"Look for any unusual condition, such as a serious allergic reaction, high fever, or unusual behavior. Serious allergic reactions..." No parent likes the sound of these words, but after much adieu, Kate received her immunization shots in preparation of (someday) leaving the sterile NICU and joining the rest of us contaminated people in the outside world. The nurses have a really good pattern down... it takes two to give the shots as they poke the baby in tandem with hopes that the baby only feels one poke (instead of three) and thus feels less pain. Vaccines these days are given in combo shots so although Kate was immunized for every known disease to man, she only received three actual shots. The nurses were all about Kate's comfort -- they gave her "Sweeties" (natural sugar cane water) on her pacifier right before the big event -- I know, I wasn't happy either about introducing this so early in her life, but studies have proven that this treat actually naturally reduces pain by releasing endorphins ... well, let's face it, this is no surprise to many of us who have even a bit of a sweet tooth! Katherine made it through the shots pretty well. She had a low-grade fever, didn't really feel like eating, and was fussy for about 34 hours. Mom and Dad stayed at her bedside through 2am and then called it quits for a little shut-eye before the 5am Care time. Kate bounced back and did not have any reactions/ complications... thank you, Jesus!
The nurses really don't like having to poke "their babies" so it took a lot of convincing to have on of Kate's favorite nurses, Mary, do the dirty deed - we are so glad Mary snuggled Kate afterwards to make up... Mary is back in the gang of Kate's favs and the other nurses were relieved it wasn't them.
We can't thank our nurses enough for all the care they've given Kate - you can definitely feel their compassion and gentleness every time they work with her!
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