| The NICU Experience | Aaron update 44 |
| Subject: Aaron update 44 Date: Saturday, January 18, 2003 3:11 PM From: Kevin Quick To: Aaron Update List At around noon today, I (Kevin) was able to hold Aaron for a full hour. He was on nasal cannula only, and needed NO additional oxygen for the entire hour. His little lungs are definitely growing and maturing! He was really sweet the whole time; no fussing or complaining. I think he liked having Daddy hold him. He weighed 1275 grams this morning. He’s growing at a good, steady rate. They’ve changed his feeds from 15cc every 2 hours to 25cc every 3 hours. Aaron’s neighbor James seems to have stabilized a bit. Kathleen and I are getting to know his parents a little better. Today, Aaron passed the torch. As of about 12:30 p.m., he’s no longer the earliest-born baby in the NICU. While I was holding Aaron, a 23-weeker was brought in. Yesterday, Kathleen had talked with a nurse out in the hallway who mentioned that there was a woman in the hospital who was in her 23rd week, and trying to get her preterm contractions under control. We’re guessing that this is the one. Then, early this morning, as Kathleen and I were exiting the NICU, we overheard one nurse say to another that another baby was going to be arriving soon, and that it was going to need a Giraffe isolette (thank you, Aaron, for giving yours up just in time). Then, we overheard another nurse saying something about “if it’s viable.” We were wondering whether this might be the 23-weeker, and thinking about it gave Kathleen and me goosebumps. The nurses are not allowed to tell us anything about the baby (yes, we asked), for confidentiality reasons; we’ll have to get the details from its parents in due time, if the baby survives. We don’t know yet whether it’s a girl or a boy. About the only thing we know at this point is that it is alive, and weighs 560 grams (Aaron was 695 grams when he was born). The torch has been passed, indeed. Here’s a picture that Kathleen took today of me holding Aaron. Kevin |
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