Kangaroo Care!

Another great day for the girls today!

Both Reagan and Baylee had the last line from their belly buttons removed and they are completely off oxygen! Yeay! Addison isn't far behind. She received a blood transfusion with Brent's donated blood today to try to help clear up a small heart murmur she has. Brent is a perfect match to all three of the girls and he directly donated blood to them so they could have it if needed. We hope Addison will be off her oxygen and have her last line removed soon after her blood transfusion.

Having Reagan and Baylees' lines removed meant we could start kangaroo care tonight. Kangaroo care is skin-to-skin contact with the baby. We open up our shirts and lay the baby on our chest and warm them with our body heat. They can feel our heartbeat and it is a great way for us to bond with the girls. We are allowed to do kangaroo care twice a day for 30 minutes.

Before we went to the hospital for kangaroo care, Brent took me out to dinner while the NICU was closed for their shift change. It was the first time I had set foot in a restaurant in 4 months. It was wonderful. We had a quiet corner to ourselves and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

I did catch myself thinking one thing...now that I am a mother, am I still allowed to be annoyed by people not controlling their children in public? Is there some parenting code where you have to be understanding even when the parents' of that child have completely zoned out and just don't care what their little angel is doing all over the restaurant? Hmmmm, you tell me.

Anyway, we were really looking forward to holding Reagan and Baylee tonight. We can't wait to get Addison in on the kangaroo care as soon as possible.

I have added some pictures of kangaroo care as well as some shots of Reagan and Addison without all of the tubes and wires after their CPAPs were removed.

Kangaroo Care with Baylee

Kangaroo Care with Reagan

Reagan after CPAP removal

Addison after CPAP removal

Brent and I will be spending the next few days of the weekend mostly at the NICU. I am still recovering from my c-section, but things are improving quickly. The most bothersome thing to me right now is my swollen feet, ankles and calves. I pretty much have huge cankles and there isn't anything I can do about it except for keeping my feet up and limiting my activity on my feet. I am trying to rest as much as I can, but it is very difficult when I want to be with the girls as much as possible in the NICU. Ahhh, guilt...part of being a parent, right? ;)

The triplets will be one week old tomorrow. :)