Aulay, Day 41

Dr. Mc and her little prince.

Since Big Daddy Nick is out of town, I took Dr. Mc to the hospital around 10:30 p.m. last night. There's a different atmosphere at that time of night in the hospital. There weren't any inflated pink or blue balloons, overstuffed animals, or floral arrangements entering the main lobby at the hospital. At that time of day, visitors at the hospital have a more serious reason for being there, which is different from the celebratory daytime visitors bearing gifts. The reason for this thankful grandmother being there was to escort my weary daughter to cuddle with her tiny son who had graduated from Level III NICU earlier in the day.

The experience last night was very much like a first date or a job interview. For the first time in 40 days we didn't take the elevator to the third floor, but went to Level II NICU on the fourth floor. Instead of picking up a telephone outside the nursery and hearing the customary voice of Miss Betty, there was a new person answering the phone and asking which baby you were visiting. The small, quiet environment of Level III NICU was replaced by a neonatal unit that is much bigger, noisier, and more crowded with babies. Instead of the familiar faces, there were new nurses. For the first few minutes, just as on a first date or a job interview, there was assessing and gauging of the situation. But one thing was the same: tiny Aulay was in his incubator looking as cute as ever. Now weighing 3 pounds, 8 ounces, the little prince had a busy day of moving before we got there last night. Unfortunately, his temperature was down so Dr. Mc wasn't able to hold him. Her face turned bright red and she silently cried in disappointment. I suggested she put her hand in the incubator and talk to him. He immediately put his little hand on her arm, which made for a very tender moment. He was holding the bracelet on Dr. Mc's arm. Big Daddy Nick gave her the bracelet after Aulay was born. Engraved on the front is: Aulay Evan Zamora 8-19-2014.

Today I'm creating another trip to the hospital with Dr. Mc. We're going around 8 p.m. Hopefully she'll be able to cuddle with him tonight.