“Not yet,” I answered.

For a parent, whose baby is born healthy, the most important thing is to give him or her a name. But for us at that moment the most important thing was for our baby to live, not his name.

“During one of our meetings, one of the doctors called your son the “Russian Prince”, the doctor said. “While you are still deciding on his name, would it be okay for the doctors to use that name for now?”

I liked the doctors calling our son the Russian Prince.

“Yes,” I answered. “He deserves it.”

“During this week, we will need to perform many blood tests on your three-pound son,” the doctor continued. “He may become anemic and a blood transfusion may be necessary. Is that okay with you?”

We had no choice and signed the consent.

“Finally, some good news,” the doctor said. “Your baby is stable, so he can start having breast milk through a feeding tube!”

Oleg and I were so relieved to hear the news and thanked God.

…….

On Saturday, friends and family with beautiful flowers and gifts visited us. We couldn’t walk everyone to see our baby. With some we just talked, prayed and hoped for the best.

Tanya was the first one of my siblings to see our son. When we came to the NICU, the lid of his incubator was raised, and the nurse was changing the dressing on his arm. Our baby’s eyes were covered with black glasses, but he was awake and moved his arms. We could not hear his voice due to the breathing tube in his mouth, but we could see it by the look on his face and by the way he was breathing that he was very upset. He cried without noise. Quietly, Tanya and I stood by his bed, trying to withhold our tears. My heart ached from not being able to help our son. Tanya didn't ask a lot of questions, but later I heard she cried after leaving the hospital, because she saw how fragile and ill our baby was.

A little later, my brother, Leo, came to visit us with his wife and children. They brought snacks and presents. While I was talking to Leo’s wife, I heard my husband tell Leo, “Being home with the children without my wife has not been easy. I had to clean, cook, send children to school, figure out their school bus stop, read all their school papers, wash their clothes. It is hard to be home without my wife. She does so much. I realized how hard it is to be a single Dad.”

Later I learned that Leo was calling everyone in our family, asking them to fast and pray for our fragile son.

…….

Oleg met his Mom at the airport. His brother and sister helped her arrange the flight and paid for her ticket. Oleg’s Mom was planning to stay with us for two weeks. We knew that she would take wonderful care of David, Kristina and Michael. Most importantly, she would give them lots of love. We were so thankful for our family’s help. It amazed us how one event could impact the hearts and actions of so many people and they were all ready to help. We began to realize that what was happening to us and our baby not only affected our immediate family, but impacted our extended family, friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. They all understood our pain and tried to help.

…….

Sunday, the third day after delivery, I woke up at 5 a.m. and pumped the milk. Since Oleg was still sleeping, I decided to take the milk to our baby. This was a big deal. I had never walked there by myself before. Holding onto the wheelchair, I slowly walked to the NICU.

“Good morning, Olga,” the nurse greeted me. “You are here early today!”

“Good morning,” I said, happy to be there.

“We have good news for you!” she continued. “Your son’s milk dosage has increased from one to two milliliters! He is doing well!”