Day of Life: 2 - The First Separation
What Happened Last Night
Tera arrived at UAB about 1:00 this morning. Nonna and Poppa were there to meet her, though they were not allowed back to her room until she was all settled into her new temporary home.
They spent some time with her and got some information from the docs and nurses before going back to Aunt Debbie's to get some sleep.
Throughout the day, Tera received lots of visitors. Here are just a few of those who stopped by.
Her first day at the hospital was medically pretty uneventful. She started the day with 100% oxygenation in her ventilator (i.e., not doing any of the work on her own), but her nurse was able to reduce it to 25% by the end of the day. Bob checked on her constantly and gave us regular updates so that we felt included in her care. Barry drove Canon to Birmingham that afternoon so that Nonna could keep up with him while Barry dealt with things at the hospital. I had been able to express a small amount of colustrum that morning, and Barry was so excited to be able to take it to Tera. Her Neonatologists are adamant about their preemies taking breast milk. Apparently, it's better than medicine in some cases.
What About Mom?
Of course, I'm stuck in a hospital bed at Flowers trying to recover from surgery. I'm actually very glad to be here knowing that there are so many taking care of Tera in Birmingham. While I am still at peace about the long-term effects of her prematurity, I still feel like an emotional wreck and am actually happy that I can't just sit and stare at my tube-infested baby. My sister spent the whole day with me and wouldn't let me lift a finger. She knew what I needed before I knew that I needed it.
Like Tera, I too had several visitors including so many of my closest friends and lots of people I work with. I have two friends who recently went through similar experiences, and they both came by to share their stories and advice. I came to learn that, because Tera is a girl, her chances of getting through all of this unscathed is a little higher than if she had been born a boy. Boys just tend to be lazier. I'm shocked!
Barry and friends texted me all day, sending me pictures of my new daughter. These are two of my favorites.
Later in the day, my sister received this picture from a friend in Greenville. This is her daughter, Amelia's, class praying for baby Tera.
This is just one example of the dozens of calls, texts, and emails that Barry and I have received pouring out prayers and encouragement for Tera and our family. Just as I felt when Tera first came into the world, all will be well.
Dr. Nicholls came by that evening to check on me. We talked about possible reasons for my early delivery. He said that because my contractions were so sporadic and far apart, there was no reason why I should have been dilated so much. His best guess is that I must have an Incompetent (or weak) Cervix. He told me that if Barry and I decided to have more children, he wanted me to see a high-risk pregnancy doc first to see if I might need some surgery to correct that problem. We'll give it a few years, I think!
My sister returned to her family late in the afternoon, just before my parents showed up to continue her duties as my Cheif Nurse. MyGoo had been in North Carolina when we gave her the news last night that Tera was coming a little early. She left first thing this morning so that she and Doc could be here for me. They spent the night at my house, and when Barry returned to Dothan around midnight, he took up residence on the couch in my hospital room until the morning. He is so tired and really going through a lot right now, though he would never tell me about it. I have enough to worry about, he thinks, and all he wants to do is help.
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