Hometown Arrival

I felt as though I had gone full circle stepping back onto the maternity ward where it had been confirmed that my water had indeed broken the week prior. This time though I was no longer pregnant and my baby was being wheeled onto the unit in a special travel incubator. It felt strange going down the halls of the hospital, following the 2 paramedics and my baby. It seemed like we were drawing a lot of attention, like we were some sort of parade. And I felt like a little kid, following behind, unshowered in jogging pants and a hoodie, with only a small backpack. It also occurred to me that I really needed to pump again.

We reached the unit and the nursing staff appeared surprised to see us. I was pretty sure I'd seen the staff in the previous hospital contact this one to let them know we were on our way, but I guess there was miscommunication somewhere. Thankfully one of the younger nurses jumped up and pulled in an incubator to start warming it in one of the open slots. It was a much brighter NICU, but with only a few spaces for incubators compared to the couple of dozen in the hospital we had been in. Once the incubator had warmed, my baby was transferred from the travel one to his more permanent one up against a wall, under a new whiteboard. There was just one other incubator at the time, in the space beside him. A little girl who looked as though she'd been in hospital for some time with a number of personal belongings surrounding her.

The nurse briefly spoke to me and the pediatrician came by to let me know he would only be there the one day as it was the weekend and he was from out of town, just covering for the local doctors. He also read that I had started kangaroo care in the other hospital and recommended that I continue this as much as I'd like. Once everything was settled and the nurses and pediatrician had gone back to the nursing station I suddenly felt lonely. I was with my little guy but compared to the bustle of the other hospital, this one was eerily quiet.

I asked if I could use the pump room and the nurse helped me check out a pumping kit. The pumping room turned out to be even more depressing as it was a small dark room with a few chairs lined up beside pumps and a few old posters on the wall. I sat and pumped one side at a time, 20 minutes each, cleaned up and returned to the NICU. Not long after my family arrived.