Flu Season is Here

Flu season is here friends.  

There isn't anything worse than Flu season to a preemie mom. Abigail and Elizabeth already had their flu shotslast week. According to their pulmonogist the best time to get a Flu shot is in October. The flu is already out and about by Novemeber.  

100s of kids die each year from the flu. It's very serious. 

Another very scary thing out this time of year is RSV. RSV is Respiratory syncytial virus. It causes an infection in the lungs and breathing passages.  In adults symptoms are similar to the common cold, but in premature babies RSV can be very serious and  it can lead to other more serious illnesses.

RSV is highly contagious and can be spread through coughs or sneezes. It also can live on surfaces and on hands and clothing. So wash your hands often friends!  RSV can spread rapidly through schools and childcare centers. This is scary news for a preemie mom that is also a kindergarten teacher! This is why I change my clothes as soon as I get home from work and wash my hands several times a day.

Take care of yourself and get a flu shot friends! 

National Daughters Day

Today I celebrate my amazing daughters!  You are the light of my life. I love you more than words could ever say. 

Wait, Wait, and Wait Some More

If you are human, the chances are you have had to wait on results before. It could have been results from an exam at school, results from your work evaluation, or even medical results.  

There is nothing fun about waiting around for results. When the girls were in the NICU I spent a lot of time waiting around for results. Results from blood word, ultrasounds, eye exams, EEG tests, and on and on. 

Its 3 years later and it appears I am still apart of this ridiculous game. 

Waiting on results really can test your patients. If you are like me, you want results NOW, but that's just impossible. 

There is an old saying, Good things come to those that wait." Pardon my French but that is just B.S. I have waited plenty and it didn't always turn out wonderfully.

The saying should really be changed to something like...

Sometimes good things happen to those that wait and other times it's crap

This rant brings me back to why I am writing this post in the first place. I am obviously waiting on results.... Again!  

My Abigail has another endoscopy scheduled for the 28th to see if her thrush is finally gone. This will be her 3rd one. 

 We have been on anti- fungal meds for over a month now and I am "patently" waiting to see if they have finally did the trick. On the 28th she will be put under for the 7th time! Yes- 7th! I will have to wait for the doctors to do there thing and I'll have to wait until I can go back to the recovery room to be with my little girl. 

I am also waiting to here back from Elizabeth Neurologist because she had another seizure episode on Wendesday.

I feel like it is never ending. Of the life with my micro preemies! I love them to prices and wouldn't want it any other way!

Happy NICU Nurses Day!

September 15th was Neonatal Nurses Day! Sorry I am little late. We have had a busy week.

NICU nurses are the real rockstars! 

Thank you for all that you do! You're amazing! 

NICU Awareness Month

September is NICU Awareness Month.

This month is an opportunity for me to reflect on where my girls started and how far they have come. 

After spending 120+ days in the NICU, your world is no longer the same.

I have seen my girls fight to live, as well as many other babies. The NICU is a whole world most people have no idea even exists. You may have heard about a NICU, but unless you have been inside a level 3 or 4 NICU, you honestly have no idea.

So here is some insight into what's it's like:

1. It can be a loud place.  It's not loud from babies crying, it's loud from the constant beeping of heart monitors and the running of ventilators and oxygen machines. 

2.  NICU nurses are rockstars. They are awesome nurses with amazing and unique set of skills. They can draw blood from the tiniest veins, anticipate health scares, change diapers and handle babies that weigh just a pound,  soothe distressed parents, insert catheters and feeding tubes into tiny babies, and they assist with scans, intubations, and oxygen levels. They do lots more but you get the idea... They are the heart of the NICU. 

3. Not just small preemies are in the NICU. Babies born with all types of health problems spend time in the NICU.  Health problems I had no idea even existed. 

4. Generally the NICU is not a happy place. Doctors and nurses are very seriously working, parents are grieving their child's existence in the NICU, and babies are living an unnatural life. It's not uncommon to see a mom cry. Most parents just walk around nervous and scared. It's almost like a place parents go to turn into zombies.

5. You have to scrub in when you enter a NICU. Some places require you to wear a gown too. 

6. Babies live in isolates. People always call them incubators, but Incubators are for bird eggs friends. :) The isolate is designed to mimic a mother's belly. It is temperature controlled and as the baby gets bigger, the temperature changes, until finally the baby can warm themselves. Preemie moms spend their time putting their hands through the wholes in the isolate to touch their babies. The first time I touched my girls was through the wholes of an isolate. Nurses also do a lot of their work through those holes... Once again NICU nurses are rockstars. Some bigger babies are in cribs too.

7. Life in the NICU is a roller-coaster. Not the fun kind that makes you go whoo-hoo either.  Some days are uneventful in the NICU and some days are full of test after test. Things can change in moments and sometimes things stay the same for days. It's unpredictable with lots of ups and downs. 

8. You can surprisingly build friendships in the NICU. I am now dear friends with a fellow NICU mom. We have been through a lot together. We are a constant support to each other and it's a support only a fellow NICU mom could give.  I am also friends with nurses the girls had. We check in with each other on Facebook. They love to see pictures of the girls and I know they are proud of how far they have come. 

I hope the above 8 things give you a little insight into what it's like in the NICU. Remember it's NICU awareness month! If you know a mom who spent some time in the NICU, it's a good time to giver her a pat on the back. Chances are

She has been through a lot.

NICU 101

FYI-