Kangaroo Care (skin to skin)

One of the best things about having a child in the nicu is the time you get to do kangaroo care. Kangaroo Care or skin to skin is very important when babies are in the nicu.. It was one of my favorite things while the girls were ithere. Sometimes they wouldn't cooperate and their alarms would sound (A's or B's... Apneas ..cessations of breathing or B's...bradycardia...when heartrate slows to 80 beats per minute or less). Most of the time, kangaroo care improved their statistics.

Here is a little more about kangaroo care from Cleveland Clinic :)
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/12578-kangaroo-care

This is the reason why Kangaroo Care is done. (From Nationwide Children's
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/health-wellness-and-safety-resources/helping-hands/kangaroo-care-for-your-infant)

Kangaroo care is a special way for you to hold your infant that gives the baby skin-to-skin contact (Picture 1).  The baby wears only a diaper and is held close against your chest.  Since your infant already knows you by your scent, touch, and the way your voice and heartbeat sound, he or she is most comfortable close to you.  Both parents can do kangaroo care as often and as long as possible throughout your baby’s stay in the hospital.

Reasons to do kangaroo care

Kangaroo care is good for mom, dad, and baby in so many ways.  Some of the ways kangaroo care can be good for your baby and for baby’s parents are:

• Mom makes more milk and has a better chance of breastfeeding
• Baby stays warmer and body temperature is better
• Baby has improved heart rate and breathing rate (vital signs)
• Baby has improved weight gain
• Baby cries less and has lower stress levels
• Baby has improved sleep
• Baby and parent bond more
• Baby has decreased pain and risk of infection
• Baby has better brain growth and development

I believe the below photos are the first times we got to do that with each baby.

 This was the first time I got to hold Avery skin to skin. It was definitely nerve wracking but also amazing. Look how little her head is!

One of my favorite pics of when Avery was in the nicu,, the little arm (while being kangarooed) and the heart necklace :)

Another one of my favorite pics to show just how small Avery was...she was covered with a blanket right after this pic was taken. I just wanted to take a pic really quick to show her size

All snuggled with Daddy

 Daddy got the kangaroo with Avery two hours this day!! She was loving it (and I am sure he was too).

Even though Reagan was much better off (being born at 32 weeks instead of 25), we still did kangaroo care with her )   Look at that little pouty face! She would soon be all smiles in the nicu

Look at those little "elf" ears. They eventually became more rounded on their own

First time Holding the Girls

Like I said in the previous post, some people don't get to hold their babies for hours, days or weeks after they have them.

With Avery we didn't get to hold her until she was around 10 days old. We just happened to be at the hospital when they were changing out her isolette. Let me tell you how scary it was the first time we held her. She was a pound and a half and 12.5 inches long (an inch longer than a Barbie doll) and had all sorts of wires attached to her. I never really held babies before (besides my niece a few times) and I didn't want to mess anything up. The nurses were there to get everything situated and Tim and I finally got to hold our baby girl. You can tell how nervous we were.

We got to hold Reagan right when she was born and then after they got her situated in the nicu.

Reagan was 3lbs 11oz and 18inches long when she was born so she was a little more "sturdy". LOL She was 8 weeks early but almost the length of a full-term baby.  We had all the experience holding Avery in the nicu so we were much more comfortable when Reagan was born.

Tim face-timed Avery so she could see her new baby sister!

The NICU isn't all that bad

The nicu isn't all that bad. Look at all of these pictures of Reagan smiling while in the nicu. She was the happiest baby!

NICU Awareness Month

September is NICU Awareness Month so I will be sharing random pictures that pop up on my Facebook memories.

I have said before that I wouldn’t wish the nicu on my worst enemy. It can be a scary and depressing place.In a way, people with babies in the nicu have suffered a loss. The loss of a normal pregnancy, not being able to take your baby home when you get discharged, not being able to hold your baby when they are born, sometime for hours, days or even weeks.

 The nicu was our home away from home for a combined 173 days (132 days for Avery and 41 days for Reagan). We were there every single day. I went back to work two weeks after I had Avery so I could save my time when she finally came home from the nicu. Tim and I were both working full time, then driving the 45 minutes minutes each way to the hospital. It was exhausting! We also never knew what we were going to find when we arrived. The kids could have been having a really good day or a really bad day. It is full of ups and downs.

But, it is also an amazing place and I feel lucky we got to be part of that special group of people. No one knows what it’s like unless you have experienced it for yourself. At times it sucks, but at times it is incredible.  Not everyone gets to see their child develop outside of the womb and it’s truly amazing.

(Most of these pics will be of Avery because she was born Aug 30 and the pics show up on my Memories on Facebook but I will go back and get some of Reagan as well)

Avery a few days old, compared to Tim's hand

So many wires and tubes and monitors

Avery's tiny footprints. This was when she was almost a week old

She was born so early she was still covered in lanugo(hair) all over and her one eye was still fused shut

An ER visit and lots of doctor visits

In January I was changing Reagan's diaper and I heard Avery screaming in her room. I went in there and she is standing on her bed, crying with her hands dripping with blood. She pointed at a broken nightlight on the ground. I scooped her up and ran to the bathroom to rinse out her cut. The bleeding just would not stop. I definitely thought she needed stitches. I put a washcloth on it and applied pressure. There was no way I could get both kids in the car and keep applying pressure to Avery's cut.  Tim was still working so I called him and told him he needed to come home. He called his mom and she came over to watch Reagan so we both could go to the ER with Avery. We went to the ER and they cleaned up her cut and got an Xray to make sure there wasn't any glass stuck in there. Luckily there wasn't any glass and they ended up gluing the cut on her finger shut.

This past month has been rough with all of the sickness.
Avery had a random fever on and off for a week. She was acting normal but missed a lot of school.

Reagan wasn't feeling well and had a fever so we took her to Express Care and they swabbed her for the flu. The next day we got the call confirming she had influenza A. They prescribed her liquid Tamiflu. No pharmacies in the area had it in stock so I finally found it near my work (which is about 35 minutes from my house). $150 later, Reagan had her medicine. My insurance is amazing but it didn't cover the prescription.

A few days later I wasn't feeling well and Avery and I both had a fever. We both got swabbed for the flu and Avery was diagnosed with an ear infection. The next day we got the call saying Avery's flu swab was negative and mine was positive. My local pharmacy had the generic pill form of Tamiflu. $107 later, I had my medicine.

Avery had a dentist appointment this week. We had to hold her down and the dentist and hygienists had to pry open her mouth. After awhile she calmed down and started following directions from the dentist. They cleaned and examined her teeth. Avery has one tooth where the crown is failing and she will need to get that tooth removed. The dentist asked if she has any surgeries coming up in the next 4-6 months because they can coordinate with that. We told them we don't see anything coming up in the near future because she just got new ear tubes placed in the past 6 months. We do have an appointment with ENT next week so we will see how they are holding up. I asked the dentist what happens if she doesn't have surgery coming up. Do they just numb the area and pull it out? She said since its Avery (and has had a lot of dental surgeries in the past and is fearful of the dentist) they would use IV sedation.

We also haven't had any luck with things happening at our house. Two weeks ago our refrigerator stopped working. It is only about 2.5 years old. Luckily we have an old fridge that came with our old house. It is 22 years old and still works. But let me tell you, it is not fun going out in the cold garage in the middle of the night to get a bottle when Reagan wakes up. We called a refrigerator repair man. He took it apart and said its definitely not working. He said since its so new, we should call the manufacturer and they should be able to cover it under the warranty. The only issue is that we have to find our receipt to prove we are the original owners of the refrigerator. So far we continue to use the fridge in the garage because we have yet to find the receipt.

I woke up last Saturday to a bunch of water in the basement. Luckily it was only on the unfinished side and not the side where we just put down new flooring. Turns out our hot water tank was leaking all over. We cleaned everything up and then Tim installed a tankless water heater. I am thinking next week, maybe the furnace will stop working :)

We went two nights ago to build a bear. The kids have been through some stressful times and sickness so I wanted to do something fun for them. Reagan picked out some ugly pink bear and Avery wanted Skye from Paw Patrol. I was surprised Avery was as into it as she was. She picked out and kissed the heart that went inside hers and Reagan's stuffed animal but she didnt want to push her foot on the pedal to fill the animals with stuffing. She ended up really liking her dog though. When we were leaving the mall, a crown fell off of her tooth! Of course it couldn't have been the one that they are going to pull anyway. It was her back, top left tooth and the one they need to pull is her right, top, front tooth. Luckily I was able to save the crown so I am hoping they just have to glue it back in for now. She keeps pointing to the tooth that they need to pull so I am guessing we will need to get it pulled sooner than later because it now seems to be bothering her.
Hoping next month is a little more uneventful.

Momma and Chewie and Joe Joe

Me and Ray Ray

Daddy and I getting ready to play in the snow!

Pushing Daddy down the snow slide he made

Momma told me to get ready to go to the mall...this is how i dressed.. in my hat and sunglasses

Chewie, Joe, Reagan and I all sharing the couch

Hanging out with Aria, my BFF..she is about to be a big sister to a little sister! I cant wait to give her tips!

Ouch! This is when I injured my hand and had to get a xray and then have my cut glued shut!

Ouch!

The day Daddy made my and Reagan's hair the same

I used to fit into these pants! They are preemie sized

Size 12 months vs. preemie

Even though Reagan had the flu, she was in good spirits at the doctors

Hanging out with my other bff

Getting ready for bed

How cute is my hair?!?!

Momma was excited that RayRay wanted to cuddle

Daddy put an air mattress in my room! We were going to have a camp out...but then didnt...decided to jump on it instead.

Momma told me to get ready to go to the store.. notice my water shoes!!

Fun with Momma and snap chat filters...

Yuck, we got a lot of snow the one day!

We did the doggie DNA test and this is what Chewie is!

This is what Joe is! Apparently half pure bred German Sheperd! He is also half crazy!! :)

Joe (and Reagan) are huge!

Cheese!

Reagan loved carrying an apple around the one day

We decorated a Valentines Day card for Daddy...

Look at all the candy I got from school and daycare for Valentine's day!

We got these presents from Momma and Daddy

Reagan is eating the valentine's lip sucker I got!. She loves it!

The dogs made this present for daddy.. Chewie's foot print is on the left and Joes' is on the right..

Sorry this is upside down but it says " From our fingers (paws) to our toes, Our love for you grows and grows. Love Avery, Reagan, Chewie and Joe.... If you flip the pic around, my foot is first and Reagan's is second....though her foot is getting huge!

Daddy got Momma some cute pics of us for Valentine's day and a frame she can put whatever she wants in..

Reagan loves to wear Momma's sunglasses

This was the last time Momma could carry Chewie and Joe! They were about 9 weeks (chewie 2008) and 11 weeks old  (Joe 2017) at the time..We just had our Joe Anniversary!!.. We have had him a year on Feb 18 and the cats still hate him ...lol. Medes has actually been the best with him so far. Momma thinks he will calm down eventually. 

The one day I decided to feed my doll...ignore the fact she is naked. For some reason, I always take off their clothes.

Momma, me and Reagan have matching leggings... we don't know where Reagan's leggings are :(
Momma says she might have to get 3 new pairs of leggings because she wants us all to match at some point.

Momma is going through clothes to keep and she decided to keep this outfit because my undies matched my hair! How often does that happen?

Reagan was playing peek a boo and kept putting her shirt over her head!

Ray Ray is the cutest! I don't think she realizes that just because she has a Minnie shirt on, doesn't mean it matches her Minnie pants. 

Momma loves to put us in matching outfits

Reagan's hair is so curly!

Joe and Chewie... they are the best

We went to Build a bear the other day!!

Reagan did not want her pic taken

I love my new stuffed animal... (notice Reagan on the ground..lol)

Reagan is now happy too

Look how cute we are.

Momma says I am the best big sister ever