At tonight's visit, Ryan had the opportunity to hold Charlie for about 40 minutes. He's super tiny and feels like nothing in your arms. He opened his eyes and looked up at his Daddy, who gave him a goodnight kiss.
The nurse called us at home today to get our permission for a blood transfusion for Ambrose. Premature infants often develop anemia for several reasons: they don't make many new red blood cells in the first few weeks after birth; their red blood cells have a shorter life than an adult's; and the frequent blood samples which must be taken for laboratory testing, makes it difficult for red blood cells to replenish (A Primer on Preemies).
One type of care St. Joseph's encourages is Kangaroo Care. Similar to "wearing" the babies in a sling, Kangaroo Care provides skin-to-skin contact between preemie and parent. Although it was offered to Ryan tonight, he decided not to expose his man-chest to the night nurses. Actually, he wanted to save that first experience for me.
Please continue to pray for Ambrose. He is still really sick and struggling. The poor little guy was in bad shape tonight, but the nurses were working hard to stabilize him.
Aunt Gina and Uncle Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI love my new cousins! We are praying for them. God, please help the babies, Charly and Gussy. I can't wait to meet you. We are at home because we are sick. I made a mask for Gina and Ryan.
I love you,
Bela and Nico
I've heard that Kangaroo Care really helps improve the rate at which infants grow and preemies improve in health. Go for it!!
ReplyDeletewe are praying for you guys and all the boys!! love the updates through this blog as we can change our prayers for specific things and rejoice in the samll victories! God Bless.
ReplyDeletelove
The cady family