The loud beeping and tiny cries eventually drown out when you sit in the cubicle long enough.
Colby had been sitting in the same spot, in the same small wooden chair next to the incubator, for hours now.
"You are a lot stronger than everybody thinks," he said as he felt his baby girl wrap her tiny hand not even halfway around his pinky.
She was so small that if he were allowed to hold her, she would fit in one of his hands without question.
"I know your life is off to a bizarre start, but it won't be like this forever" he shook his head. "You're probably wondering what happened, one second; you were all nice and cozied up inside of mommy, and now you're out here in a weird box with wires all over you and getting your little foot pricked every 30 minutes" he shook his head "Ya know you're a lot quieter than your Mommy when she's annoyed by something" he noted with a small laugh "You weren't supposed to be here yet, you were still supposed to be inside for another 12 weeks at the least. We didn't even come up with your name yet... Now they're just calling you baby Lopez" he shook his head. "Did Mommy tell you what she wanted to name you?" He asked, but it was silent besides the beeping of machines and oxygen tanks. "You do the same thing Mommy does when she doesn't want to talk.. you just ignore me," he stated
"Mr.Lopez," he heard a slight knock on the door, and he looked to see a nurse standing with a chart in her hand and a small smile on her face.
"Sorry.." He apologized, "I was just.." He trailed off with a shake of his head
"Talking about Important things with your daughter?" She asked as she moved into the cubicle now, and he nodded
"I know she can't respond to me, but... I feel like she needs to know somebody is here with her, and she's not alone," he stated
"You don't have to explain it to me," the nurse shook her head. "I talk to all the babies every time I'm with them," she said, "and if I can tell you a little secret," she said, and he nodded slightly. "You are doing the best thing for her" she nodded. "Studies have shown that when parents have some form of contact with the NICU baby, they thrive more than the ones that have no parental contact."
"Her mom talked to her all the time..and her brother," he said. "I never really got much of the chance."
"She still knows who you are.. she's not scared of you" she looked at the tiny baby's hand wrapped around her father's finger. "I can tell she's gonna have you wrapped around that tiny finger of hers in no time."
"She's like her mom in that way. I guess" Colby shrugged
He watched the nurse move towards the monitors and look at them before writing something on the charts in her hands.
"Speaking of her Mom.." Colby said, "When can I see my wife?" He asked
"From my understanding, Mrs.Lopez is in the ICU, and they are trying to stabilize her after everything."
"I don't understand how things went so wrong so quickly" he shook his head
"With your wife's condition. It's not a surprise that this pregnancy and birth went this way."
"My wife's condition.." Colby said quietly
"The fact that she's had four pregnancies," she said, and Colby's eyes widened.
"She's only had three pregnancies" he shook his head. "She lost the first one. She had our son and now our daughter."
"Your wife had a baby in this hospital almost ten years ago... it's in her chart."
"She would have been sixteen" he shook his head. "There is no way. I would have known.. she would have told me that"
"She put that baby up for adoption at the time" she looked at him sympathetically, "I think you should speak with your wife about it."
