Nadia's First Place of Residence
Nadia was born in a newer hospital. Luckily, the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), was very private and each child had his and her own room. Nadia's room was very large. Her incubator was in the middle of the room and surrounded by lots of equipment. It had a bathroom, a recliner, and a couch that folded out into a small bed.
It was hard to get used to all the strangers constantly coming in and out, but after a few weeks I was on a first name basis with most doctors and nurses. My daughter's father worked full time so I tried to make a schedule that would fit all our needs. I did crafts and read a lot about Nadia's treatments and possible outcomes. The most difficult part was being in a strange place and having to sit and wait the majority of the time. I couldn't do much to help Nadia at this point but to learn and be prepared for what was to come.
After several months we were transferred to a specialized children's hospital. The NICU consisted of several children in one room. Parents were not allowed to sleep in the area, so many nights I slept in the waiting rooms. There were positive and negatives to this situation. On one hand I missed not having the same privacy as before but on the other, it helped me to interact with other parents who were going through a similar situation.
After several weeks, Nadia moved one more time within the hospital. She was sent to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Here we had our own room that I could stay in with Nadia. I slept many nights in an older style recliner. Somehow it was always comfortable. Sleep became a little harder because Nadia was moving a lot more now and would set her alarms off often. This is the first place I began the process of adjusting to alarms and emergency processes.
Nadia's father and I did all our learning in the ICU. In order to bring our daughter home we first had to undergo extreme training. It took many days and nights of watching and being tested. We tried not to fight but as the day grew closer our nerves grew stronger.
When the day arrived we were fully prepared and glad the nurses and doctors had been so anal the last 3 months with our training. Every piece of information we were told became vital to the safety of our daughter outside the hospital.
