Tales From the NICU

 After they were born, the triplets were put into their own little isolette’s in the NICU.

Vivienne and Kian shared an area and Kai was right across the walkway. It was observed on many occasions, that when one would cry, the others would answer. 

That was just the beginning.

Once testing began, if one baby seemed to be getting “Special” treatment, then the other baby’s would find ways to mimic their symptoms so that they would also get special treatment as well.

This behavior held true and seemed more predominant with the boys than with Baby Vivienne because she was always babied more than they were and received FAR more attention from literally everybody else's nursies including their own.

When Kian started looking a little yellow, he managed to blow his I.V. and they had to put it in the vein in his head. 

This meant that he ended up with a huge gauze hat looking contraption that sort of resembled a dunce cap.

This ALSO meant that he also got to sun himself under the jaundice lamp for a day much like a trip to the tanning bed, which meant he got to wear these really cool shades (they looked like tiny baby sunglasses made of foam that were sticky-taped to his head.)

WELL then, the very next day, wouldn't ya know it, Kai, as not to be out-done by his brother, decided that he, too, wanted a very spiffy hat and shades.

Sure enough, when I came in for the morning after "Lock-out time" had ended (ie shift change) he had the EXACT same set up as his brother.

Kian only had to have his for a day. Kai, on the other had, ended his treatment a day afterward, BUT refused to let anyone remove his uber-cool-dude shades.

He fought everyone and anyone who tried to wash his face and remove those shades. 

This meant that Kai wore those spiffy shades for nearly three whole days before the sticky-tape finally became un-sticky and the foam shades finally fell off.

He was so ornery and outright MAD over this, that the nurse finally gave up on the sticky-tape removal and had my husband try and do it. We took a bunch of pictures of him because he was so very proud of himself.

We would discover that the boys had sibling rivalry down to an art form. Soon, the boys were sharing a bed which would lead to fighting. Kai would steal Kian’s pacifier and toss it down into the well of the isolette where NEITHER of them could reach it.

Kian would wrap up in Kai’s wubby (a half blanket/half doll that was used to put over their heads like a tent to keep their heads warm and shade them from the bright lights of the NICU.) 

This would inspire them both to slap at each other much like “Laverne and Shirley” or rather "Larry, Moe & Curly" from The Three Stooges would do.

Then somebody thought it would be cute and sweet & helpful if both were co-bedded with their sister for the first time since birth thinking a reunion would be most welcome.

That was when they figured out that, although they got bottles and sister didn’t, she was getting something that they were not-MEDICINE-and it looked and smelled super sweet and yummy.

It only took them a few days of sleeping with their heads on her chest to mimic what it was that they believed won her all the extras.

Kian was the first to get the “Royal” treatment. Apparently, Kai believed (or rather his brother had told him stories) that his brother was escorted from their bed in his very own little bed with wheels full of fresh-out-of-the-dryer warm blankies down to a place where he was given an extra-special bottle to drink over & beyond their regularly scheduled ones and then they took pictures of him because he was so cute and handsome and debonair.

So the very next day, Kai came down mysteriously with similar symptoms and was also escorted with the same fan-fare to that special portrait room where it was reported later that the techs found him extremely cute and funny and had played with him for quite some time.

It would seem that he basically sang for his supper down there and felt that he had to earn that extra bottle which he drank with such gusto that he didn’t even notice that it was full of barium until he started feeling funny.

He had taken it all in so very fast that it came back up even faster, much to the chagrin of the techs. Yep, he spewed EVERYWHERE like a regular fountain...more likened to the force of a fire hose actually...

Apparently NOBODY ever gets sick on their table….except Kai, and he had done it so very well.

All's well that ends well of course...So everyone ended up with the same formula and the SAME special medicine. And all seemed peaceful, for a time.

Originally published THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2007

Originally published THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2007 BY MIMI RANKIN WEBB

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