Kangaroo Care!

Kangaroo Care...that's right!  I know, I know...I'm taking care of human babies.  But, in the midst of our clinic closing, me moving house again, and another of our Western nurses heading home for several months...I'm trying my hardest to make this work!  Kangaroos carry their young in a pouch, close to their body.  This keeps them warm, gives them time to develop, and provides them with the emotional attachment to their mother's that they need.  It has been proven over and over again that human babies need the same thing, especially those that leave their mother's body prematurely and are born at a low birth weight.
Little Inacio was premature and is very under weight, vulnerable, and having trouble regulating his body temperature and respiration rate.  All of these things make him the perfect candidate to try out what is called Kangaroo Mother Care or Skin-to-Skin care.  Check it out here if you want to learn more!  I've done it with him twice and am in the process of teaching our tias (the Mozambican women who care for our children and live in their dorms with them) how and why this type of care works and encouraging them to try it out themselves!  Inacio loves it and even after an hour has a better temperature and more regulated respiration rate.  It is amazing really!

All you do is place the little guy in only a diaper inside your clothing onto your skin.  You tie him on, tight enough that your breathing stimulates him to breath.  And being skin-to-skin allows the baby to regulate his body temperature off of yours.  This also enhances emotional attachment.  Usually breast feeding would be used as well.  Obviously this is not possible for us, but we do have a special premature baby formula that he is receiving.
Look at cute little Inacio!  Join me in prayer that our tias will continue to fall in love with this little guy and want to do everything in their power to help him grow and develop...tomorrow one of them has volunteered to try out Kangaroo Care for the first time!

(Aleya this post is all for you, my friend!)