Our Little Kangaroo

It’s getting pretty difficult to go home at night. Elijah is making incredible progress and we’re so in love with him that we never want to leave his side. Of course this is how any parent would feel, but I think we long for him even more based on how his life started out. When we got to his bedside today he opened his eyes right up and was looking at us. It was a great way to start out the day. He stayed awake for a few hours which was great. And he kept waking up periodically throughout the day. I think he was awake and alert for us three or four times and each time he was awake for an hour or for a couple of hours. The nurse was saying that he was having a more normal newborn awake/sleep cycle. I love to hear that. Pray that he’ll continue to wake up even more.
Nursing went better today. The two of us are working at it and it takes practice. I had a lactation consultant come and visit me and she gave me some really good advice. Elijah seemed to take to it more and I was a lot more comfortable after she helped. We definitely made progress from yesterday. He opened up wider and he definitely has the sucking ability, it’s just a matter of getting latched on correctly. It’s comforting to know that other women have trouble figuring out how to breastfeed as well. (It’s not just me!) The two of us have only been trying for about two days after all and we have to fight his sleepiness on top of it all. It’s hard not to get frustrated, but I’m really optimistic that we’ll be able to figure it out. (And then go home!). Pray that we’ll keep getting better at it and take to it really well. Pray for me to not get frustrated as well. Elijah and I got to do some kangaroo care tonight, which means we had skin to skin contact. I held him belly to belly with his head up toward my head. That was really the first time we had done this. I’ve wanted to do kangaroo care because I know how good it is for babies to have skin on skin contact. The poor guy couldn’t be held for the longest time because of all the stuff he was attached to. And then with his temperature issues, we had him all bundled up so it wasn’t really possible to hold him skin to skin. Elijah just loved being so close to me. He was awake for the entire time I was holding him and he kept moving himself closer to my head. He just seemed so content and awake. I think we were both on cloud nine. I cried a few tears of joy feeling his warmth next to me. We were together for more than nine months and we need each other! I was so happy to feel him squirming around and trying to move his head from side to side. It was probably nice for him to be on his tummy, too, since he’s spent most of his short life on his back. We’re hoping that we can do more of this tomorrow because it’s so good for him.
Elijah did hold his temp last night, although he tends to be on the cooler side. As long as it doesn’t drop too much, they won’t put him under the warmer. It’s possible he just runs a cooler temp, but we need him to be able to maintain the temp he has. We hold him a lot and that helps. His oxygen levels were dropping a little today too and so that scared us. They weren’t dangerously low, but they were lower than they would like. The oxygen levels would get better when we held him (he loves us!). Andy figured out that he was holding him more on his back. Since Elijah’s crib was elevated, Andy mentioned that maybe the angle of his crib needed to be lowered. They did it and that seemed to resolve the issue. We would like prayers that he’ll continue to maintain his temp and his oxygen levels will remain high. Thank you to everyone who has been so kind to us during this trial. My favorite scripture is Rom. 8:28, which says, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” I know everything is going to be okay because God said so and He can’t lie. This whole experience has been eye opening. It has made me trust and rely on God more. It has made me fall even deeper in love with Andy. It has shown me how much God loves us because I love Elijah so much. It has shown me how many people care for us. It has opened my eyes to what other people have been through. It has shown me that God indeed listens and answers our prayers. It seems that Elijah is doing better than the doctors or nurses expected. Last night the nurse seemed a bit negative and tonight when she saw how awake he was she seemed more positive and a bit surprised. God is healing our little man. Keep sending those prayers!

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