Natalie is out of Intensive Care

When I visited Natalie this evening I was thrilled to discover she has been moved from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) into the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU). This is one level of care up from intensive, on the way to being eventually allowed home. She has been taken off CPAP completely now as she has been coping so well. It was really good to see her in an open cot and to be able to pick her up and hold her. She slept throughout my entire visit of course!

Holding Mum's hand in her new open cot

Sleeping peacefully as usual

Day 1 in the big wide world

Dad got to spend some time with Natalie today, and take some pictures. Poor Mum has to remain in bed for 24 hours receiving medicine via drips so she was not able to come and see Natalie yet. Natalie was sleeping most of the time, but had a bit of a stretch and a cry while I was there. She is being kept in an incubator to keep her warm and to block out some of the noise from all the machines which she is attached to. She is still needing some help with breathing from the CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine, because her lungs are still developing. She is only being fed a sugar solution so far, via a tube.

Natalie asleep, about 17 hours old

She looks so little next to Dad's hand

Sleeping peacefully despite the CPAP tubes attached to her nose

A view through one of the port holes of her cot

Natalie's cot and all her gadgets

That headset will be great practise for wearing a caving light in later years