Aliyah's the Boss...No, Really She IS 05-30-2011

This morning, Barry and I went to the hospital so that I could do Kangaroo Care with Aliyah. As many of you know, this is a way of having skin to skin contact with her. With this style of holding, a mother is able to give the baby body heat and antibodies through her skin. It is also a very good way of bonding between parent and child.

Aliyah decided to take full advantage of the session today. Normally, we arrive at 9am, and I Kangaroo with her until 12pm. Today, Barry and I...and the nurse had an adventure in "Aliyah Land." During Kangaroo Care, I am usually thinking "Wow, I'm a mother...I have a daughter, and she's in my arms." Apparently, Aliyah is thinking, "How can I avoid having this cap on my head and this CPAP in my nose?"

To begin, I pick her up, and sit down with her on my chest, in a recliner, recline and we begin our 3 hours of sitting nestled together. In a moment of silence, bonding and complete serenity, Aliyah breaks the peace by taking the CPAP off of her face, including her cap. Barry and I are now working together to get everything back together so that we can lay peacefully again, but as I am trying to reapply her CPAP, she is fighting me. OUR BABY IS FIGHTING US AND WINNING!!! She is pushing me away with her arms and burying her head into my chest to keep me from reaching her. We finally have to call the nurse in for back up. All the while, I am in disbelief at my child, Barry is trying to remain calm, and the nurse is trying to give my child some air.

We manage to get her CPAP back on and put her in a position to protect her from herself, but there is one more dilemma. Her CPAP doesn't want to stay in her nose. So, now, for the rest of the hour, I am holding the baby with both hands trying to keep her still, and Barry (poor guy...he was trying to study) is behind the recliner with his arms wrapped around me holding the tubing on one side and the CPAP to Aliyah's face. My man the protector. We're sitting and doing all of this work, and Aliyah is fast asleep, completely serene in her own little world. So, Kangaroo Care was cut to 1 hour today. And when we finally got her back safely to bed, she was still trying to pull the new CPAP off of her face. Shaking my head, all I could say is "That's OUR baby, and this is only the beginning."


Aliyah is now 2 lbs 4 oz ! YAYA! PRAISE GOD!!! Lets keep praying!

Aliyah praising God. :)

Christal G.