Today, an occupational therapist was working with Kalyssa when I arrived at the NICU. She showed me three little massages to perform on Kalyssa both while she is in the NICU and later when she gets to go home. I will likely see her again next Thursday when I am there again. Today’s bottle feeding from mom went much better :0) In fact, she took down almost 30 ccs instead of the 24 she usually got through the nose! She did have to stop a couple of times to get the breathing right while eating, but she’s quite the trooper and seems to like this bottle thing rather well.
After the bottle, I attempted for the first time what the NICU calls Kangaroo care. Basically, for kangaroo care they strip baby down to a diaper and all her monitored wires etc. and lay her skin against mine. I have to wear a top that I can open easily and lay her in a position where I can watch her closely. Then we put her receiving blankets over both of us. It has been well documented that this care results in the baby’s doing better, gaining weight faster and possibly going home sooner.
All I know is that she fell asleep almost immediately. They say that – especially when it is done with the mommy – they are familiar with your heartbeat. After all, they heard it for several months non-stop. She made quite a cozy heater while I rocked in that chair too … I could have napped myself! I will continue to do this when I go and visit whenever I can.
Last night Kalyssa weighed in at 3 lbs 10.6 ozs (Up a full ounce + .1 !!)
