All posts tagged: NICU

Visit to the Ol’ NICU

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Not long ago I revisited the place were hope is born. I went to the California Pacific Medical Center NICU where a friend sat beside her thriving, three pound, thirty week preemies (Yes twins!). I was greeted be the familiar face of a nurse who’s name I could not remember, and then I saw Joe, and then Diane, and before I knew it these nurses were whisking me into the door, giving me big hugs and taking me straight to see Lisa’s precious babies. Before I could say much, there I was, standing in the room with all the isolettes (I hate the word ‘incubators’ because it makes the babies sound like they are sick chickens), the alarms, and flashing lights. It has been a long time since I saw a three pound baby. I held back the tears. I also held back disbelief that these careful angels (nurses) took me straight to Lisa’s babies without her permission. She was doing her deed in the pumping room at the time. The tears  I cried in …

Eating, breathing, & pooping

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Eric continues to drink and digest his milk up like a champ and that is key to helping him get stronger. Below you can see nurse Kathy gavage feeding him. Gavage feeding is when the nurse lets the milk flow through the tube that leads to his stomach. Eric can not feel the feeding tube in his throat as you and I would because at this age the do not yet have a gag reflex so it is perfectly comfortable for him. Remembering to breath is Eric’s biggest challenge right now and something all preemies need to grow into. He is still getting oxygen throught CPAP, which gets delivered either with a tiny mask over his nose or these tiny little nasal prongs. The resipatory therapists alternate between the two to keep his skin healthy. When he needs more oxygen they can turn it up a bit but he needs to take a breath for the oxygen to get where it needs to go. We are definitely his cheer leading squad for this. Today Eric …

Little toes

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Eric is one week old today! Yesterday the doctors made the decision to put Eric on the ventilator. His lungs are strong but his body forgets to breathe now and then which is common with 26 week preemies. The vent adjusts to his breathing automatically and when he stops breathing it fills the lungs with air. Now he can focus on growing and getting stronger. When using the vent he can also sleep on his stomach which preemies LOVE.He is so adorable and he seems to recognize our voices.

Eric”s eyes open

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On Monday, Eric decided it was time to take a look around. His eyes have opened and he seems to notice our movements next to the incubator. It is hard to tell what color they are but they are dark — either dark blue or brown. We visited him again last night and they have switched him back to the CPAP which is a bigger breathing device that provides positive pressure of air in his lungs. They did this because he was having too many “episodes” of breathing apnea. Sometimes a preemie “forgets” to breathe. When this happens the alarms go off and the nurse gently massages him until he breathes again. This was happening too often so they had to switch the breathing apparatus. He also got some blood from the Blood Bank yesterday because a preemie doesn’t make new blood quickly and they take several blood samples each day. So he was a little low and received 12 ml of blood. They say it will help reduce the apnea because he’ll have more …

Eric is born!

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At 4:34 p.m. on September 7, 2006, Tara gave birth to our son Eric Thomas DelloIacono Thies at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco! Born only 26 weeks and 2 days into Tara’s pregnancy, Eric is a real preemie but he is healthy and safe in the wonderful care of CPMC’s Newborn ICU.Eric’s birth weight was 1 lb. 15 oz and he is 14 inches long. Mommy is doing well and has already started pumping milk to feed little E. He is so cute and very feisty. One of the biggest concerns for newborn preemies is their breathing. Eric came out crying, which was joy to our ears, and so far he has not once needed to be placed on a ventilator.We can visit Eric at any time day or night and if all continues to go well with his development in the NICU, he could be able to come home in December.We love him so much and we thank everyone for all the love and support.love, Aaron and Tara