Nicole Victoria Wallace
Date Born: Sunday 20th May 2001 Expected Date: 18th July 2001
Birth Weight: 2 lb 8.5 oz Current Weight 3 lb 5 oz
Where: Frimley Park Hospital, Frimley, Surrey, United Kingdom
Nicole was born at 12:15 on Sunday 20/5/2001. She was 8 weeks early and her arrival came as a bit of a surprise to Debbie and myself. Nicole is expected to stay in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) for 3 - 6 weeks, depending on her weight and size. Below is a short diary of events and some photo's.
Sunday 20/5/2001 (photos)
Debbie had been in hospital since Friday afternoon, suffering from high blood pressure and swollen ankles. During Sunday morning the baby's heart rate started to increase and by 11:45 it had reached a level whereby the medical team decided that it would be safer if it was delivered ASAP. A theatre was prepared and Nicole was delivered by Caesarean Section 30 minutes later. Because of her early arrival, Nicole was rushed straight to the SCBU and placed in an incubator. Here she received a small quantity of oxygen (about 28%) to help her breath. Apart from this everything looked fine. Debbie eventually got to see Nicole at 20:30.
Monday 21/5/2001 (photos)
No real difference today, apart from the fact that Nicole became slightly jaundiced overnight and had to have a light source placed above her. This is expected to stay on for the rest of today. Nicole is currently on 44% oxygen, although we have been told that this is still low and certainly nothing to worry about. She is also receiving a daily infusion of caffeine which will help to develop her respiratory system.
Tuesday 22/5/2001
The light source was removed overnight and Nicole is now back to just having some help with her breathing and is being fed via a drip straight into her arm. Nicole is currently on about 52% oxygen. I spoke to the paediatric team and they have assured me that everything is going well. Her only real threat is from an infection.
Wednesday 23/5/2001 (photos) (video 1) (video 2)
Some improvement today. A couple of the drips and monitors have been removed. Nicole is now spending more and more time without the oxygen mask over her nose. The doctors tried to fit a line in one of her veins so that they can change the type of feed she receives, but she is such a wriggler that they had to give up. It's not too important as they already have one good line. The doctors will try again tomorrow. They stress that nothing they are doing will cause her any pain.
Thursday 24/5/2001
Bigger improvement today. By the time I left this evening, Nicole was receiving no help at all with her breathing, and the nurses were going to try and keep it this way. When we went to see Nicole this morning there was a surgeon with her, but this just turned out to be the doctors trying to get a better line into Nicole for feeding. They have been trying this for a few days now, but today they succeeded. This should mean that Nicole can start to receive some more nutritious and fattening food. Some test results this afternoon showed that she was slightly jaundiced again, but this will happen a few times over the next week or two. A quick session under the bright lights will cure it. Debbie changed Nicole this evening and has been told that it may be possible to pick her up tomorrow.
Friday 25/5/2001 (photos)
We both walked in this morning to find Nicole looking her best yet. Nicole is no longer receiving any assistance with her breathing and her oxygen stats are remaining at 95% or higher. As you can see from the photos Debbie got to hold Nicole for the first time today, and she was over the moon. The doctors came over and said that Nicole has started to accept Debbie's milk, which should mean that she starts to put on some weight. Today she weighed just 2lb 1oz, but this is normal for a new born baby. All other tests are coming back normal. At this rate she should soon be out of the incubator.
Saturday 26/5/2001
Even more improvement today. Nicole is now up 7 mg of milk per hour and showing no signs of rejecting it. The nurses are also starting to wean her off of the nasal oxygen supply. She will stay off it for six hours and then go back on for two. In the evening Debbie changed Nicole and then we both managed to hold her. She is really light. At 19:00 Debbie was released from hospital.
Sunday 27/5/2001 (photos)
Debbie turned out to be the main cause of concern today. After spending the night at home we visited Nicole and then Debbie went to have a quick check-up. It turned up that her blood pressure had shot up. The doctors wanted to keep her in for the day, but seeing as it is Matthews birthday, and we had a party planned for him, this wasn't possible. We had to promise that Debbie would return to hospital at 18:00. She did as requested and was promptly re-admitted. Hopefully this will only be for a day or two until they get the right dosage of medicines. Nicole has been off of the nasal oxygen supply all day, and if her stats stay high through the night, the machine will be removed permanently. She is now up to the maximum of 9 mg of milk per hour. The doctors are hinting that she may be moved to a normal cot within the next 7-10 days, and could be home in 4-5 weeks.
Monday 28/5/2001 (photos) (video 1)
Checked on Debbie this morning and found that she was in the process of being discharged again. The doctors have decided that her blood pressure is normal considering all the circumstances and that she would be better off at home. Nicole has moved to a different incubator and is now off of all drips and oxygen. The temperature in her new incubator is gradually being lowered, which will continue until they get it down to normal room temperature. Debbie and I changed Nicole on our own today. Nicole's weight has now increased slightly to 2 lb 3 oz. At least it's going the right way now. On the evening visit, I managed to get my first hold of Nicole. She is so light. Both Debbie and I should get to hold her every day from now on.
Tuesday 29/5/2001 (photos)
For the first time Nicole is wearing a baby grow. Up until now she has just been in a nappy. Debbie and I are now left on our own to perform some minor checks on her and then give her a wash and nappy change. We also get to feed her each time. This involves attaching a syringe to a line and holding it up so that gravity lets it flow into her stomach. She seems to feel this and starts to make sucking motions and sounds. It will be a few weeks before Debbie is able to feed her normally. As you can see from the photos, both Katie and Matthew joined in tonight. This is the first time that Matthew has shown any real interest. It's just a shame that they aren't allowed to hold her yet.
Wednesday 30/5/2001 (photos)
Everything fine still. No problems have been detected and everybody is really pleased with Nicole's progress. They are even talking about her leaving her controlled-environment incubator and moving into a normal open-aired version. This would be a big step and let Debbie and I start to relax. Katie and Matthew are starting to gain more confidence with Nicole and want to help whenever possible. It's just a shame that they aren't allowed to hold her yet.
Thursday 31/5/2001
No real changes today. Everything going great still. Margaret had her first hold of Nicole.
Friday 1/6/2001 (photos)
Good day today. Nicole was in the process of having her incubator moved from the intensive care room to the normal family room. When she gets a bit bigger she will be moved to a normal cot. This evening the nurses suggested that Debbie try feeding Nicole with a bottle. We were a bit apprehensive but she loved it. This is the first time that she has actually tasted anything. She seemed a bit shocked at first, especially when she had to be winded. Katie got to hold Nicole for the first time tonight. Tomorrow will be Matthews turn.
Saturday 2/6/2001 (photos)
Everything fine today. Laurie came to the hospital tonight and held Nicole for the first time.
Sunday 3/6/2001 (photos)
All normal. Nicole continues to improve slowly day-by-day. We all get to hold Nicole each day and take it in turns to feed her; sometimes via her feeding tube and other times via a bottle. The doctors are going to move her feeding tube so that it goes down her nose. This will evidently feel better and enable Nicole to feed more easily. The doctors checked Nicole over while we were there and they said that everything was going well. No hint as to when she might come home yet though.
Monday 4/6/2001 - Wednesday 6/6/2001
Just general improvements. Nicole has now swapped from a feeding tube down via her mouth to one down her throat instead. This is supposed to make bottle feeding easier. It's okay until Nicole pulls the tube out, then it makes her cry when it's re-inserted. Nicole's weight as of midnight Sunday is 2 lb 12.5 oz.
Thursday 7/6/2001 (photos)
Walked in to find that Nicole's incubator has gone. At last she has been moved to a normal cot as per all the other babies. Nicole has also started having her feeds every 3 hours now instead of every 2. Her weight as of midnight last night is 2 lb 15 oz. One more pound to go and we might be able to start thinking about bringing her home.
Sunday 10/6/2001
Nicole's weight was measured as 3 lb 3 oz at midnight last night.
Thursday 14/6/2001
Nicole's weight as of midnight last night was 3 lb 5 oz. All bar one of the monitors have now been removed, which makes changing Nicole's nappies and clothes much easier.
Friday 15/6/2001 (photos)
Nicole's nose tube has been removed today. The medical team are going to try not to reinsert it unless they really have to. Nicole is now quite happy to take all her feeds from a bottle. She is really alert when we are around and always responds to everything we say and do. Still no news as to when she is likely to come home, but it can't be much longer now.