doctors to assess our son, and waiting to hear if we could be discharged.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I fully appreciate the fact that we have amazing medical care in our country.  RUH was a blessing for us, and we thank the doctors and nurses who treated our son, however, Ryan and I became frustrated that we were being kept in the hospital even though there seemed to be no reason for it.  Now I don’t claim to be a medical professional, but I felt that Levi would have been perfectly fine to be discharged far sooner than we were allowed.  I felt that I could do just as good of a job feeding him at home as I could in the hospital.  That was not my call to make, though, and we understood that they had Levi’s best interest at heart.    

Finally, we were allowed to come home with a day pass on October 26 to see how he would do overnight.  Levi rocked it.  He ate like a champ and we were so proud of how well he did for his first night at home!  We came back to the hospital the next morning for one last assessment and after a few final hiccups, we finalized the paperwork for our discharge!  Hallelujah!  We brought Levi home on October 27, 2013 and we were so excited that we could finally be together as a family in our home!

Levi has been doing awesome since we’ve been home, and it’s been a joy to watch him develop and grow.  Even though being in the hospital was not something I had planned for, or wanted to experience, it definitely opened my eyes to those families who have children in the NICU or pediatrics for months at a time, or longer.  Two weeks felt like a lifetime, but it was nothing compared to the time spent in the hospital by many other families who have premature babies, or children who are sick.  We were blessed that Levi was a healthy baby, with only a few minor complications and thank God that we had the expertise of the medical professionals at RUH and are now able to raise him in the comfort of our own home.

I look forward to sharing with you more about what we’ve been up to since we’ve been at home!  Thanks for reading!    

Levi in his isolette in the NICU - 1 day old

Learning how to feed him - 2 days old

Our happy little man...  3 months old