Kangaroo Care

Last night was a wonderful night... Miles is having a blast at a family reunion in Southern Utah (HUGE thanks to all the Buntings for taking good care of him), so Erin and I went on a fun little date - dinner, then the NICU.

The big news of yesterday was that the umbilical line both twins had was taken out, which then allows us to hold the babies!!! More on that in a second, but here's a quick update: Emery has no more IV, simply a feeding line in through her nose; she's on a strict diet of mother's milk now, which is awesome. She rests peacefully and is back to her birth weight. Collin still needs an IV, because of the medication for his PDA. He'll keep it for a short time after the medication ends because he'll need to continue receiving IV fluids for nourishment as he slowly increases his feedings through his nose tube as well (they start slow through the nose tube, and gradually increase to make sure the baby will tolerate it well).

So, the best part of the night was getting to hold our little ones!!! Simply fantastic. There is a practice called "Kangaroo Care" (more info here). Basically, a parent holds an infant to his/her bare chest, and holds them close to maximize the 'skin to skin' interaction between parent and baby. It's a fascinating concept to me - and hearkens to the beautiful bond between parent & child. It's a really neat thing. Erin held Emery first, then we traded, I got to hold her for a bit (actually, I held her for a long time while they were doing some stuff for Collin). After Erin held Emery she held Collin for a few minutes, then the nurse decided it would be best to put his IV in a different spot, so they put him back in his isolette (incubator) to put in a new IV.

Ok, let's talk about that for a second - sticking a premature infant with an IV. I mean, I can barely comprehend poking an adult size vein successfully, let alone an infant with a vein that is TINY. Amazing. Big thanks to the nurses, doctors and other medical professionals who have helped us so much to this point. Great people, every last one.

Anyway, we will probably return regularly (daily, perhaps) to continue with the Kangaroo Care, as long as the babies tolerate it well. Emery did, by the way - laying on my chest and wrapped up, I laid back in the rocking chair recliner and she slept peacefully while keeping her vital signs steady. Heck, it almost put me to sleep too!

We'll find out more today or tomorrow about Collin's little heart, and if the medication is working. We sure hope so!