I noticed the slightest detail in one of my favorite pictures from my boys' NICU stay. It is one of the rare times I held all 3 of my boys at once with the "kangaroo pouch". Without this I don't know how I would have been able to hold all my babies at once comfortably. I sat for hours like this and is one of my most cherished memories (which also happened to be on my birthday).
I attached the picture so you could see it too. From left to right: Bryce, Ethan, Owen.
I attached the picture so you could see it too. From left to right: Bryce, Ethan, Owen.
Betsy and Tyler Ballweg
aka The Triplets Parents
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Kangarooing triplets! It takes a team, patience, and the will to get them together again safely.
We
asked Betsy "how were the 3 babies placed in Kangaroo Care?"
asked Betsy "how were the 3 babies placed in Kangaroo Care?"Betsy Answered:
This photo is of the first time I held them all at the same time.
At my right is Bryce who was transferred first. At my left is Owen. And then Ethan in the middle.
Bryce was first because he was easier to transition out than Owen. Ethan was last coming from adjoining room.
And Bryce on my right because that was the side his isolette was on when I was sitting facing their monitors.
They zipped prob 3/4 way up after Bryce and Owen were in.
Then down to let Ethan in. And then zipped The Zaky ZAK all way up.
First time I did kangaroo care with all 3 they were probably a month into nicu. I’m guessing in the photo they were roughly 3 lbs each.
None were intubated at the time. (Although I did skin-on-skin individually with them when they were).
Ethan was only one not on oxygen. Bryce and Owen were c-pap or hi-flow. (One of rare times Owen wasn’t intubated)
It’s a process to get each one in and settled before the next was placed. But it was completely worth it. I remember and love the moments I did kangaroo care.
Comment (1)
Holding your 3lb baby with wires and tubes attached and winding every which way is frightening enough, but trying to hold more than one baby at a time in that state amplifies that fright and apprehension. Kangaroo Care allowed me to hold my babies comfortably at one time. I didn’t have to decide which baby to spring out of their isolette to hold and love at that moment. I was able to snuggle them all at once when they needed it the most. It’s an indescribable feeling to hold each of my babies to my skin and not only sense their calm but to see it reflected in their heart rate on the monitors. It’s a roller coaster every day and every night in the NICU, but the times I did Kangaroo Care with my boys were the most precious and memorable.