Our old Stomping Ground...

We had our first return visit to NICU today with the boys to see our old nurses, docs and friends. I received a call earlier this week that the Baltimore Sun wanted to do a story on Mothers Day and the NICU staff had suggested that they talk to us. After talking to the PR lady at the hospital, we decided to go ahead and do it.

All the way there this morning I told the boys where we were going and how amazing these people were to them in their early months and to us as a family. Obviously they were not understanding any of this but just saying it out loud made me realize AGAIN how thankful I am for modern medicine and such caring compassionate people. Someday maybe they will understand that if it weren't for the NICU people, they might not be here today.

So, the first sign that I spent WAAAAYYYYYY too much time at the hospital is that when we pulled up at the valet in front, all of the valet guys remembered me and asked immediately about the babies. They were happy to see them and were really cute about remembering. I even ran into Dr. A (or Pablo as my Dad calls him) as we were unloading. He was one of my docs through the pregnancy and usually had the best sense of humor when he came in during patient rounds. Kinda fun to see him too since he hasn't seen me upright, ever. As we made our way in the front door of the hospital, I immediately got butterflies in my tummy and the urge to pee - that nervous feeling. It was so strange being there again.

Once we got into the NICU unit, the nurses starting flooding around the kids. It was awesome. And they both had such cute little smiles – it was like they somehow knew where they were and how special all of these people surrounding them were. The girls immediately pulled both boys out of the stroller and passed them around the whole time we were there. JD even spit up on one of them, for old time sake-twice; thats my boy.

While they were passing the kids around, the reporter from the paper was peppering me with questions about the kids and about our NICU experience. It was the first time that I have been asked anything about that experience and it immediately sent me into a bit of an emotional imbalance. One second I was tearing up and the next, we were laughing. Talking about those days certainly reminded me how fragile our situation was back then and how far we have come. She asked me what it was like when I first saw them after they were born; and what I would be thinking as I changed their diaper through the holes in the isolate. Many times, I didn’t have an answer for her. I couldn’t put into words what I was thinking during those times other than “I was happy that they were alive”. I just looked at them in disbelief and with hopes that they would pull through, one day at a time.

I have probably mentioned this before in my blog postings back when we were still in the hospital but most of the daily care and decision making for major health issues is done in NICU by the nurse practitioners. The doctors are not always there but they are available via phone when needed. The nurse practitioners are wonderful and very competent. That said, I was hoping that our favorite NP would be there today and she was. She held Cole for a long time and they just smiled and laughed at each other. If it weren’t for her expertise, compassion and strong will to help him survive, he might not be here today. I’m forever indebted to Lori for that. They got some great photos of the two of them so I hope that's the one that goes into the paper!

Once the interview was over, they moved on to interview some families who currently have babies in the NICU. I saw some of the babies through the glass and could hardly believe that we were once in their shoes. I thought about what it would be like for them to spend Mothers Day with their preemies in the hospital. They probably feel blessed beyond belief that their babies are alive and in such good care. On the other hand, they are probably so incredibly scared that something will happen to their baby. It will be a bittersweet day for them I’m sure. I know the NICU nurses will do everything to make it a special day for the Mom's there.

It warms my heart to know that the nurses and caregivers at our hospital (AAMC) were so happy to see us as returning patients. They genuinely care about their NICU families and love to see the kids come back as big babies. They are such special people. Although I don’t miss the NICU drill at all on a daily basis, I sure do miss seeing the wonderful nurses – they are friends too.

The article should be out in print on Mothers Day in the Baltimore Sun. I’ll post a link when it comes out. I hope it’s a good article – you know how reporters are though – we are keeping our fingers crossed for a positive, accurate account of our wonderful experience there. And as a bonus, maybe some cute pictures of our little guys too.