| August 11th, 2004 : |
The doctors expect him to be able to leave the hospital in about one week. He
weights 1740 g. - Nicolaï weighs 1.675g, a promising sign (they usually loose weight after
being born... I am told...). Marina is trying to breast feed him, but he so far
prefers to fall asleep against his Mum's breast !
- Friday August 5th, Nicolaï and Marina were transferred to the
Geneva Hospital (Maternité, Hopital Cantonal). Frank and Nicolaï were driven by
ambulance, and later when Nicolaï was comfortably installed, Frank took the taxi
back to the Clinique Générale de Beaulieu to drive Marina to the Hospital. The
Paediatrician, who was leaving on vacation on the week-end, preferred Nicolaï to
be under the best possible care, has he had a few signs that showed that he
might need a lot of care in the next few days.
- Nicolaï Emile is born on August 3rd at 18h19 (GMT+1). He weighed 1.650 Kg. He
and happy mother are fine.
Pictures taken on August 3rd, between our arrival at the clinic at 17 hrs
and the birth of Nicolaï 18h15 !!
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August 3rd,
2004
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In English :
Nicolaï was born by caesarean section with a peridural anaesthetic
at 18h19. He weighed all of 1.650 kg !
He will need intensive care in an incubator for 2-3 weeks, but is
already opening his eyes, touching his nose and ears and making little
gurgling noises.
Marina is fine and is recovering in a very nice big private room.
Here are a few pictures made by the (very) happy father last night...
Marina is at the Clinique Générale-Beaulieu, room 122. Understandably,
for the first few days, she will be glad to be able to rest and recover
peacefully...
That is the gist of the story. Here is how it all
came about:
At 3.30 that afternoon, Marina had called me at the office. Her
gynaecologist, Dr Dumps (whom I can warmly recommend to anybody), read
her medical file when he returned from vacation. He had just spoken to
the colleague who had been replacing him. In view of the fact that
Marina has suffered from hypertension since early childhood, he wanted
her to go immediately to have some extra tests (ultrasound, Doppler) to
see how the baby was progressing. The tests showed that the baby had
stopped growing in the last 2-3 weeks: not a good sign. The doctors
that performed the tests were speaking quietly to each other, so I
suspected that something was about to happen. They then called Dr Dumps,
who told us that we should meet him at the Clinique Generale-Beaulieu as
soon as possible. No time to pack anything up !
We reported immediately to the Maternity Department and, a few
minutes later, Marina was lying on a bed, dressed in a hospital gown and
cap. She was then taken to the operating theatre, where I joined her
after also having had to put on protective clothing (hat, mask, overall,
trousers, shoes...). It was now close to 6 p.m. I had barely had time
to take her hand in mine when (at 18h19 precisely) we heard our baby
crying. They took him out of the room and brought him back a few
minutes later. Marina just had time to have a very quick peek at him
and give him a kiss (see picture) before they again took him away. I
was asked to follow, while they finished the operation, sewing Marina
up.
One floor higher, little Nicolaï was rapidly weighed (1.650 kg) and
measured. He was then placed in an incubator, where the heat and
additional oxygen (25%) seemed to bring him comfort during his first
minutes "outside".
An hour later, after a thorough examination by the paediatrician and
multiple checks (measurement of the oxygen and sugar in the blood, and
so on), they intubated Nicolaï (one tube, first in his mouth and later in
his nose, and another tube in a vein in his heel). I was told that the
first was for feeding him and the other was to rehydrate him. I then abandoned
Nicolaï to the extremely competent staff, and joined Marina in the "waking-up
room", where she was recovering as best she could from this major event
in her life. She complained of cramp and asked me to massage her feet
and find her some warm socks for the night. The nurse then brought in a
contraption that blew hot air under her blanket.
Two hours later I changed back into my own clothes and returned to
Nicolaï. Alll was under perfect control. After a few minutes, a nurse
went to fetch Marina and took her to her own very comfortable room. I
left her shortly thereafter to enjoy her first night as a happy mother.
This morning (4th August), I was able to spend a few hours with
Marina and Nicolaï. To our great pleasure, a nurse brought Nicolaï to
Marina for half an hour. He loved to be in his mother's arms and
immediately started crying when the nurse took him away to put him back
into the incubator.
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En Français
Hier (3 août 2004) vers 15h30, Marina m' appellé à mon bureau. Son
gynécologue, le Dr Dumps (super gynéco que je recommande chaleureusement),
qui venait de rentrer de vacances, avait parlé au confrère qui l'avait remplacé
pendant son absence. Résultat: nous devions aller dans l'heure à un
centre d'échographie pour voir où en était le bébé, car Marina souffre
d'une hypertension chronique et, depuis 2-3 semaines, le bébé semblait
avoir arrêté sa croissance. Les regards et discussions en catimini des médecins
qui avaient fait l'échographie nous ont un peu inquiétés - à juste
titre, car ils nous ont dit, après avoir parlé à notre gynéco, que
Marina devait être hospitalisée immédiatement et que le Dr Dumps se
rendait à la Clinique Générale- Beaulieu, où il nous attendait..
Pas le temps de prendre la moindre affaire, ni de passer le moindre coup
de fil ! Nous nous retrouvons propulsés en salle d'opération à 18h.
A 18h19, Nicolaï a poussé ses premiers petits cris... !! On l'a
immédiatement enlevé (après le bisou de la mère, que j'ai pu
photographier car, pour une raison qui m'échappe encore, j'avais pris
l'appareil de photo en partant de la maison...), pour l'amener à l'étage
au-dessus. On m'a alors invité à le suivre et j'ai laissé une
escadrille de médecins et infirmières - en tout une bonne douzaine - s'occuper
de Marina.
On a pesé Nicolaï en 4ème vitesse (1.650 g), et zoup! dans la couveuse
où la chaleur et l'oxygène supplémentaire (25%) ont rendu le pauvre
p'tit un peu plus heureux.
Une heure plus tard, après un examen approfondi du pédiatre de garde,
différents soins, prise de sang, mesure du taux de sucre et pose de deux
tuyaux (un dans l'estomac pour le manger, l'autre dans le pied pour le
boire), j'ai abandonné Nicolaï pour retrouver Marina en salle de réveil
- une monstre salle où elle était seule sous les soins experts d'une
infirmière impressionnante de compétence et de gentillesse.
Marina se plaignait d'avoir froid, puis de crampes aux pieds, que mes
massages ont abrégées. Après deux heures de contrôles divers, je suis
remonté vers Nicolaï (dernières photos en annexe), en laissant Marina
qui entretemps était arrivée dans sa chambre pour passer cette première
nuit de mère et de femme heureuse.
Voila pour le scoop. Pour le reste, je vais retrouver Marina demain à 9
heures avec quelques affaires, car nous sommes partis pour une
échographie sans rien emporter...
Alors à tout bientôt, des nouvelles et photos...
Marina se trouvait dans la chambre 122 et nous nous sommes efforcés de
restreindre le nombre de visites pendant les quelques premiers jours...
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