Cuddles and Blankets

So I guess it’s a good sign that everyone is doing well when we get to hold two of our babies twice in the same day.

This morning, Annaleigh and Lily were both having episodes. Their monitors were ringing back and forth as we were visiting. But then something amazing happened: their nurses got rocking chairs for us and pulled both girls out of their isolettes and plopped them down in our arms. And almost immediately, both girls settled down. We held Annaleigh for an hour and Lily for about 40 minutes, and after we put them back in their beds they both proceeded to have great days. It was as though the only medicine they needed was their mommy and daddy! What a great feeling!

When we returned for our evening visit, we got to hold the girls a second time, and Charlie came out for a snuggle with mommy too. Five baby cuddles in one day! What a fantastic day!

As far as their health is concerned, things are pretty much the same. Everyone is eating and growing (Annaleigh hit 1000 grams today-- we now have two kilo babies!), and they seem to be on track for where they need to be. Dr. Hiatt saw how upset we were before holding them this morning and assured us that things were going well and “the most dangerous part of their lives is behind them.” That was nice to hear.

Tomorrow has the potential to be a good day too. Lily’s nurse, a young girl we haven’t met very often, thinks that Lily is ready for some kangaroo cuddling! (I had no clue what that meant until very recently. Basically, it’s skin to skin contact. Brooke will take off her shirt and Lily will take off her blankets, and the nurse will lay Lily down on Brooke’s chest. The bare flesh contact is supposed to be great for the baby, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be great for us too.) So let’s just hope that there are no surprises between now and then so we can have some fun tomorrow.


Annaleigh could not have looked more comfortable during her evening cuddle with me. She slept soundly, kept her numbers steady, and gently chewed (gummed?) her feeding tube.


Lily... well, Lily is just fun to watch. She had just gone back into her isolette after a good long cuddle and she decided that it was time to stretch out. And she stayed like this until we left to go see Charlie. She's such a ham!


Charlie and Brooke in the fifth and final cuddle of the night.


We arrived at the NICU and found (for the second time) mail waiting for us. This time, a former student of mine and her mom sent us the most beautiful personalized baby blankets. When Brooke opened the box, she hadn't even taken them out when she giddily yelled, "oh my god I love them!" So thanks Jess Katz and Mrs. Katz. We really love the blankets (and the notes) and we appreciate the support. Are we lucky, or what???