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Meet Jaxon

February 3, 2006 we unexpectedly welcomed our beautiful baby boy Jaxon Jeffrey Nielsen. The weeks of prenatal classes could not possibly have prepared us for what was about to happen. The delivery suite felt like organized chaos. There was a team of nurses, doctors, and technicians all with a common goal; to deliver our baby and assess and respond to his immediate needs. At 5 ½ weeks premature Jaxon was 4 pounds 12 ounces, 19 inches long. All things considered he looked wonderful!

With his Daddy by his side Jaxon was promptly whisked away to the NICU. As a new Mom with little knowledge of the NICU it is initially very overwhelming and frankly quite intimidating. At first glance the unit is dimly lit with narrow rows of tiny cribs and incubators hosting the tiniest of babies. There are several warming tables each with miniature stethoscopes and teeny oxygen masks, all littered with wires and tubes and medical monitors that for some babies are the only life line they know. Fortunately for us, it appeared worse than it really was.

The nurses were very supportive and encouraging. The NICU team always welcomed us with a smile and would review Jaxon’s progress with each visit. We were invited to participate in bathing, weighing and diaper changes. It was difficult to be denied the privilege of holding our own baby but the nurses would often do what they could to let us touch him even if only for a few minutes. Eventually we were able to take Jaxon into a separate room and cuddle with him. When we couldn’t be at the NICU we were still able to maintain 24 hour access over the phone.

At times I had conflicting feelings about the nurses caring for our baby. They fed him, bathed him and changed him – all of the things that I should have been doing with him at home. Eventually I recognized under the circumstances, I wouldn’t want him to be anywhere else. All of the people that participated in Jaxon’s NICU experience treated him like the most important patient they had. I witnessed time and again that each baby and each family was treated with the same compassion and understanding. I heard them answer the same questions and concerns of other families and do so each time like it was the first.

We commend the all of the NICU nurses for their nurturing, hard work, patience and encouragement. Because of them, we brought our tiny baby home on February 21, 2006.

- As told by Jeff & Ronda Nielsen

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