Life in the NICU – Meeting First Milestones

To wrap up our series, I’m highlighting a few of Rosie’s celebratory first milestones in the NICU. Rosie was born 8 weeks premature at 32 weeks. The NICU journey is all about meeting milestones. To graduate from the NICU at North York General, Rosie had to meet three requirements:

1. A minimum weight of 1800g
2. Be medically stable
3. Feed orally through the breast and/or bottle.

Along with these, Rosie met many other milestones along the way. Take a look at a few of Rosie’s “firsts” in the NICU.

*This is PART 5 in our series recounting Rosie’s birth story (check out PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, and PART 4).

The First Cuddle

The first time I was able to hold my baby was on the third day after her birth. There was an overwhelming sense of amazement mixed with fear as her little body pressed against mine – amazement that she was mine, and fear that I might potentially injure her. Although I couldn’t see her face (since she was wearing her breathing aids), it was reward enough to hold her in my arms. The moment was a sweet one and there were more cuddles to come daily afterwards (yes yes yes to kangaroo care!).

The First Nipple Suck  

Any real attempt at breast feeding didn’t happen until she stabilized medically but interestingly enough, we found that Rosie had a sense to make her way down to mommy’s breast early on. Whenever we cuddled (with Rosie lying vertically on my chest), Rosie would attempt to fall horizontally to one side. “What a squirmy babe,” we thought, but we finally caught on that she was actually trying to be closer to mommy’s breast. I guess instinct goes a long way. Our first real attempt was 2 weeks later and it definitely wasn’t an immediate success story. It was the beginning of a long journey but still a celebratory first because we were making progress.

The First Outfit

Rosie needed to wear clothes once she graduated from the incubator to a cot. The hospital didn’t give us a lot of warning as to when she would need clothes, but luckily mom had been collecting. Her first outfit was a preemie sized onesie & sleeper combo – a hand-me down from a friend. At first I thought she looked kind of silly with clothes on. I was used to seeing her lanky and defined body but now that it was covered up by a loosely fitted onesie, she looked scrawnier than usual. We laughed and joked about how she was growing up too fast – and it was cue for mom to splurge on cute baby girl outfits.

The First Bath

Rosie got her first bath (not counting the one she had moments after she was born) once the PICC line came out. The hospital nurse demonstrated how to bathe Rosie in a little bin – the perfect tiny tub for the tiny babe. Rosie seemed to thoroughly enjoy having her hair washed. Being plopped into the tub and scrubbed was an entirely different story; she screamed and cried and clung on to the edge of the tub for dear life. It was actually one of the few times we heard her cry so early on – mom and dad were pretty amused and feeling proud to hear Rosie use her voice to speak her mind.

The First Night with Mom and Dad

Rosie spent her first night with mom and dad in a hospital “Care by Parent” room, the last night before she would come home. Mom and dad were ecstatic as we could hardly believe our little girl finally made it to the end of her NICU journey. Our excitement was mixed with a bought of fear as well – how were we going to manage without the nurses at our beck and call? Well Rosie is now almost 7 months and thriving so we must have managed. Praise the Lord that He has sustained us thus far.

These were some of Rosie’s first milestones in the NICUWe had lots to be thankful for in the midst of the uncertainty and heartache of the journey. These are just a few victories for our little babe. We want to give a shoutout to the wonderful NICU team at North York General Hospital. Also, thank you for journeying with us as we recount Rosie’s birth and NICU adventure. We hope you enjoyed it!

Leave us a comment about the thoughts and emotions you had about this series below!