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Category Archives: premature birth
What’s in a name?
The minute the doctor told us I was expecting a girl I knew I wanted her to be named Sophie. To me, it was the most beautiful name in the world. It was feminine and timeless. I liked the way … Continue reading
Posted in adoption, death of child, NICU, premature birth
Tagged choosing a name, international adoption, Sophie, writing, Zoe
4 Comments
Going Home
Zoe´s convulsions led the doctors to believe she might suffer from seizures, but after two days of EEG exam, where the brain activity was monitored 24 hours a day, the results came back normal. The doctors concluded that the convulsions … Continue reading
Posted in NICU, premature birth
Tagged NICU, preemie development, preemie first year, preemie milestones, Zoe
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Been There, Done That
“Zoe’s doing well but doctor Diaz wants to speak to you,” said the nurse one morning when we called to check in. “What’s going on?” One thing was for sure: the doctors did not want to talk to you if … Continue reading
Posted in NICU, premature birth
Tagged NICU, NICU support system, preemie, preemie convulsions, seizure
5 Comments
About Eye Surgery and New Friends
Zoe’s intestine surgery was a success and weeks later she was stable and improving. We went over the list of things that could go wrong with preemies and checked the ones that we had already experienced: brain bleeds (check), PDA … Continue reading
Posted in NICU, premature birth
Tagged eye surgery, NICU, preemie, retinopathy of prematurity, ROP
2 Comments
The NICU, An Emotional Roller Coaster
From one day to the other, Zoe became very swollen. It was a shock to see her looking like a little balloon, with an IV in her scalp plus three others in her extremities. We were reminded that this was … Continue reading
Posted in NICU, premature birth
Tagged intestine perforation, intestine surgery, NICU, NICU nurses, preemie
1 Comment
Holding Zoe
I will never forget the first time I held Zoe. It was February 19, 2009. She was a month and a half old. Most NICUs encourage parents to hold their babies as much as they can, using a technique called … Continue reading
The Zoe Movement: Blood Transfusions in Preemies
Two days after she was born, Zoe needed a blood transfusion. Transfusions for preemies are common because blood tests are required several times a day, and although the amount of blood taken is small, the babies do not have the … Continue reading
Posted in NICU, premature birth
Tagged NICU, NICU support system, preemie, preemie blood transfusion
5 Comments
Zoe’s Pulmonary Emphysema
Lung complications are almost a given in preemies, because the lungs are the last organ to develop in the womb. During their stay in the NICU, babies receive different kinds of support to breathe: the first step is typically the … Continue reading
Posted in NICU, premature birth
Tagged hope, lung conditions, motherhood, NICU nurses, preemie, preemie lung, pulmonary emphysema, steroids
3 Comments
NICU: One Day at a Time
Zoe was smaller than I imagined. She had weighed 1 pound 9 ounces at birth (720 grams) but had now lost around 15 percent of her weight. She looked like the babies in the “How your baby grows” brochure, except … Continue reading
Posted in NICU, premature birth
Tagged NICU, NICU heart surgery, PDA ligation, preemie
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The Miracle of Life
“You have two beautiful babies,” Jean-Marc said when I woke up from the anestaesia. I wanted to ask how they were doing, how big they were, if our little boy was all right, but my throat was so sore that … Continue reading
Posted in death of child, premature birth, twins
Tagged bereavement, christian, death of child, preemie, twins
11 Comments