Kangaroo Care

Today, Olivia is three weeks old. 

She is struggling a bit with her weight and staying up to temperature. 

Our method of treatment for these difficulties is Kangaroo Care. 

Kangaroo Care is a method of skin to skin contact used to encourage parent/infant bonding,
especially for premature babies. 

It is the practice of holding an infant dressed only in a diaper

next to a mother’s bare skin. 

Humans were created for relationship.

Just the grasp of teensy fingers around a finger seems proof of that.

Therefore, idea of skin to skin makes a lot of sense.

The research to promote the concept of Kangaroo Care 

shows that babies have a biological need for skin to skin contact,

and most amazingly,

a mother’s body responds to that need. 

In his study, Dr. Bergman concluded that a baby’s stress hormones,

blood pressure,

oxygenation, temperature

and heart rate stabilize with skin to skin contact.

  The most startling fact he found is that a mother’s chest temperature 

changes to meet her baby’s needs,

rising if a baby is cold

and decreasing if the infant becomes too warm.

What an awesome Creator we have!

To do skin to skin therapy efficiently,

Brian bought me a MOBY wrap. 

It is essentially a long cloth with a bit of stretch 

that one can use to swaddle a baby onto your body, 

leaving hands free for activity. 

A MOBY wrap is a very comfortable way to carry a baby as well. 

It takes a while to get the hang of wearing your baby in the wrap,

and even longer to adapt to nursing in it, 

but I am sticking with it in hopes that it will help Olivia to flourish. 

  Wearing a cardigan over the wrap 

allowed me to be up and around the house modestly. 

Even though the wrap is very supportive,

I still want to hold a hand under the baby. 

Perhaps in time I will get accustomed to it

and feel secure enough to let both hands go.

On my first skin to skin day,

Our sweet little new baby climbed to a normal temperature in a little over an hour. 

She fed well, slept well, and seemed to love the whole idea.
Like she was made for it.