*25% of all royalties go to Miracle Babies. They were a blessing during Hadley's stay in NICU and beyond. 50% of the royalties are split between Hadley's and Harper's ScolarShare 529 Plan Accounts.
Elevator Speech
Elevator Speech
Questions and comments like "Why are there so many tubes?" "It sounds like their speaking a foreign language in here!" and many others are overheard daily in the waiting area and inside a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit — NICU. Once a child is admitted to NICU, parents, already traumatized by the sometimes very premature birth of their child, find themselves as outsiders in true insiders’ world.
This book delivers just what the title promises, information, and examples of NICU process and procedure. Downing’s chapter titled Insider Information provides easy to read explanations of terms with which he is all too familiar.
This book delivers just what the title promises, information, and examples of NICU process and procedure. Downing’s chapter titled Insider Information provides easy to read explanations of terms with which he is all too familiar.
Background
Hadley Marie Downing is my oldest grandchild. She was born at the end of June, 2012, 11 weeks prematurely.
June 26, 2012
I'm a Grandpa! As of 2:58PM, baby girl Downing entered the outside world via emergency C-section. Right now Steve said she's just got oxygen tube under her nose. She's long and very skinny. Mom in recovery. — atGrossmont Hospital Womens Center (SGWC).
She spent 60 days in NICU.
Hadley’s story provides a common thread throughout the book. Each chapter explores one aspect of NICU life from Inside in a Hurry through Issues and Crisis Times to Life After NICU. The book is compelling tapestry of narrative and information. It's a resource you will want to share with others.
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| A photo from one of Hadley's first three days in NICU. |
June 26, 2012
I'm a Grandpa! As of 2:58PM, baby girl Downing entered the outside world via emergency C-section. Right now Steve said she's just got oxygen tube under her nose. She's long and very skinny. Mom in recovery. — atGrossmont Hospital Womens Center (SGWC).She spent 60 days in NICU.
Hadley’s story provides a common thread throughout the book. Each chapter explores one aspect of NICU life from Inside in a Hurry through Issues and Crisis Times to Life After NICU. The book is compelling tapestry of narrative and information. It's a resource you will want to share with others.
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| The full TOC. Each chapter ends with a short Insider Insights section. |
ASIDE.
To give you a feel for the layout of the book, what follows are screen shots of the entire chapter, "Inside in a Hurry."
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| Grey shaded text are original Facebook Posts. They were titled "Hadley Happenings." There were at least 50 of them. |
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| Unshaded text contains updated thoughts from one-year and two-years after Hadley's birth. |
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| Every chapter ends with an Insider Insights section. |
The final cover was a challenge to produce.
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| Clockwise from Top Left. Original cover-printed at a local printshop and stapled into book format. It had color photos in the center. First published cover. The "science guy" was a tag on all my non-fiction books at that time. First NICU idea. Chapter titles included "Calm Seas" and "Stormy Weather." Premature Grandpa in the Local Author Exhibition at the San Diego Main Library. The cover since 2016. |
Insider Information Overview
Highlights from the subheadings in this chapter give you a feel for the information found there and its value for NICU parents and family members.
If you have a chance to go somewhere that has restricted access, you appreciate benefits it is to knowing someone employed there. You can get inside information from your friend that will enhance your experience.
In this chapter, you’ll find inside information on fetal developmentand the metric system. Immediately following metrics is a glossary of medical terms. You might want to bookmark the first page of that.
A Brief Overview Of Fetal Development
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| Four paragraphs of text accompany this summary chart. |
A Brief Overview Of The Metric System
Most of the world uses the Metric System for measuring length, weight, and volume. Americans are generally unfamiliar with this system, since the standards we use are part of the English System of measurement.
While not expecting you to become fluentin metric, I’m providing information you need to know—or review—to help you interpret hospital speak...
Centimeter (cm). A unit of measurement of lengthin the metric system. One inchis equal to 2.54cm. 1cm = less than 0.5 an inch. If your baby is 16 inches long, it will be recorded as 40.6cm on the baby’s chart.
A Glossary Of Terms You’ll Hear
PIC/PICC line. A form of IV that is inserted in such a way that it remains stable for long periods of time. Used most commonly in NICU for IV feeding and antibiotic treatments.
NICU nurses love the book. So do I. I hope you are inspired to get one for someone you know and/or support Miracle Babies or your local NICU.
Follow this link to a list of all URLs in the series by book title.
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