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Amelia
d'marie : Newborn Icu
Amelia was in Newborn Intensive Care Unit from April 22, 1999 until June 10, 1999 when she was able to come home. She was bigger than her brothers but yet still very tiny weighing 2 LBS 13 OZ. After 3 days she was able to come off of the respirator. Instead she was given oxygen through a small tube in her nose. She was fed mother’s milk through a small tube that ran from her nose down to her small stomach. She stayed in an incubator that kept her warm. Because of her size the IV that supplied vitamins and etc was put in her head. She had a full head of red hair that stood straight up. Amelia was extremely feisty and when put in an incubator with her brothers, with both hands she would try to pull the tubes from their faces. Sometimes when I would go into visit, I would see only these tiny legs and arms stretching. When Amelia was 2 days old I was able to hold her for the first time.
Because she was born 11 weeks early, her lungs had not fully developed causing her to have spells where her heart would slow down and she would stop breathing. She was given caffeine for this, which helped her learn to breathe on her own. Monitors were connected to her so when she stopped breathing, she could be stimulated to breathe again. With time her lungs were able to develop like they needed to and she also began to learn how to eat from a bottle instead of relying upon the feeding tube.
A day after her mother’s birthday she was able to come home on a monitor (to continue watching how she breathed) and also on oxygen. She was on the oxygen for 1 week and the Sat monitor until September of 1999. Amelia is a very happy healthy little girl now.
This picture of Amelia was taken a few hours after she was born, and taken to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit.
These pictures were taken May 1999, also in the NICU.
A small lamp was put over her to treat her jaundice and her eyes were covered with small patches.
