It took the doctors longer than normal to deliver Aaron via C-section, and I'm not too sure why. All I knew was that it was taking longer than my deliveries had in the past. Once he was out, the doctors and nurses took him for a few minutes and checked him out. I remember hearing a small, high pitched cry, which was a huge sigh of relief. It was all a bit of a blur, but I did get to see him for a few minutes before he was taken to the NICU. Thankfully, David was able to go with Aaron and keep him company.
Daddy hanging out with Aaron in the NICU!
Due to the nature of the delivery, Aaron's head was bruised during the process. One of the nurses speculated that the doctors might have made a smaller incision than normal because he was preterm, but had a hard time taking Aaron out because he was a good sized baby for being 5 weeks early, hence the bruising. Either way, he was affectionately nicknamed our little blueberry.
I went to the recovery room for two hours, and then the nurse was kind enough to take me through the NICU on the way to my room. I got to hold him for two sweet minutes before Aaron had to get some chest X-rays taken. The X-rays revealed that Aaron's lungs were a bit premature, so to help his breathing, he was hooked up to a machine that helped him breathe the room air. I wasn't able to be in the NICU in the beginning, so it was hard to keep up with what was going on with Aaron and to get all the technical terms down.
All hooked up!
Aaron's setup for the next few days!
Our little man's information!
It took some time before I was able to go visit Aaron, but I was thankful for the nurses who helped me make it to the NICU. Thankfully we were in the room closest to the NICU, so once I was up and walking it wasn't too far.
Visitors! Uncle B and Auntie Kim!
The uncertainty of the NICU was really hard for us, especially because we had our other kids to take into consideration. The doctor kept thinking we would get released within a few days, but the nurses did not agree. We were warned by the nurses that we could be there for a few weeks. The biggest thing for Aaron was that his feedings were a struggle and he was not gaining weight.
The board! I was always eager to see Aaron's weight in the morning!
It was so nice when we were able to take an active part in his care! It was hard to feel connected in the beginning since the nurses did so much and it was awhile before we were able to hold him. We had to learn how to feed him because he couldn't yet coordinate how to suck and swallow. It was interesting how each nurse had their special techniques! There were two nurses who stuck out to me, one was Perry, she was with us for five days during the daytime. She was an amazing teacher and was pretty persistent in having us do as much as possible. She was a wealth a knowledge and also very realistic in where we were in the whole process. We also had Kari a few times in the middle of the night. She really took the time to sit down and talk with me and, in particular, encouraged me in breastfeeding Aaron. All the nurses were great, but these two really helped me during our week there.
Under the UV lights! This was probably a low point for me because this meant that I couldn't snuggle with my little man while he was receiving photo-therapy. We did get to hold him for feedings, but he had to go back in immediately afterwards. He spent about 24 hours under the lights.
Passing the car seat test was super important because we had a long drive ahead of us! Poor guy had a pink car seat since we had to buy a car seat to drive home and David found a great deal on this car seat!
I was discharged before Aaron, but thankfully the hospital provided a room for us to stay in. I couldn't imagine leaving the hospital without him! David and I were eventually moved to an empty floor, which was an interesting experience, but it was still a bed!
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