A Very Special Day

As you know by now, Ania's pregnancy was anything but what either of us dreamed of. I don't want to turn this into a pity-party, or a "woe-is-me" moment, but truth be told we did get robbed of many things during this pregnancy: pregnancy bliss (if there is such a thing, but Ania instead lived in fear of her own body), experiencing all 3 trimesters and thus carrying to term, and vaginal delivery to name a few (though vaginal delivery isn't fun either - so I'm told). But most noteworthy, in my opinion, was that Ania was robbed of that special moment when the baby is first delivered and is immediately placed on her bosom. In our case, Colin was taken immediately to an adjacent NICU room as Ania (and I) was left there to wonder how Colin was doing while the surgeon began closing the incisions. That moment was filled with an incredibly wide-range of emotions for us. But something was grossly missing, and that something was the opportunity to establish that immediate bond between child and mother (and father). The emptiness that we felt was somewhat muted upon learning that Colin was off to a good start (unexpectedly), but we were still robbed of that one special moment. That is, until tonight.
The ICN, when they feel your baby is ready, recommends something called Kangaroo Care. Basically, this is when mom or dad get to take baby out of the isolette (incubator) and hold them to your chest (skin to skin) for and hour or two. Studies show that babies who Kangaroo do much better than those who don't. So tonight was our special moment, just delayed 12 days, 21 hours and 45 minutes (but who's counting)? ;-) Ania gently picked up Colin from his isolette, brought him to her chest and reclined back with our little man snuggled up against her. It was a little tense at first; getting his bubble CPAP adjusted properly and getting him comfy, but once he was settled in it was so unbelievable precious! Apparently Colin could feel mom's heartbeat, and was aware of her respiratory rate and even her peristalsis! And mom apparently changes her body temp automatically to keep Colin at just the right temp! Is that not crazy - and miraculous?! Colin was lights out for a solid 1.5 hours and behaved very well with only one mild bradycardia. He was a content little man being held for the first time by his mommy. Just so special. So much so, that we just couldn't keep the photos to ourselves and wanted to share with all of you....
That alone would have made our day (and did), but it was also a big day for two additional reasons. First, we were able to locate a great pediatrician for Colin (thank you for the recommendation MBC, Brandee and Amir)! We were so impressed, we called to cancel the other pediatrician interviews that we had set up tomorrow! Second, Colin continues to do well with his feedings. As of tonight, he's up to 1.8 cc's every 3 hours. As long as he's tolerating it, they'll just keep upping the amount of milk he gets until he tops out at "maximum feeding". We already see little changes in him: bigger toes and thicker thighs to name a couple. He'll be our Chunky Monkey before we know it!
By the way, I have been up at all hours of the night (and morning), sometimes logging these updates on Colin's blog, but I guess Google must be headquartered somewhere in the pacific ocean since the time shown on the entry update is actually 4 hours behind the actual time it is updated. Which means I'm nearing 2:00 am on this particular update. That 6 am pumping is going to come awefully quick....good night to all....