XP: Kangaroo Care ROCKS! Adalyn Update 2/28

DrRx · February 2012

Hi everyone!

Kangaroo Care

Well, yesterday was a wonderful day! I went back to the hospital around 3:45pm or so. The nurse set me up in the rocking chair by the incubator. She is so tiny that we were able to put her inside my large/loose sport's bra! It kind of acted like a sling, and allowed her to have the most amount of skin-to-skin contact with me! It was kind of hard to look down at her since, again, she is so tiny! I don't know if I said this before or not, but she feels like a really large burrito from Chipotle or a foot-long from Subway!

She laid her cheek/mouth against my heart and must have enjoyed feeling and hearing my heartbeat and breathing, because she slept the whole time and had great oxygenation! At this point in her age, for Kangaroo care, you shouldn't really talk/sing to them or stroke them--just give them a chance to lay against you and sleep/relax. Her temperature stayed fine halfway through and I was able to do the whole hour.

It felt so good to feel her breathe and move against me! I savored every moment and can't wait to do it again tonight! DH will be able to do it also, but I'm going to pretty much hog these first few Kangaroo Times, and DH is ok with that. It is an overwhelming feeling having her skin-to-skin with me, but in a good way! I'm glad that I was able to be alone in the room with her, and have some real mother-daughter bonding time. I took a couple of pics myself with my cell phone, but I'm glad that it was just the 2 of us alone. Definitely calming and wonderful and peaceful. I don't know if I can really explain it beyond that, because words just don't do it justice.

Feeding and Weight

Adalyn only gained 10 grams from the day before, and is up to 950g from 940g. Her MD wants her to gain between 20 to 30 grams per day, and so has decided to try 2 of her 8 feedings a day with a preemie formula with extra protein. He still thinks that breastmilk is best, but even with the fortifier with extra calories she may not be getting enough protein. So, he's going to try this and see if it makes a difference in her weight gain. If not, he'll go back to all the feedings be breastmilk. We all know that breastmilk is best, and as much as I would want her to only get breastmilk, if this lets her gain weight faster, then I'm all for it. He's the specialist who has tried this and it has worked with other babies, so I'm willing to go along with it for now. She is still going to be eating predominantly my milk, and she will have plenty of time to drink all the milk that I'm producing! As of 5pm today, I've already pumped 33 ounces!! We've also officially filled our freezer and have started filling the freezer in the garage!

Breathing

Adalyn is still doing really well with her breathing. They actually reduced some of the pressures on her CPAP and has been hanging out in the upper 20s/low 30s in her oxygen requirement. The doctor wanted her to try the nasal cannulas to deliver the CPAP, but unfortunately Adalyn was having none of that. Although she isn't a big fan of the mask, apparently she HATED the prongs up her nose. We'll see if, once she gets bigger, she might tolerate the nasal prongs more.

Miscellaneous

Adalyn is sucking on her pacifier more often, and it definitely soothes her. She also loves to do it when she is being fed. I hope that this will help her coordinate the whole sucking thing while she eats so that she can eat well from a bottle. Granted, the pacifier is about the size of her head, but she seems to do just fine! Sometimes she'll even hold it in place with her hand! If she doesn't have the pacifier close by, she'll stick her fingers in her mouth! So, whenever I'm there, I always make sure that her pacifier is close by.

I appreciate the comments from everyone about not worrying about her nursery, but I just want to get as much of it organized before she comes home. That way, when she comes home, DH and I can just focus on being parents. I don't care so much about wall decorations, etc, but I do want the crib and dresser/changing table set up and all her stuff organized in piles. We've decided that we're going to start working on it next week, a few hours a day, so that we won't be rushed. I feel confident that we will get everything done, but the more I hold her, and the more of a personality I see, the more it is hitting DH and I that she is going to be coming home sooner rather than later! Smile

Here's a pic of my view during Kangaroo time. The other pic is of her with her pacifier!

jenifairies · February 2012

yay, glad things are going so well for you!

SmileandLaugh · February 2012

Yay! She looks so big!

SRK128 · February 2012

Yay! Glad Adalyn is doing so wonderfully!

JuliaJAG · February 2012

Soooo happy she's doing so well!!! and yes, kangaroo care does rock!!! We couldn't visit our 29-weeker son (now 11 days old) today until evening (usually I'm there for hours during the day every day), and I was afraid the night nurse wouldn't let me hold him, but I was able to and I sooo agree with your description of how it feels to hold your precious little baby. It truly is the sweetest thing ever... if I ever have a full-term baby, I will never take for granted how wonderful it is to hold your baby!! Keep the Adalyn updates coming!