The Raw Vegan: Part CXXIII, In the NICU

The Little One was born on Thursday. Bright and early on Friday, I went to DS1’s. The delay meant I wouldn’t see my new granddaughter until she was a day old. She would still be brand new. What’s the difference when I wasn’t able to be there for the birth, anyway?

We loaded up DS1’s van to go to the hospital. Any of the family could go up to the floor where the NICU was but I was the only one allowed to go in to see “my” baby.

A nice nurse took pity on my BIG granddaughter and showed us where the kid’s playroom/waiting room was. I must say she was a very patient little girl.

To go into the NICU proper, I had to identify myself. Then someone checked the list to see if she saw my name. When I was verified as one of the grandmothers, I was buzzed in. There were sinks to the right where I had to scrub. I felt like I was getting ready for surgery. The soap was the foaming kind and the water off/on was operated by a foot pedal.

Satisfied my hands were germ-free, the nurse took me past three areas known as “pods” where bassinets and incubators were arranged around the walls. We got to the fourth pod that was the special one because it housed my latest descendant. Mom and Dad were already there watching over the little one. I still had my trusty camera with me.

She was so tiny and it was obvious that already she had won the hearts of the nurses on duty. It was heartbreaking that my DIL couldn’t hold her baby whenever she wanted but she was there as much as she could be. In comparison to her hand, Baby’s foot is minuscule.

In spite of all the paraphernalia, she seemed to be resting well. I thought she might be cold but she was in a warming bed and any fluctuation in her temperature set off an alarm.

I stayed and visited with DS2 and my DIL for a little while but the others were waiting for me. I’d promised to take them on a short tour of the hospital (I’m sure they were excited) and then we were going to play putt-putt.

On our way through the Medical Mall, they stopped to catch their breath. I snapped a family picture.

It always follows that three people in a row have to do this:

And then we were off to play golf. DS1 would concentrate on willing the ball to go in the cup. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.

If it didn’t, he blamed it on a distraction like a plane going over.

There were some interesting hazards like the lion cage.

My granddaughter found a true friend.

When she wasn’t posing for the camera, her mother gave her some pointers to improve her putting ability.

We stopped at Taco Bell and I treated us to supper. I’d always order a seven layer bean burrito with extra guacamole and sour cream, no rice (the rice had dehydrated chicken in it).

Our meal was over and the day almost was. It was “Home, James, and don’t spare the horses.” We’d all had a tiring fun time.