I Never Thought We’d Need the NICU: Anna’s Story

I was active the entire time—I even completed my 900th indoor cycling ride three days before I went into labor. Nothing had come up during my pregnancy to suggest there was anything wrong with Anna or that I would have any complications during delivery.

Still, when my husband and I were deciding where I would deliver, I wanted to know there was a NICU available if we needed it.

We never thought in a million years that we actually would.
 

When I went into labor, there was meconium (baby’s first stool) in my amniotic fluid, so Connecticut Children’s NICU team was on standby for Anna’s delivery at UConn Health in Farmington.

When Anna was born, she was initially placed on my chest. But within about a minute, it was pretty clear that something was not right. She was struggling significantly to breathe, had poor tone, and a weak cry. 

Anna had aspirated meconium into her lungs and developed meconium aspiration syndrome. The NICU team immediately stepped in to stabilize her.
 

One of the people there was Lisa Stocklin, a clinical educator with the NICU who I knew through work. She stayed for hours past her scheduled shift while the team worked to stabilize Anna, and helped keep my husband and I updated on what was happening.

I knew Anna was in the best hands. But I also quickly realized that being a pediatric nurse did not necessarily prepare me for this. The NICU isn’t my world. This is not my expertise. And more importantly, this was my baby.
 

Anna needed CPAP to help her breathe, antibiotics, x-rays, and close monitoring. Initially, there was concern that she was developing pulmonary hypertension and would need more respiratory support.

She also received surfactant, a slippery fluid that lungs need to keep air sacs open in the lungs. About 24 hours later, she started to turn the corner.

Soon, the team was able to begin weaning her respiratory support. Then came our next challenge: getting her to eat. Her nurses and the lactation team worked with us to figure out what Anna needed and even helped us find a bottle she liked…which proved to be very challenging!

We had initially prepared ourselves for the possibility that she could be in the NICU for a few weeks.

Instead, about one week after she was born, we got to take our baby home.
 

Today, Anna is doing amazing. She’s a super smiley, happy baby. She loves being outside, loves other kids, and loves sitting in her bouncer while watching my husband and I cook dinner. Now that she’s eating solid foods, we’ve also discovered that she really loves to eat!

But our week in the NICU changed me, too.

One of the things I remember most is getting photos of Anna through the hospital’s Keriton platform from her nurses when I couldn’t be with her. 

As a nurse, taking a picture and sending it to a family can sometimes feel like one more thing to fit into a busy shift. Then I became the mom who was home in the middle of the night, pumping and away from my newborn.

I would get a picture of Anna from her nurse and just be able to see her and know she was doing okay.

It was the best gift I could have had in that moment.

I think about that now when I’m taking care of my own patients. I send the pictures. I know what it’s like to be away from your baby and how much those seemingly small things can mean to a family.

I’ve spent more than a decade caring for children and families at Connecticut Children’s. I never expected to experience that care from the other side.

It has made me more empathetic. Now, when I’m talking to a parent whose child is sick or something unexpected has happened, I understand that feeling in a way I didn’t before.
Sometimes, the thing you never think in a million years will happen to you does happen.

And when it does, having people there to care for your child—and for you—means everything.