Top 5 good things about being in the NICU

Last Wednesday I took Audrey in for her first pediatrician appointment. When they checked her heart it was extremely high. They sent us straight to the ER, where we were told we would need to stay the night at the hospital for monitoring. After one day it was apparent it would take a little longer to find the right medication to bring it down. It's been one week, and we are finally getting to go home tomorrow.

There are about a million really awful things about being here that are pretty obvious, but one evening while having a rough time I started thinking about the positive things about the NICU...

5. No laundry. This morning Audrey had a massive diaper blow out. I was able to change her and then throw her outfit and crib sheet in the hospital laundry, never to see it again. Wahoo!

4. Constant medical supervision. No need to call a pediatrician and make an appointment. Audrey had a goopy eye that I was chatting with the night nurse about. She said, oh hold on, went and got the nurse practioner, and they swabbed it and gave her drops right there, at 1 am.

3. Monitoring. Every time I bring a baby home from the hospital I always check on them all night to make sure they're breathing. No need here. There are people all over the place watching her heart rate and sats. We took her off her monitors to take a bath, and her cardiologist was here in about 3 minutes wondering what we were doing.

2. Weight checks. I'm always nervous nursing at first, because you have no idea how much they're actually getting. No need to worry here. They weigh her every night, along with every diaper she goes through. Which by the way, is going well. She's gained almost half a pound, and has really impressed the nurses with some of her diapers... "Over 100 

grams?!"

1. Serious bonding. Audrey is on monitors that keep us pretty tied to one spot. There's one chair we can reach, so we've spent a lot of time on it. There's somethimg to be said for not having dishes to  keep up with or meals to make. It's just her and me rocking. I hope that instead of all of the scariness that
is the NICU, my main memory is just sitting and staring at my sweet baby girl for hours on end.