Day 56 (8 weeks old today!!) I arrived earlier than usual at NICU this morning as I was so excited about todays big event. Today at 10am Jack was going to be having his very first bath. After eight weeks Jack was finally going to have a proper wash. Now both his longlines were out Jack is able to have a bath each week but we had to wait until today because he needed to wear a dressing, for one day, over the area where the longline was taken out. When I arrived things were pretty busy in our room today and the nurses had lots going on so todays nurse said his bath would be at the 4pm cares so I needed to be there at 3:30. Although I was disappointed this was okay, I could wait a few more hours. I was looking forward to him having a bath so much that Id even dreamt about it last night. I also wanted to do his footprints for the first time. So I did Jacks 10am cares as usual. Hed had a good night and his oxygen requirement was in the early 50%s. Then my friend Sharon arrived from Auckland for the day. She bought Jack some beautiful gifts including a gorgeous bag and blanket she had handmade. Such a clever lady. We had a lovely lunch in a Newtown cafe that had a great outdoor garden where we could enjoy the beautiful sunny Wellington day. Ive just noticed my arm even got sunburnt! Then Sharon came over and meet Jack for his afternoon cares. When we arrived I noticed a thermo cot by Jacks incubator. When I asked about it Jacks nurse said hed be going into a thermo cot after his bath. Two big milestones today for baby Jack!! I did his cares then we had to wait until close to five oclock to bath him as the nurses were so busy and unfortunately there was no time to do his footprints. Because Jack needs breathing support two nurses made a bit of a plan of how to get him out of the incubator and into the bath, which was a bowl lined with plastic and half filled with water. So firstly Jack was put into the bath feet first with this nurse holding him while I washed him down. He tolerated it really well and only cried for small moment. He kept lifting his feet out over the top of the bowl, which was quite funny. He didnt open his eyes at all. From the bath his nurse put him on his new cot and I dried him off. Then she wrapped him up and held him over the bath while I washed his hair and cleaned behind his ears. He wasnt at all fazed about this and didnt make a sound, even when the water went over his eyes. I dressed Jack in his new clothes and he opened his eyes briefly during this. Because he was coldish after the bath we put him in a woollen singlet, his cotton wrap (the one we tried on the other day) and a woollen cardigan and booties. Then he went into a merino sleeping bag followed by about five blankets. He definitely looked toasty. Once he was all snuggled up I could hardly see any of him and he looked really different. I felt really sad for him for some reason. I just didnt think he looked very happy, after eight weeks of being able to see his whole body in an incubator it just felt really strange. Sharon left for the airport then I had dinner before I headed back over to him. I couldnt wait until his cares I was hanging out to see how he was getting on in his cot. When I arrived Jacks oxygen requirement was 33%, the lowest its ever been! I couldnt believe it. He was now on his tummy and I couldnt really see any of him. I had to sit with him for ages before it was time for his cares and during this time it was really hard to not remove all his blankets so I could see him properly. When it was eventually time I turned him over and was surprised how much easier it was to do this with him in clothes and being in his cot. It was so much easier to wash his face and bottom and to change his nappy. Also I could put my hands under him and pick him up and bring him closer to me which was lovely. His temperature was 37.7 degrees so I had to remove his cardigan. Being able to be so much closer to him like this made me feel much better about the cot but it still felt strange tonight leaving him looking like he does. Its a strange feeling that I cant really explain. I think maybe its because in his cot he looks like a normal healthy baby but in the incubator it feels like he is a sick baby who needs to be in hospital. I asked his nurse about how often Jacks clothes will get changed. She said that the nurses will change them if they notice they are getting dirty but I can change them whenever I want. She said you can change them everyday if you want, hes your baby! It was really strange hearing that because sometimes it doesnt feel like he is mine because I have very little to do with any decisions made about him each day. It is going be fantastic having this little thing I can do each day that is about me being Jacks mummy. Now Jack is in a cot he will get weighed during the day instead of at night so he didnt get weighed tonight. Last night his weight was 1649 grams. I can not believe the progress Jack has made over the last nine days. From successfully moving to CPAP to achieving and tolerating full feeds and now moving out of an incubator into a thermo cot and being in clothes. It is just amazing how things can change so much in such a short time. Today a nurse even mentioned that being back in Nelson hospital for Christmas is a possibility now but only two weeks ago she thought that there was no way this would be a consideration!
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:09:19 +0000
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