Her fourth transfusion

She received a blood transfusion at 7am today. I think this is her fourth. We're losing count. By 12pm she'll be back on her regular feeds, so the transfusion only interrupts a total of 5 hours (of her being able to eat). And by tomorrow she'll hopefully be back to her normal self 😊

Arabella looked tired and pale last night when we saw her. She's on all kinds of new medications too, so Kiera and I gave her a break from skin-to-skin and only hand-hugged her. Just holding her hand with your finger can be a connection.

We'll take whatever we can get with our baby girl. 

Belle's going through a lot right now. She's struggling with this PDA, pulmonary hypertension, edema, anemia. There is a lot on her plate.

So we gave her time to rest the last few days. Belle's been working too hard lately it seems. 

Holding her is very important, though. Babies need skin-to-skin. The love and touch of a parent is something doctors and scientists can't mimic or replace. We all know this. But it actually does help babies thrive - and there's research out there to prove it. 

Babies tend to grow more. They sleep more. And proper rest = development. It makes total sense when you think about it.
When we can't do skin-to-skin with her, we simply talk to her. We touch her very gently and cup our hands around her bum/legs or around her head/arms, depending on how she's laying. That sort of hand-hugging creates a barrier for babies and it mimics the womb. Those barriers make her feel calmer. If she throws her hands up, we'll be there to provide a safety cushion around her and keep her contained. 

She can hear us talking to her. She can smell our scent. She knows we're there for her.

She's always listening, and she has a way of talking back to us too. She reacts to our voices and gives us her own cues. It lets us know she's aware. 

We're learning to read her - and she's learning to read us. And together we all continue growing and learning from one another.