Her last 'intense' eye exam

Mommy to her right. Daddy to her left. We are the defenders of her health, providers of constant love and support. That's our main mission objective 💗

Today marked day 85 since this beautiful soul stepped into this world, and unfortunately this environment is all that she's ever known.

Preemies are a vulnerable bunch, and they encounter a lot of negatives in their NICU stay. The best thing you can do as a parent is simply be there for your little one. You have the power to create more positive experiences. Better developmental effects. Greater outcomes overall. 

I've looked at study after study about the importance of talking to your baby in the NICU, touching your baby, even massaging them in order to relieve their stress. Every interaction has purpose and meaning, especially in this place. 

We attempted to file down Arabella's nails today. Some of them are really sharp! She continues to poke and scratch herself, and the nurses encouraged us to bring in a file and get it done. That makes this her first manicure I guess 😃

Belle also had an eye exam today, and she didn't appreciate it. In fact, she absolutely hated it. The nurses said that she became furious.

A prime example of a negative experience in the NICU. 

This is the one procedure that most parents step out of the room for. No one would enjoy this kind of eye exam. Even the nurses often can't bear to watch. 

First they numb the baby's eyes with meds, then they put drops in to dilate them. Doctors examine the eyes, and then use a device to hold back the eyelids. They shine bright lights, and touch the eyes with a tool or even with their finger for as long as necessary. It's not painful, but it's very uncomfortable, almost unbearable, and often a baby will cry throughout the entire procedure while they're being held down. I think we'd be pretty frustrated too!

Thankfully, this was her 4th and final 'intense' eye exam. It turned out that Arabella's eyes are just fine. She didn't show any signs of ROP, a potentially blinding eye disorder. The smaller a baby is at birth, the more likely that baby is to develop ROP, and of course Arabella came out super tiny so it was something we were definitely concerned about. 

We can finally say that her eyes will be okay 😃 and the next standard and typical eye exam will be far into the future, when she's roughly 9 months old. 

We held Arabella for a few hours this evening in the hopes that it would calm and soothe her. You could tell that she was tuckered out from the stress of today.