What I Wish I Had Known About the NICU – Spoiler Alert – Term Babies Go To the NICU Too!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Ochsner Lafayette General.

What I Wish I Had Known About the NICU – Spoiler Alert  – Term Babies Go To the NICU Too!

I am a planner to an excruciating fault.

Naturally, planning to have a child really pushed me over the edge. Breastfeeding, labor, changing diapers – these were alien concepts only understood by special females born with
the mom gene, and I was decidedly not included in that group. So I did what any millennial would do in 2018 once I found out I was expecting: I devoured any information I could online, in articles, and in forums. I also attended any and all baby classes that were available to me.

After the classes & lots of research, I could tell you the seven steps to successful breastfeeding or what kind of stroller was the best for pavement. On a more serious note, I also knew what to watch out for regarding miscarriages and how many weeks determined a baby’s viability in case I went into early labor. And yet, through all of my extensive and over-the-top research (really, my husband should have taken away my phone) never did I come across the possibility of a full-term baby in the NICU.

Looking back, I was really naive about the NICU.

I wasn’t a mother yet, so I only had a vague sense of what the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) was, primarily from stories told by friends and families. I just always had the idea that this is where pre-term babies go. If you were to ask me where a newborn is placed if hospitalized, I probably would have just said, “Uhh…the ER?”. I clearly did not possess an understanding of hospital departments.

Ironically, induction for me was a breeze! I even shocked my veteran doctor that I was indeed dilating enough to attempt a vaginal delivery. But upon her breaking my water, she uttered a sentence that I could never let go of during labor: “Oh, there is meconium.” Now, of course, in my psycho 9-month planning spree I learned about meconium. And it wasn’t good. I knew that meant the baby passed a bowel movement. I also knew that this was the reason why doctors would induce you at 41 or 42 weeks because the threat of meconium increases as the baby’s gestational age increases. I knew this was a problem, but I didn’t know exactly what it entailed.

I would find out soon enough. It would mean a team of nurses on standby in my delivery room, grabbing my baby the moment she exited my birth canal. It would mean a lack of cries coming from my newly delivered baby. It would mean I only held her for five-Mississippi-seconds before she was whisked away to this illusive NICU. Shock didn’t even begin to cover the waves that reverberated throughout my body, making my heart tremble.

I wish I had known full-termed babies could go to the NICU too.

And naturally, there were many other things I would come to learn about this amazing department at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center.

• I learned about the incredibly precise 2-minute hand washing that was expected of you once entering the NICU.
• I learned that about the never-ending chorus of beeps that seemed to sound in tandem with your heart as you held your underweight, albeit 41-week term, newborn.
• I found about the NICU nurses who are so patient with you, who cry with you, who celebrate with you, and who love with you. I’ll never forget when a nurse asked me to feed and change the first diaper, I must have had outright panic in my eyes. She understood the tremendous stress I had at that moment and patiently without judgment guided me through feeding, changing, and burping. I also would learn real quick that NICU nurses are adamant about staying on schedule. You better not be late for feeding time!
• I also was told that there would be two-two hour breaks that didn’t allow visitors. And it would somehow always be during the time I wanted desperately to be in the NICU. Mind you, those off-hours were quite necessary for planning for the nurses and doctors but felt excruciating for mom. Since it was my first, I also had quite a bit of visitors who wished to meet the new babe but couldn’t. I craved to have a bassinet in my room. Instead, there was just a noticeable empty space, void of newborn cries, making my heart heavier with each visitor.

The NICU revived her.

Even with all that I had to learn, I watched in awe-inspiring gratefulness how this special hospital helped my daughter accelerate through critical milestones. While I was first told that her stay could be weeks, she powered through each shift, shocking the doctor and nurses at the speed of her recovery. Originally she checked in as an underweight newborn who needed a feeding tube, support to breathe, encased in a baby barricade to help warm her body. She quickly became a newborn who could hold her own temperature, feed by breast and bottle, and breathe on her own. It felt like a miracle. A 2-week care plan dramatically dropped to three days.

For this, I will always be thankful to Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center and the incredible support provided by staff and doctors. When I first found out I was pregnant, my then OB-GYN had privileges at another hospital but I always had heard about the incredible birthing experiences and patient care at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center. I ended up switching doctors early on to make sure I would specifically be at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center during delivery and birth. Never in my wildest dreams could I foresee just how important it was that we were at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center during my labor. I am so grateful I made the switch. I am so grateful their care was exactly what my baby needed to be healthy and recover.

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