Well, it wouldn't be one of my newborns if we didn't end up in the NICU. Just a few hours after she was born, they took her to the nursery to give her a bath. I was antsy about it, and almost asked that they not take her from me (I was alone, since I sent Mark home to be with Boston for the night). I almost wonder if maybe I was being prompted not to have them take her, and maybe this all would have been avoided. I don't know. But they took her for a bath, and I dozed off for a little bit. When I woke up, they still had her, so I called the nurse, who told me that she was "breathing too quickly" (same symptom they noticed first with Boston) so she was being monitored. A few hours later, the pediatrician came in to tell me that they had taken some bloodwork, and that he didn't suspect anything was really wrong. They had her on oxygen to get her stats up better, but he figured they would probably be able to release her the next morning, if the labs came back normal. The next morning, the labs showed increased white blood cells, which could indicate infection, so further tests would be necessary. The new pediatrician that day (Friday) told me that if her labs, which were due back Saturday or Sunday, were normal, they would release her.
Saturday came, and that same pediatrician reported that the labs appeared normal, and all chest xrays appeared normal, but she just felt like they should continue to keep her for SEVEN days, just like they did Boston. I was totally freaking out. I knew in my heart that there was nothing wrong with her. I felt like they were just being overly cautious, and by doing so, she would miss out on nursing the first few days of her life, which are crutial. I worried they she would not nurse if they didn't release her. I definitely did not feel like the benefits of keeping her on antibiotics outweighed the risks. I expressed these feelings to her NICU nurse, who was actually on my side. I prayed that night so hard that if she needed to stay, that I would feel OK about them keeping her. I never felt OK.
Sunday morning, I got a call from another pediatrician, who was working closely with the one who wanted to keep her. She stated that they were taking her off antibiotics for 24 hours to see how she responded, and if all went well for the 24 hours, she would go home Monday. Thankfully, all went well, and she was allowed to go home to us on Monday. So I will take 3 and a half days in the NICU over Boston's 8. But it is upsetting to think that if I had just said, "No, don't take her for a bath..." this whole thing probably never would have happened. Oh well, all is well now, and her stay in the NICU is not even a memory to her, or to Boston, who I felt so guilty for leaving every day to be with Savannah.
Here are some pictures of our sweet little angel in the NICU. It is so sad for me to look at babies with oxygen and IVs and all that. I hope I never have to go through that again. But I'm sure that's wishful thinking.
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