October 5c, 2009 - "Transition"

Bill updates the board with the name.

Meanwhile, the Transition nurses put Ella in the aforementioned lobster tank...

...and take her away, and allowing me to follow.

We weave through some hallways and arrive at the Transition section of the Special Care Nursery (SCN).

I admit: I'm scared. No one is saying anything to me and they're sticking their hands into Ella's aquarium...

They move her to an isolette and start doing stuff.

And keep doing stuff.

More stuff.

OK, a diaper - I get that one.

I figured out there is a side hallway with a better view, so I head there in time to see them changing Ella's diaper with her head under a diving bell.
So many wires.

Chest X-ray. I figured this one out on my own.
Still scared.
They've drained her lungs a few times, and took some blood. I saw all that, too, but no pics.

Feet printing. Big feet.

That's it for now for pictures. Mom arrives, so I run down to check on Jill. She's fine, so I kiss her and run back up and beg one of the nurses to come out and give me an update.
She has a fever and lots of fluid in her lungs.
They say they need to figure out if she has an infection, whick takes 48 (I thought they said 24, but I was tired) hours to complete. They'll give her two types of antibiotics for the next 48 hours that would treat most common infections. If the cultures show no infection or one treated by her shotgun-antibiotics, we're probably good to go and she can move in with us (and/or go home with us).
If she has a different situation, they may continue these treatments for 24-48+ hours more - or start over with a different treatment plan.
I'm scared, but there is nothing I can do here. I go back down to be with Jill.
Jill's fever is subsiding. She is treated for a couple of hours before we are moved to a post-partem room to pass out for a few hours.

These last three pages are all within 4 hours on Monday morning.
Still to come - the rest of Monday, including our first visits to Ella at the SCN.