Holding Kylee for the First Time

On Friday, I went to see Kylee along with my mother to check up on her.  We went for rounds around 9:00 AM and that was fascinating.  All of the babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are assigned to a team of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory technicians, etc, and this team is responsible for their care 24 hours a day.

During the rounds, we listened to the team discuss Kylee's progress and their plan for her treatment.  Everyone on the team had a job and it was pretty neat to watch and listen as they discussed.  Also, when family is present for the rounds, they encourage us to ask questions and take the time to clearly explain what everything means and answer our questions in a clear and concise manner.

One of the questions my mother asked was when we would be able to hold Kylee.  Due to the CPAP machine, we figured it would be a few days until that was possible; however, the doctor stated I could hold her that day if I was up to it and he felt it would be good for Kylee.  I decided to hold her and was told by the staff that it would be skin to skin contact where I would remove my shirt and Kylee would lay on my chest for bonding and warmth.

It took some time and a couple of nurses to get all of the hoses and tubing situated, but they eventually put Kylee in my arms.  I then held her close for about 45 minutes.  Let me tell you, 3 pounds and 13 ounces doesn't sound like much weight, but my arm was tired at the end of it due to the weird position I had to hold while holding her!