The nurse came by after lunch to check her out and try breast feeding again. Dana spent some time on Daddy's chest and pulled out some of his chest hairs. He was not too happy about that. We tried to get her to feed again, but no such luck. We were able to get a little more colostrum out and put it in a syringe for her. My doctor came to check and on how I was doing and arranged for a lactation consultant to come work with me.
When the lactation consultant came by, she was looking at Dana and noticing that she was breathing REALLY hard and fast. I had noticed that after we tried to feed her that she was breathing hard. The nurses came and grabbed Dana to take her up the nursery and make sure she was okay.
About an hour later, the pediatrician called and said they were taking her over to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Her breathing was over 100 breaths per minute and her oxygen levels were too low. Most newborns breathing rate is around 60 breaths per minute. Lung immaturity is not uncommon with preemies. The lungs are the last thing to develop, so if they are born early, they aren't necessarily up to par. Most babies born at 35 - 36 weeks can go either way. Some of them transition really well outside of the womb. Some, like Dana, regress and need more assistance and growth before they are doing well.
Ari and I were floored. We thought that everything was fine. In a few minutes, she was whisked away from us and then we find out she was taking to the NICU. It turns out that the "kvetchy" noises we had heard all night were related to her having trouble breathing. Couple that with us trying to get her to feed and she was worn out.
While in the NICU she was hooked up to a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). This machine forces air into her lungs with a certain level of oxygen to keep her levels up. The CPAP is the blue tube that goes to her nose. Dana was also hooked up at an IV to make sure that she stays hydrated and to also feed her antibiotics. They weren't sure if her lung issues were caused by an infection or if she aspirated during delivery or even after delivery. The antibiotics were to try and kill an infection if it was in her lungs. The IV is attached to the white pad on her right hand. The final tube they had in her is a gavage tube. This is the small tube that goes into her mouth and down into her stomach. This is how they feed her since she can't take anything from a bottle. All the other wires are her monitors: one for her heart rate, one for her respiratory rate, one around her foot for her oxygen levels, one around her ankle which is a blood pressure monitor, and the teddy bear looking one under her arm to measure her temperature and keep the warmer at the right temperature.
Ari and I were a mess when we came in and saw her the first time. She was so little and hooked up to all the machines. We didn't know what was going on, how it happened, if she was even going to make it out of the NICU. All of the nurses and doctors in the NICU were great, trying to explain to us what was going on and tell us of her progress. Needles to say, Ari and I did not sleep well that night. We were both thinking of Dana and wondering what to do.
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