Skin-to-skin time
The day after the delivery (Wednesday) was mostly spent recovering, and we had our short visits with the boys. Amanda and I were both exhausted, as the nurses came into the room to check Amanda's vitals every single hour of the night to verify that she wasn't having any post-surgery complications (she was just fine). Thankfully, Wednesday night we finally got some good sleep, so we were feeling greatly improved by Thursday and started our skin-to-skin time with the boys.
On Thursday morning while Amanda was resting I visited the boys by myself. I got to partake in Sam's care time by feeding him, and I spent three hours holding Sam on my bare chest.
Thursday evening when Amanda was feeling more rested we visited the boys together, and she did skin-to-skin time with Max.
Skin-to-skin time early on is important as it accomplishes several things. Some of the obvious benefits are the building of familiarity and strengthening of the bond between the parent and the baby. As a Dad I enjoy this special time because it allows me to have a connection which I won't get naturally as a result of breast feeding (my boobs are way less useful than Amanda's boobs). Some less obvious benefits of skin-to-skin time are that it helps the baby be able to regulate their own body temperature, improves their ability to start breast feeding, and statistically increases a wide variety of different health outcomes for the baby.
It is encouraged that parents have skin-to-skin time with their babies every day. We've managed to accomplish this, and we intend to keep it up every day until we're finally able to take the boys home from the NICU.
Here are a few more photos from our skin-to-skin time on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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| Cuteness overload, Mom holding Sam (right) and Max (left) |
On Thursday morning while Amanda was resting I visited the boys by myself. I got to partake in Sam's care time by feeding him, and I spent three hours holding Sam on my bare chest.
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| Dad feeding Sam |
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| Dad and Sam |
Thursday evening when Amanda was feeling more rested we visited the boys together, and she did skin-to-skin time with Max.
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| Mom and Max |
Skin-to-skin time early on is important as it accomplishes several things. Some of the obvious benefits are the building of familiarity and strengthening of the bond between the parent and the baby. As a Dad I enjoy this special time because it allows me to have a connection which I won't get naturally as a result of breast feeding (my boobs are way less useful than Amanda's boobs). Some less obvious benefits of skin-to-skin time are that it helps the baby be able to regulate their own body temperature, improves their ability to start breast feeding, and statistically increases a wide variety of different health outcomes for the baby.
It is encouraged that parents have skin-to-skin time with their babies every day. We've managed to accomplish this, and we intend to keep it up every day until we're finally able to take the boys home from the NICU.
Here are a few more photos from our skin-to-skin time on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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| Andrew holding Max |
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| Dad holding Max and Mom holding Sam |
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| Sam had some adorable head movements |
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| Sam on Mom's lap |
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| Skin-to-pillow time also has numerous health benefits |
simply great. Many thanks for sharing your story.
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