Friday, February 13, 2009

Mommy gives Blake a bath!!!

I am so excited about our visit tonight.

We went to the hospital a bit later tonight. On our way we decided to call them to let them know we would soon be there with some bottles so that they wouldn't have to take any out of the freezer. We spoke to Heather and she mentioned that Janice was away from her desk getting things prepared for Blake's bath. We got to see Jenna get her bath lastnight so I really wanted to see Blake get his. Heather was nice enough to ask Janice to wait a few minutes until we go there. We were excited to hear her agree to wait.

Once we got there, Janice told Blake that mommy was going to give him a bath. My face MUST have lit up. I would get to give my little 2lb 3 oz baby boy a bath! Ha-Now, I played "house" a many of times growing up and played mommy a million times. However, I never dreamed that I would be giving such a tiny baby a bath. Janice asked me if I wanted to. "Absolutely", I believe was my reply. It was great! The key, she said, is to do it fast so that we could make sure he stayed warm enough and wasn't "disturbed" for too long. Granted, at this stage, they are still having "sponge baths" but never the less there is some scrubbing and hair washing involved. Okay, so I had a tub of warm, soapy water and soft little cotton gauze cloths to wash him with. He did well. At times he wasn't too fond of the scrubbing part but at others he seems to just stretch out. But, the cleaning behind the ears was definitely something he did not approve of. We have a great picture of that. He wrinkled his little brow and squinched his eyes so tight you would think that he was squeezing lemons with his little eye lids. The cutest part was when I scrubbed his back, we saw that he has finally grown tiny little butt cheeks. Haha-he looks like a little wrinkled old man from behind. So cute!!! Once I washed his hair, it was like turning on a switch. He was relaxed and calm. Each night, we talk to, sit with and touch our babies. But, I am so grateful to have been able to do this tonight. It was truly special. Thanks Janice. Proud daddy Jason was there taking pictures the whole time.

Jenna is doing great. We really enjoyed sitting with her tonight just talking to her and watching her little fingers flutter about from time to time. We just can't get over how long her hair is getting. Lastnight when she got her bath, her hair on the back of her head near her neck was feathered. It looked so soft and shinny. What a beauty!

Well, while there isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss being pregnant, and miss my big pregnant belly (you all know how much I enjoyed the pregnant belly), it is days like these that make those "voids" much more bearable. It IS true, we are missing out on some of the perks of a "normal" 9 month pregnancy and that is very difficult to deal with at times but it is the circumstances that we are experiencing that makes days like these so very special.

~K

2 comments:

Krista said...

I just wanted to tell you that I sit here with tears in my eyes remembering the first time I was able to bath one of my micro prem babes in the NICU. It was the very first time .. even more than kangaroo care, .. that I felt like I was a normal mom, and not a mother of premies. That feeling of not regret about not getting to experience a normal pregnancy and first months of your baby, I still remember, but as the days go on, you remember just how blessed you are. Thinking and praying for you and your babes. Krista in BC

Jason and Kim said...

Krista,
Thanks for your comment. We really enjoy hearing form our friends and family and receiving responses. It is nice to hear from someone who can so closely relate to the feelings we are experiencing. You're right, the sting of the feeling of missing out on a full pregnancy and "normal" experience is getting a bit lighter, though it is still frequent thus far. Each day though we realize how amazing it is to see such growth. It just means that we get a head start on seeing our beautiful babies. How old are your babies now? Feel free to email (or leave more comments), I would love to talk to you more.
~kim