Thursday, October 21, 2010

Rewind: Bath Demo-6 Days Prior to Discharge

Well, Casey has been home for 4 days...but that's a whole different story. Before we get too far behind, I really want to chronicle Casey's last week in the NICU. It was so busy, a bit chaotic, we didn't get a chance to blog. But we have been so dedicated to journaling her stay in the NICU, I hate to leave out the most exciting part...getting ready to go home. And, if any other moms of micro-preemies are searching for support and an idea of what they might expect with their own babies, this can help. When the girls were born, I took to searching the blogging world to try to make sense of this new world.


Sunday night we had wrapped up infant CPR training taught by Arlene. Thanks to Scott's parents, Scott's brothers, and our Sunday night gang for coming in. We will feel a lot safer with more confident hands around.


Monday night, we came in for a bath demo by Gina. Hah, I realized while reading that back to myself, that the last sentence can be miscontrued. Let's restate. Gina showed us how to give Casey a bath. Now, Gina was the same nurse who was giving Casey a bath last month when we were there to actually see it for the first time. Yah, we took tons of pictures and videos...it was kind of a mass media event. But we probably weren't really paying attention to the details. We were kind of mesmerized by someone's cuteness.


The NICU room is not really set up to function specifically for bathtime. There's one sink for handwashing and we can't take it over because other nurses have to use it. So a table is wheeled over with a small plastic bin filled with warm water. Casey has gotten a little bigger but she still fits into the bin. Gina says she still used it for baths when she took her son home.

I wanted to take pictures so I was in photog-mode. So Gina and Scott gave Casey the bath. Gina showed Scott how to hold Casey's head up with one hand and use the free hand to wash Casey.

Casey squirmed a little when she first got in the water and then she got real mellow. She loved just sitting in the warm water. By the way, check out her pursed mouth in the picture above. I think it's so funny. When it's time to eat, she makes her mouth super small when you're trying to get her to open up for the bottle.

Oh, she was real relaxed. Gina pointed out that we have to clean especially behind her ears and in her neck rolls. Casey is sporting the double chin already. Rock it, girl. I was trying really hard not to be a backseat driver. Now that I've given her baths at home, it is NOT as easy as it looks. But, Scott learned "wet babies are slippery babies." I had to laugh as eventually, Gina had to take over holding Casey, otherwise, Casey was going to get her first swimming lesson. see video below

We save washing her hair for last because so much heat is lost through the head. So we wait until she is almost done, wrap her up in a towel...and then wet and wash her head. She seems to really like this part as well.
Then we dry her off quickly, put cute clothes on, and swaddle her away. Voila. Bath demo completed.
Gina-A+
Casey-A+
Scott-C-
Keao-No credit


CLEAN BABY ALERT!!!
So how are we doing at home. They say to give her baths just when she seems like she needs it, and she's been averaging every other day. So, I have given her two baths. I was really looking forward to bathtimes. I watch my sister and my nieces and it looked like such a fun bonding time. And I have this uber cute Fisher price bathtub that Auntie Trang from California gave to us (thanks Trang!!) that I have been waiting forever to use. Hmm, bathing newborns is not that easy. The first time, the bathtub was too big so I had to ditch it halfway through. The second time, I Macgyverd the tub up by putting in a folded up towel in the water to act as a cushion. And then Casey mistook the tub for a toilet. I am sure third time is the charm.

Next on discharge countdown...learning about RSV and Rooming in.

6 comments:

  1. How adorable! I remember when our daughter could fit in that same pink bucket!

    By the way, your photos are really awesome -- are you a real photographer?

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  2. Ooh, I'm glad you were in photog mode, Keao, because these are Arlene-quality photos! =)

    OMG, I must not have seen Casey undressed in a while b/c she is super chubs! Yay for baby fat, FINALLY!

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  3. I'm going to have to dispute that C- grade. I mean, it was a pop quiz and I think I did marvelously.

    That first picture of her is my absolute favorite. She's so adorable!

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  4. I am a real photographer. Just part-time although we put it on hold during the pregnancy with the triplets. If you look in the top right column under family blogs, there's a link to my photography site. And Crissy, thanks for the compliment...Arlene still has taken our favorite pictures of Casey.

    Scott, apparently the Kawai Ohana also believe you should get a higher grade just for trying. Hmmm..we'll see.

    Sonya, Thanks. We think so too.

    Okay

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  5. Is that C- on a curve? I am not sure there's another Dad out there that could score much higher than a C.... therefore, Scott's is an A.

    She's precious... we're so grateful to be able to follow along with Casey's progress. Yeah baths!!!

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