My Little Preemie

People ask me what Lily looked like when she was born, and I often explain that she looked a lot like she does now, just in miniature.  She was two and a half pounds and 15 inches long, tiny blonde hairs covered her entire body (lanugo), her skin was pretty see-through, her arms were straight out and her legs were straight down because she didn't have joint fluid yet,  she had an umbilical line which fed fluids and other yummy concoctions straight into her body, she was covered with monitors, and she was screaming-or screaming as much as a tiny thing like her could.  It was more like yelping, I guess, and these foam bubbles gathered on her lips. (The screaming started once they removed the tube-the babies can't scream while they are intubated.)

Photo courtesy of the hubby-I was in the recovery room while the hubby followed Lily into the NICU.  He showed me the pictures once he returned to my side.  

Lily was only intubated for 2 days which was a pretty big miracle (they only intubated her has a precaution so that they could stabilize any other issues). She wasn't even supposed to be able to breathe yet.  Do you remember that commercial, I don't remember if it was for donations for St. Jude's or another children's hospital, but the father was talking about how small their preemie was and he said that he could fit his wedding ring around the baby's arm?!  Well, that's pretty close to what Lily was like when she was born.  Her head was the size of my fist, smaller than my husband's fist, and frightening to look at.

Here's the thing about my daughter: when they first brought her into the NICU, she hit a nurse.  I mean, really whacked the crap out of the nurse so hard that her (Lily's) gauze hand wrap flew off her hand and went halfway across the room.  So when they wheeled me into the NICU, I was greeted by a slight Irish brogue telling me how feisty my daughter was.  Even in my drug induced haze I appreciated the sentiment.  And then we settled in...for an 11 week stay.