Chapter 42: What Baby A's Name?
January 12
Baby A: Just Born
Baby B: In Utero
Although it was challenging, Owen did his best to stay beside the baby in the NICU without getting in the way of Alex and his team. They worked fast to attach additional leads, monitors, and ID bracelets to Baby Hunt #1.
"Let's run a periodic BP and monitor her temp. Let me know the results on the blood work as soon as you have it and keep a close eye on her breathing – let's make sure the CPAP is sufficient," Alex ordered.
Alex grinned briefly at Owen and nodded with reassurance as he continued to advise the medical team, "Tammy, call up and see how Mom is doing. We'll need her to pump as soon as she's able to try. Let's get an NG tube ready."
Alex put his stethoscope around his neck, prepared to leave the NICU, and patted Owen on the shoulder, offering, "Congratulations, Chief. She's a beauty."
"Thanks, Karev," Owen responded. The nurse, Marcy, explained that Owen could touch the baby but shouldn't rub her skin because that was far too overwhelming at this point. "Hey, little one…" Owen mused as his daughter looked up at him wide-eyed, "What in the world are we going to name you?" He kissed her forehead as he took in the wonder of her birth. The baby began to cry softly, and Owen eagerly sought Marcy's input.
Marcy approached the Chief and calmly expressed, "She might be hungry, Dr. Hunt." She put a binky in the baby's mouth hoping to keep her calm until the NG tube was placed.
"Have we got you fooled?" Owen asked his daughter aloud as she clumsily sucked on the binky and periodically dropped it out of her mouth. Even though he understood what all the wires, monitors and tubes were doing, Owen's heart sunk a little to see them attached to his baby. He was torn between staying next to her every minute and wondering about Amelia and how she was faring. "You know…I think you look like an Ella. Will your mommy agree or overrule me?" Owen continued his one-way conversation with his beloved daughter, not caring whatsoever if anyone overheard him. He snapped picture after picture with his phone and posed for a few that Marcy offered to take.
Forty-five minutes later, a nurse from Labor and Delivery entered and approached Owen. "Dr. Hunt, Dr. Robbins has completed her procedures on your wife and your wife is asking for you."
Leaving the baby in Marcy's care, Owen stepped out of the NICU and walked to Amelia's room. When the door to her room opened, Amelia's face was full of anticipation as she waited for the baby to be wheeled in. Instead, Owen walked and headed toward a chair next to Amelia's bed. As he grasped her hand, he mentioned in a quiet voice, "You look beautiful."
Amelia peered at her husband out of the corner of her eye and offered a goofy grin, "I look like I've just been put through the ringer."
"No…you don't," Owen whispered almost inaudibly as he softened his eyes and gazed at Amelia with admiration and love.
"How's the baby? Is she healthy?" Amelia asked with concern.
"She's in good shape. She's on all the monitors, Karev's ordered blood work and periodic BPs – all the standard stuff. They've got her on CPAP to help her breathe, heart rate is just beyond the comfort range. They're watching her closely. How's your pain?" Owen asked with concern.
"Minimal. Really," Amelia confessed. "The epidural hasn't worn off."
Owen smiled and flirted, "Can I sit next to you? Or is it uncomfortable to move?"
Amelia scooted over to one side of the bed and patted the now empty side. Owen climbed in and patted Amelia's belly bump, wondering aloud, "And how's this little one?"
"I'm fairly sure that she's asleep. Arizona told me that she took advantage of the extra room earlier and was stretching out," Amelia giggled. "Smart kid."
The couple sat side by side soaking in the moments in silence. Owen put his arm around Amelia and she rested her head on Owen's shoulder.
After a few minutes of not speaking, Owen inquired, "Did you pump at all yet? The people in the NICU said the baby might be getting hungry. I got the impression someone was coming up to help you."
"Yeah, a lactation consultant has already come and gone. I felt like a dairy cow when she hooked me up to the pump. Moo," Amelia quipped.
Owen smirked compassionately, grasped the back of Amelia's head and gently pulled her in to kiss her. The couple leaned their heads together and quietly held hands. Amelia occasionally traced her finger atop Owen's hand, back and forth between his wrist and each finger. Having his arm around her helped quell her concerns about the baby. Owen silently pulled up the first picture of the baby that was on his phone and handed the phone to Amelia. She browsed slowly through the pictures, enlarging some of them and smiling at others.
A couple minutes later, Amelia asked, "Do the kids know?"
Without shifting his gaze to his wife, Owen responded with a chuckle, "Uh…no. I haven't called anyone yet."
"Do you think you might want to get on that?" Amelia asked with a leading but kind tone.
Owen laughed softly and looked at Amelia before kissing her and uttering, "I suppose I should. I'll wait. Right now, I just want to sit with my incredible girl."
"The baby?" Amelia asked with confusion.
Owen chuckled, "You."
"Don't let Bronwyn hear you say that I'm your girl," Amelia warned jovially.
"Don't get me wrong, she's one of my incredible girls too," Owen scrambled to make excuses for his previous statement.
Alex knocked on the door and entered the room. He grinned at Owen and Amelia and reported that he had just received the initial blood work results. The baby's blood sugar was a little low and she was borderline anemic. He explained that he'd keep an eye on the anemia. After the tube feeding, he planned to retest her blood sugar. After those results were received, he would reassess the situation. He also planned to monitor the baby after the feeding to assess her for reflux and apnea. Her heart rate was fluctuating within a 30-beat range, a wider range than he wanted to see. He anticipated that would even itself out within the next few hours. His biggest concern was her breathing. He reminded them that 32-week preemies often struggled with respiratory issues at first. He anticipated that she would need some breathing assistance for the next few days. All in all, the baby was within expectations for her gestational age. Reluctantly, Alex explained that he couldn't allow the baby to leave the NICU at this point.
"As time goes on, we'll do our best to keep the two of you together as much as possible," Alex explained. "Today and tomorrow, at least, she'll need to stay in the NICU. It's up to Dr. Robbins if you're allowed to visit the baby there, Amelia. I have no problem with it as long as you're safely able to be out of bed. Chief, you're welcome to come and go as you like, but no other visitors inside the NICU. You probably already know all that. The kids can see her from the hallway windows – we want to keep her and the rest of the NICU safe from any germs and viruses. This little one's immune system is fairly delicate at this point."
The couple thanked Alex for the update before he stepped out. They locked eyes silently, neither one wanting to speak first. Full of hormones and exhausted, Amelia began to cry. She buried her face in Owen's chest and sobbed for 10 minutes as he held her silently and let her pour out her pent-up fears and stress. Then she began taking deep breaths and remained pressed into her husband for a few additional minutes. The crying slowed and Owen patted Amelia's back.
"Shhhhhh…one step at a time, right? Right now, she's steady. She's being monitored. One step at a time," Owen whispered.
"I want to see her. Hold her. She's my daughter, Owen. She needs her mommy right now," Amelia cried quietly. She was still periodically teary and sniffling but was beginning to steady.
"I'll find Arizona and see what we can arrange," Owen promised as he grasped his cell phone. He sent a text that read, any chance A can go to NICU to see baby?
While they waited for a response, Amelia told Owen about the recent dream she'd had where she encountered her father. Foregoing reason, she admitted, "I know I'm a neurosurgeon, a scientist. I'm sure I sound like a lunatic, but, Owen, I believe my dad when he promised the girls would be alright. A part of me is wondering why I'm even scared, because a larger part of me is so certain that Dad knew what he was saying – like he had it on good authority. It wasn't just a dream - he was there, responding to me and interacting with me. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I'm certain he spoke to me."
"I'm certain too," Owen affirmed without adding anything more to his words. His phone sounded his text tone. Arizona had responded, very soon. Let me stop by to check her & give go ahead. Will try to see you asap.
After examining Amelia and reviewing her vitals, Arizona cleared her for NICU visits under certain conditions. She needed to use a wheelchair to go between her room and the NICU and she could visit, for an hour at a time with two hours back in bed, rotating until 10 or 11pm and resuming in the morning. Amelia and/or Owen needed to contact Arizona immediately if any signs of cramping, pain, fever, or concern arose. Arizona shared that she would widen the visit times each day if Amelia was resting and healing well.
Once Amelia received the green light, Owen helped her reach the NICU. They were there within ten minutes of receiving Arizona's hall pass. Alex was listening to the baby's heart when Owen and Amelia entered. He shared a sneaky grin and pondered aloud, "Did Robbins OK you or are you being a rebel?"
"She cleared me," Amelia smiled with a sly tone.
Owen wheeled Amelia over to the isolette and asked, "I know we just talked, but do you have any updates?"
Alex responded, "NG tube worked well for her feeding and her blood sugar was good afterward. Since we have an umbilical catheter in, it's easy to draw blood whenever we want. I plan to keep an eye on the sugar and watch for fluctuations. No signs of reflux at this point. Sometimes that arises later."
Alex watched Amelia tentatively and cautiously peer into the isolette. It never mattered who the parents were and what they did for a living, they almost always showed fear about interacting with the baby at first. Alex walked over to her, knelt down, and assured her, "You can touch her. Picking her up is too much right now, but you can hold her hand, touch her head, or set your hand on her. You can do that the whole time you're in here."
Reaching her hand toward the baby's tiny hand, Amelia whispered, "Hey, baby girl." Amelia softly stroked the baby's hand and placed a finger underneath it. The baby grasped her finger instantly. Amelia continued to whisper and softly speak to her daughter as Owen stood in the background and snapped some pictures with his phone. Afterward, he gowned up and approached the baby and Amelia. He set one finger on her tiny foot and remained still.
"Even with all my medical experience and training, I'm not sure I've ever felt so blown away by life," Owen mused. "She's… she's miraculous. Amazing. So tiny yet so strong. My heart is already bursting with pride." Owen chuckled and pointed out, "Aims, we made her. You and me."
"What the hell, huh?" Amelia responded with a playful smirk. "Just a few hours ago, she was inside me. About 8 months ago, she didn't even exist. How crazy is that?" Amelia leaned toward the baby and continued, "How crazy is that, baby girl? You are a pretty amazing little human."
"Amazing little human has a nice ring to it, but maybe we should consider what we're going to officially name our girl," Owen suggested with curiosity.
"You're the one who declared she doesn't look like a Madeline," Amelia pointed out. "Do you have any ideas?"
Owen suggested, "Savannah?"
"Savannah Hunt. No. It sounds like an experience," Amelia stated sharply and changed her voice to imitate a man, "'I'm going on the savannah hunt this year, Tom. How about you? Oh, you're going on the mountain hunt? Have a great time.'"
Owen chuckled and suggested, "Ella Ray." Amelia grasped Owen's arm and pondered the name and potential nicknames. Amelia remained quiet as she thought.
"Ella Ray Hunt," Amelia voiced happily, "I like that. Yes. That's it." She moved her head to the side and kissed her husband.
Later that evening, Lynne brought the kids to the hospital and met Debra in the lobby. The group visited with Amelia and Owen in Amelia's room first. Owen hugged the kids and caught up with them. Meanwhile, Lynne and Debra fawned over Amelia and asked her about the tremendously quick labor.
Owen explained to the kids, "One baby was born and the other is still inside Mommy. The baby is in a special room for babies called the NIC-U. When we go to see her, we'll only be able to look through a window. She'll be in a special hospital room and we'll be in the hallway. She's tiny and has a lot of tubes hooked up to her body to help her breathe and to keep track of her heartbeat. The tubes might seem a little scary, but they're there to help her. Do you guys have any questions?"
Oliver, always Amelia's boy, looked at Owen soberly and asked, "Can I just snuggle Mommy and see the baby later? I don't miss the baby yet, but I do miss Mommy."
Owen pressed his lips together and grinned, suggesting, "How about if you snuggle her now and decide about meeting the baby when we all go to see her?" Oliver quickly agreed to that option as Owen picked him up and placed him next to Amelia. She covered him in kisses as she took his hand and placed it over Asha, describing the delayed birth at a seven -year-old level. Just feeling at peace being with his mama, Oliver snuggled on Amelia's bump, kept his hand where she had placed it, and listened to her continue her conversation with Lynne and Debra.
"Um…'cooz me Daddy….Daddy, I have a question," Bronwyn announced as Owen returned to the sofa. "Did Madeline say if Asha is ok? Is her scur-jury all better?"
Owen smirked and chuckled, "The baby doesn't talk yet, Liv. But the doctor told us that Asha is healthy and seems to be growing like she should."
"How comes Asha didn't come play with us?" Bronwyn continued.
"Honey, she still needs to grow and get bigger. She'll be born soon. For now, we have this baby," Owen offered.
"Mad-uh-lynn," Bronwyn sounded out with certainty as if she were informing Owen of the baby's name.
"Actually," Owen shared, "Mommy and I decided not to name her Madeline. Her name is Ella."
"The babies already hadded names in Mama's tummy and that's their names," Bronwyn attempted to understand.
Amelia interjected, "Madeline and Asha were the names Daddy and I picked, but when we saw the baby, she just didn't look like someone named Madeline."
"What does she looked like? Maybe her name is puz-boast to be Bronwyn!" Bronwyn inquired.
"We already have a one-of-a-kind Bronwyn," Amelia explained with wide eyes and a goofy face.
Bronwyn folded her arms, lowered her eyebrows, and surveyed her parents carefully. Their words seemed suspicious and strange. Finally, she asked, "So we calleded her Madeline before and now we called her Ella?"
"Yep or Elle or Ellie," Owen responded. His pager sounded and he grabbed it out of his pocket. The NICU was paging him, which sent a shockwave right through his body. "I'll be right back," he said to everyone, not wanting to sound any alarms. He stepped out to the nurses' station and dialed the NICU, "This is Dr. Hunt. You paged me?"