Delilah Jayne Hoffmann
Born May 6, 2012 at 12:05 pm
4 pounds 6 ounces, 17 inches long
33 weeks and 5 days
Homecoming: May 29, 2012
Lyla's birth came as quite a surprise to all of us. There were no signs of complications until I went into labor on the morning of May 6th. I immediately recognized that everything seemed the same as the placental abruption I had when in labor with Ramsey. Because of this, we were able to decide to do the c-section much earlier on than the first time. However, during the labor, was when we found out that we would be in for a long stay at the NICU.
Lyla came pretty quickly and was whisked away for her immediate needs to be taken care of. She couldn't breath on her own for several days. She couldn't regulate her own body temperature and she didn't know how to eat. She was hooked up to oxygen, an IV, a feeding tube, and all kinds of monitoring wires. She needed to be able to do all of those things in order to come home. Our stay in the NICU lasted for 23 long days. I slept at the hospital every night and balanced my days between Ramsey and the hospital. Lyla could not have been in a better place with better nurses. She received the best care possible by nurses who really cared about her.
Here's Lyla's first bath 2 days after she was born. She did not like getting her body washed, but loved getting her hair washed! And of course they like to put little bows in their hair after every bath.
This is Lyla's isolette with billi lights:
Kangaroo care was always encouraged. Although we not allowed to hold her for more than 30 min to an hour depending on how well she could tolerate it. Even talking to her or something as simple as rubbing her back was too stimulating and exhausting for her to handle. It is hard to not be allowed to hold and love your baby for so long!