Kangaroo Care

The last two days have been thrilling, with being able to hold the girls. The style of holding we are doing is called Kangaroo Care. Kangaroo Care is a way of holding a preterm infant so that there is skin-to-skin contact between the infant and the person holding it. The baby, wearing only a diaper, is held against the parent's bare chest. Researchers have found that the close physical contact with the parent can help to stabilize the preterm infant's heartbeat, temperature, and breathing. Preterm infants often have difficulty coordinating their breathing and heart rate. Researchers also have found that mothers who use kangaroo care often have more success with breastfeeding and improve their milk supply. Further, researchers have found that preterm infants who experience kangaroo care have longer periods of sleep, gain more weight, decrease their crying, have longer periods of alertness, and earlier hospital discharge.
So now you know if you see one of us is a hospital gown, or Mikes old ugly shirt :) in a lot of pictures, it is so the girls can lay flush with our skin. Hopefully as they get stronger and healthier the amount of Kangaroo Care will be able to increase.