Once I arrived at the hospital I had to find my way to the NICU. I am pretty sure I can now navigate the hospital with a blind fold on. It was a good thing that I was told by the nurses at Mt. Hood that the NICU was on the 2nd floor because the guy at the emergency entrance really had no clue. Getting into the NICU is quite the ordeal. It is pretty much a hospital within a hospital, with the entrance being locked at all times. Once inside the main door, you are required to sign-in, then wash your hands (I swear I was told to wash for 2 minutes) with soap that could take the muck off the inside of a pig barn. Me and the soap did not get along, I am pretty sure it removed at least 5 layers of my epidermis. Then I went through the actual door to where my baby would be staying for the next 3 months. The nurses and nurse practitioners were still working on getting a PIC line inserted (peripheral inserted central line). As you may expect this is a sterile procedure which required me to keep back. By this point Logan was connected to a heart rate monitor, breathing monitor, pulse oximeter, temperature probe and the tinniest of blood pressure cuffs. He had the aid of a ventilator for breathing and I believe a regular IV for medications that could not be given through the PIC line. His isolette was the coolest part. It really was the Cadillac of cribs. The top could be raised and lowered and it kept his body temperature at the appropriate level. During the first few weeks it humidified the air to help protect his fragile skin, and was able to determine his weight. I once tried to look-up the price online but price was not listed, simply the contact information, like buying a Bentley. The first of four doctors that we would meet and work with was there to give me the run down of his condition and go over some of the procedures that they expected would need to be performed. A couple things stuck out to me during this conversation. Logan was fighting hard and babies born this early generally do better if they don't need to be transported. Logan had received two doses of surfactant, which is a substance that helps keep the lungs open, but because of the speed of delivery steroids were not administered to Diana. I think every time the doctor said something positive she also mentioned a negative. The biggest thing left out of the conversation was how long it would take to get Logan healthy. It would be a long time before any of the doctors would even come close to suggesting Logan would be going home from the hospital.
After the doctor had finished going over everything that she needed to and got the appropriate signatures from me, I was able to get closer to my little baby. And I was finally given the official birth statistics: weight 890g (1lb 15oz) length 33cm (13in). To help put that into perspective, think about holding a 1L bottle of water. That weighs more than Logan did at birth and he could have slept inside of my shoe. For those keeping track Logan last weighed in at 4804g (10lb 9oz) and measured 57cm (22in), that would be over 5x his birth weight and almost double his length.
As I write this blog and think about what happened, and look at some of the pictures, I am simply amazed at what a miracle has occurred. We really did get to watch Logan finish the last 3 months of fetal development and are blessed daily by his presence in our lives. If you have a couple extra dollars donate to the Walk of Dimes, or a children's hospital near you.
this is a great story...
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