Kangaroo Care

As I write this, I'm pumping milk (colostrum, actually) for Joshua.  It's a little discouraging being hooked up for 15-20 min only to see a return of about 1.5 ml (although I had a whopping 2.5 ml, or 1/2 tsp, return in my last pumping session).  Hopefully, once my milk comes in that will increase substantially.  At least I'm producing what he needs since he can only take 1 ml every 4 hours through his OG tube for the time being.  They have to start slow to gradually get his GI system up to speed.  He gets most of his nutrition through his umbilical venous catheter.  I have been told he won't be able to take milk directly from my breast until around his due date, May 7th.  His due date seems to be this magical time in the far off future when life may get back to normal (what is normal?) because that's the projected time when he'll get to leave the NICU. 

Yesterday, I got to hold Joshua for the first time!  We did "kangaroo care" with skin on skin contact.  At first, he was all worked up when the nurse moved him from his little nest, and his heart rate went up to the 170's while he was crying.  Then after a minute or two, he got all snuggled in, and his heart rate settled into the 130's.  I think he likes me.  :)  I wonder if he was thinking, "oh ya, I remember her now..."  We sat like that for an hour.  It sure meant a lot to me to have that time with him. 

In our "previous life," this is how we defined kangaroo care. Brisbane Australia, 2007. 

It's hard to not be able to do much with your baby other than look at him or gently touch him. I'm trying to get as involved as possible. Four times a day the nurse does care sessions, where she unwraps him from his swaddling, changes his diaper, takes his vitals, massages his face where the CPAP mask sits, etc. I have done a few diaper changes now, and it's a whole different world from changing a squirmy toddler. At first, I was so scared I'd hurt him since he's so tiny, but I caught on pretty quickly. I still marvel at how small he is!  Check out how tiny his diaper is (and it seems big on him).

There were a few minor events that occurred overnight with Joshua.  First of all, he had his first weight taken since birth.  As expected, his birth weight dropped down to 940 g, or 2 lbs 1 oz.  They typically lose about 10% in the first 24 hours and then take about 7 days to regain it.  The other thing was he had to go "under the lights."  His bilirubin level came back high, so the phototherapy helps bring it down.  Again, not surprising since it's pretty typical in this age group.  It's not alarming since they catch it and treat it so early.  I feel so bad for him, though, because he loves being swaddled in his blankets, and now his body has to be fully exposed to the lights.  Watching him, his moro reflex keeps kicking in, and his arms flail about like he's falling, and I just want to go wrap him back up like a burrito again.  If things look good on the follow up labs, he may not be under the lights for long.  We'll see...