Sunday April 26, 2009

Both girls were given blood transfusions (due to low blood counts, I believe) today. They were also taken off the C-Pap machine and put on oxygen through regular nasal cannulas. The nurses came in and said he girls were ready to be held for the first time. They have a way of doing this called Kangaroo care where the parent takes off their shirt and puts the baby skin to skin on their chest. It helps the baby regulate its heart and breathing, promotes bonding and the parents keep the babies warm. I got to "kangaroo" Megan and Daddy "Kangaroo'd" Olivia. We notice the girls having little "attacks" where their hearts and breathing were slowing way down. Babies this young forget to breathe. They also cannot eat when they are this little because they cannot regulate eating, breathing and swallowing. They would continue to suckle with no regard to breathing and would suffocate. Most of the time the girls would "restart" themselves and return to normal. Sometimes the nurses have to stimulate them by patting them on the behind or back so they remember to continue breathing. As long as their oxygen doesn't get too low during these "attacks" they should have no long term effects. Holding them was wonderful. They just seem so fragile.