Our Earthly Incubator

This blog is dedicated to Eden and Zoe.

You may have heard of, or even know my friends Jen and Jason who recently gave birth to triplets at 24 weeks of gestation back in October. Two of the babies passed away due to complications, but the third baby, Juliana, is doing well. Jason and Jen have a blog they update daily, graciously sharing their struggles and triumphs.

After being in the incubator for 3 weeks Jen and Jason got to hold their daughter for the first time through a special technique called “kangaroo care.” This technique is especially important to premature babies that spend most of their time in an incubator. The key component of the “kangaroo” is skin to skin contact, but what this means for Juliana, who is still on a ventilator to help her breathe, is that they must be very still while they hold her. They cannot rock her or move at all because of the tube in her throat. In addition, her skin is very delicate and they’re not supposed to rub it. Instead they press their warm hands against the tube and gauze-free patches of her skin, passing their love from hand to tiny head.

Literally thousands of people are reading their blog praying for Juliana and her family, as they see the love this baby has to live for. Even I, just a friend and onlooker wish I could somehow tell her how loved she is or perhaps whisper in her ear “Do you know how much? Can you see how they love you?”

Inside the incubator, Juliana is made as comfortable as possible. Her bed is warm, soft, and safe from infection, but who could blame her for feeling alone in there. What she doesn’t know is everyday just a few feet away her parents sit watching over her. She can’t feel it, but they are there.

Even if they hooked up the incubator with a giant flat screen TV with a Sesame Street marathon playing 24/7, it could never replace her need to feel her father’s fuzzy chest pressed up against her tiny ear. At the end of the day, what Juliana needs most, is to feel her parents close.

I can’t help but think of God outside the incubator, who also longs for us to feel His love. Even when we think we’re all alone, even when our closeness to him seems out of reach, he is there, desperate for us to remember the times he held us close; but who can blame us for feeling alone? Alone in our heated homes, soft beds, and shelves full of books and DVD’s to entertain and distract; but eventually we all come to the place where we realize that these things are not enough. We need companionship. We need friends, we need family, and most of all we need a God to teach us how to love them.

In their blog Jason shares how the kangaroo care has a physically positive impact on Juliana as she snuggles down and relaxes in their arms. Juliana finds peace in the kangaroo care, and we too live for moments of closeness, but its not enough.

Jen and Jason and their entourage of support long for the day when they strap that baby in their back seat and drive home. I too want to go home.

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You can read more about Juliana's journey as shared by her parents on their blog: jasonandjenpayne.com