Abigail's Arrival & 10 Days in the NICU... (Part 2)

As soon as we held little Abigail in our arms, we were so excited to share the news with everyone. Everything was fine and she was rushed out of the room to be cleaned up... leaving us time to make phone calls and text everyone our news. (We hadn't told anyone when we went to the hospital so no one knew for sure that she was on her way yet... many had suspicions though.) The plan was for us to make our calls, etc. while feeling returned to my legs, for me to eat something to gain some strength back, take a shower, and meet up in our new room (where Abigail should arrive shortly thereafter).

It took some time for the feeling to fully come back to my legs and feet and get even a little something eaten. In fact, friends and family began arriving before I made it out of the delivery bed. My mom came to say hi to us first but immediately headed to the nursery viewing window so she could see our little girl. Not too much later, she came back, saying that Abigail wasn't in there and was in the NICU. Only 2 people could be back there to see her at a time and John or I had to be one of them. John and I just looked at each other, wondering what was up, so he went to investigate... my mother tagging along with him.

As soon as they left, I worked on finishing some food and getting my shower over with. By the time I finished that and made it to our new room (and had a little more food to get rid of some nausea), John came in to spill the news. I can tell you with a little more clarity now than I could process it then. I was so cloudy as John explained that our baby's blood sugar had plummeted from 46 to 16 - normal is 45-110, causing her to be put on a D-10 (sugar) drip for the next few days... and that the NICU doctor had started her on antibiotics as a precautionary measure (until my placenta could be analyzed for infection). This meant we would be there for at least 3 days, possibly 10 if tests didn't go well.

I could see the worry on all of the faces around me. I knew I should be worried too... after all, I'm her mother. Either I was so cloudy that nothing was fully registering or peace was just ruling over me at that point (or both). I wasn't as worried as everyone around me though - which I felt guilty for. Like I told my mom: "Every time I've dreamed of her, she was early... but everything was okay. I've seen her older than this. I have to believe that everything will be alright."