In the Hospital

Once Elora was in the NICU she had to be on the oxygen for a few hours. I think this was because she came out screaming and she used up too much air:)

I guess standard procedure for a small baby in the NICU is tons of tests. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us touch her for 24 hours. Ric would go to the NICU every 3 hours for her feedings and take a video on my camera. We would then load the video onto Ric's laptop. I survived thru these videos until I could be wheeled in to see her 24+ hours later!

By this time we were allowed to touch her thru the incubator. She was soo tiny but soo sweet. She soon became a favorite with all of the nurses.

Every 3 hours either Ric and me or just Ric would go to the NICU for her feedings as these were the only time you could hold her. Eventually little by little we were taught to take her temperature, change her diaper (while attached to ALL 7 monitors) and be with her.

I stayed in the hospital for 5 days and was discharged without her. It killed me to leave her behind, but she had to gain back the ounces she lost after birth so she could come home.

The first day home without her was so hard. It was great in the hospital, she was a few halls away. Now Ric and I would jump in the car, drive to Huntington, feed her, drive home and would only have an hour before we had to get back in the car. Needless to say this was not to healthy for me having just gone thru major surgery. I finally had to realize my limitations and Ric or I went to every other feeding.