A Tennessee mom was caught by surprise when her fourth child, who was scheduled to be delivered by C-section, arrived 3 weeks early – at home.

After experiencing contractions all night, Bobbye Favazza, 27, called her daughter in around 8:30 a.m. to call 911.

When emergency services personnel didn’t arrive in time to help, Bobbye’s 2-year-old son Jeremiha Taylor stepped in.

Jeremiha even remained calm and went to get his mom a towel,without being told, when she started to bleed.

“It happened so fast,” Favazza said. “My water broke, and the baby came two to three minutes later. I just pushed and (Jeremiha) caught him.”

In order to open the door for the arriving firefighters, Favazza held her newborn with the umbilical cord still attached.

Mother and baby finally arrived to the hospital, where they were each given a clean bill of health.

Related Articles:

• Baby Rescued From Running Washing Machine
• Firefighters Called to Help After Toddler’s Head Gets Stuck in Highchair
• California Toddler Survives 30-foot Fall Onto Rocks

SOURCEPhoto by Stan Carroll

Chemicals found in many plastics are causing little boys to act more like little girls, according to new research. The study suggests that boys who are exposed to certain plastics while in utero are apt to have these behaviour changes.

A team of researchers at the University of Rochester examined play habits of children aged 4 to 7 years old. They found that the phthalates (chemicals in the plastic used in many household objects) can actually disrupt hormones. The chemicals affect the baby’s developing brain by deactivating testosterone, the male sex hormone.

During pregnancy, the moms of 145 youngsters had volunteered to be tested. Scientists tested urine samples from the pregnant moms for traces of phthalates, which can actually mimic the female sex hormone, estrogen.

Those boys born to women with higher levels of exposure to phthalates were less likely to play with toys like guns or trucks, or exhibit play behaviour typical of their gender, such as roughhousing or participating in sports.

If mothers were in the highest concentration group, the chance that their boys had a less masculine score was five times greater than mothers in the lowest concentration group.

“Phthalates may reduce levels of testosterone in unborn babies between the eighth and 24th week of pregnancy,” says Dr. Shanna Swan, lead author of this study and a professor at the University of Rochester for obstetrics and gynecology.

This alters the developing brain and male genitals, she told the Daily Mail. An earlier study from Dr. Swan found that boys born to moms with the highest phthalate levels were more likely to have smaller genitals and undescended testicles than other boys.

Phthalates are so-called plasticizers – a chemical compound added to commercial plastic to make it more pliable or translucent. The phthalates examined in Swan’s study – DEHP and DEB – can be found in commonly used flooring products, PVC shower curtains, and a variety of textiles and dyes found in many homes.

As well, Phthalates common in the environment are found in toys, food packaging, personal care products, nail polish and adhesives. Dr. Swan believes that the main source of exposure to these phthalates for the pregnant women is through food. This could be through the packaging of processed foods or even with the way you store or heat food in plastic containers.

She suggested that if women are concerned about the findings in this study then they may want to change their eating habits during pregnancy. It could be as simple as heating food in glass containers. – Shannon, staff writer

SOURCE

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. In honor of this, some parents who have had babies prematurely have offered to tell their stories to create awareness about his important cause.

Our twelfth profile is of a little guy named Tyler Kenneth Brown.

Tyler was born on September 21st 2005 at 25 weeks and 3 days. Mom Nancy does not know why Tyler was born early. She said that neither Tyler or herself had any infections after delivery, but she did have a perinatlogist say it was an incompetent cervix.

At birth, Tyler weighed in at 1 pound 11 ounces. His NICU story was some what uneventful. Most of the events are the after math of preemiehood. Tyler was born in a hospital that was not equipped for a preemie with issues let alone a preemie as early as Tyler. They were life flighted as soon as he was born. Dad Dallas saw his little body off on a helicopter and followed in the car.

Tyler had a PDA (Patent ductus arteriosus) done at three days. The doctors had wanted to get it closed because his brain was bleeding. Mom says they didn’t have the luxury of waiting to see if it would happen on his own. His surgery went well. He did have a grade four bleed on one side and a three on the other. After about 30 days and an up and down of his head growing too much they transferred us to yet another hospital to have brain surgery. He had a reservoir placed after a month in the NICU. Mom said they ended up with the greatest care and found a great team of doctors at this very hospital.

Ty had one seizure after his NICU reservoir placement and hasn’t had one since. Mom is always on pins and needles with it. Tyler was not shunted after the reservoir placement but he did end up with a shunt later. He was on the vent for about 63 days. He had a hard time getting off. He really was kind of lazy. Tyler came home on oxygen but was weaned pretty fast.

Right before mom and dad were ready to bring Tyler home, he had a bad ROP (retinopathy of prematurity –a disease of the eyes) exam. He needed surgery FAST. Tyler had ROP surgery within 72 hours of finding how severe it was. It saved his eyesight but he does still has poor vision. He was pretty fast bouncing back. Tyler was off the vent quickly and on to growing.

Tyler spent 93 days total in the NICU before coming home on December 23rd. Some of the ups and downs happened fast after the NICU. Mom and dad brought him home a day before his due date. He was just under six pounds. In January he was diagnosed with craniosynostosis (a medical condition in which some or all of the sutures in the skull of an infant or child close too early, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth) and had to have surgery on February 14th. The doctors took out his reservoir at that point.

In April he got really sick and almost died. Doctors found out he was in need of a shunt. His bones had grown back and he didn’t have enough space for his brain to expand and he was sick. An emergency shunt was placed in April. Tyler screamed for an entire month and a nice doctor took pity on me and said he needed a shunt revision. Once he had the new shunt placed, he did awesome. One year after his first skull surgery Tyler had to have another one. This one was a total skull reconstruction. He did amazing well. He bounced back quickly and for that mom is very grateful.

In Tyler’s second year, he had very little downs. At the end of year two he was diagnosed with stage two cerebral palsy and he was and is walking on his own. Tyler is a good gimpy walker and has so much energy. Tyler is in preschool and is doing very well with that.

Currently he is being evaluated for Sensory processing disorder and he has his own issues. In September of 2008 Tyler had a shunt malfunction from a recalled shunt. They fixed it right before his 3rd birthday. Six months later, in February of 2009 Tyler had another malfunction and his tubing had broken. Mom is on edge because they are just six months out from the last surgery.

As for other children, mom Nancy and her husband Dallas have tried but were unable to get pregnant. They are really not sure however that they want more children or as she says, more correctly they aren’t sure to dare go through what they have with Tyler. They love him but it is very hard.

If Nancy had one piece of advice for a new preemie mom, it would be this: Keep going. You will always doubt your choices but do what you feel is right and keep your chin up. You will never feel you did enough or loved enough or whatever. BUT you are doing what is best. You are the mom.

I asked Nancy to describe Tyler in one word and she said “FUNNY”.

If you would like to read more about Tyler, go here to Miracles Happen

Other Amazing Preemies:

• Preemie Profile: 25 Weeker Maggie Grace
  
• Preemie Profile: 24 Week Twins Bryce and Chloe
  
• Preemie Profile: 29 Weeker Charlotte
  
• Preemie Profile: 26 Weeker Emery

New for Fall Medela has introduced a great Breast Care gift set($24.99) that is both convenient for moms to take to the hospital and use at home. This attractive twill bag keeps everything organized, while providing new nursing moms with the tools that will help them successfully breastfeed, especially during the first few weeks.

Medela takes the guess work out of planning for nursing a new arrival. With the exception of a pump, all of the must-haves for a new nursing mom are included in this gift set.

They include:

• Twill bag
• Tender Care™ Lanolin Advanced Nipple Therapy™ provides soothing relief for dry or cracked nipples. The formula, which is completely safe for both mom and baby, is easy to apply and does not require removal before breastfeeding.
• 2 Tender Care Hydrogel pads, which cool on contact with the breast
• 12 Disposable bra pads to help wick away breastmilk, leaving mom clean and comfortable.
• Mother’s Minder® Bracelet that can track when mom last fed baby or pumped breastmilk, as well as baby’s sleep or medication schedule.
• Resource Guide that features valuable tips and information, support resources and a breastfeeding log.

WIN IT!! Medela is offering 1 Growing Your Baby reader the opportunity to win this Breast Care gift set

This is a great gift idea for a mom-to-be who is planning to nurse.

To enter, please comment here with your favorite Medela product.

Extra Entrants:

• Blog about our giveaway! Tell your readers about our giveaway and then send us the link in a separate comment for an additional entrant to the giveaway.
• Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/growingyourbaby or ‘Tweet’ about our giveaway
• Regardless of outcome – ALL bloggers who blog about our giveaway will be linked back in our winners post.

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. In honor of this, some parents who have had babies prematurely have offered to tell their stories to create awareness about his important cause.

Our eleventh profile is of a sweet little girl named Charlotte. This family and story is very near and dear to my heart.

Charlotte was born on April 7th 2007 at 29 weeks and 5 days. The immediate reason for Charlotte’s premature birth was fetal distress. Her heartrate was dropping down to thirty beats per minute. There was no known reason for why this was happening. Mom Kelley also said she had low amniotic fluid and Charlotte was severe IUGR (IntraUterine Growth Retardation.)

At birth Charlotte weighed only 474 grams. As for the NICU stay, Initially mom and dad (Kelley and Vann) were hoping to only remain until she no longer needed oxygen. Charlotte was never on the vent or bipap, just nasal cannula. She had reached a weight of at least pounds pounds, however it quickly became clear that an extended hospital stay would be required. Oxygen as a long term requirement was obviously needed for her as she was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, reflux, chronic lung disease, heart defects (atrial septal defects and ventrical septal defects–tiny holes) and she refused to eat by mouth. Charlotte was later also diagnosed with dysphagia–a swallow dysfunction preventing her from eating by mouth because of aspirating the fluid into her lungs.

During her NICU stay she endured 20+ blood transfusions, an arsenal of tests, surgical procedures including a gastrostomy tube placement (surgically placed through an opening from the abdomen to the stomach) and a heart catheterization (doctor threads a catheter-thin flexible tube from an artery or vein in the neck, arm or thigh into the heart arteries or inside the heart.) Charlotte received daily sticks and pokes, more medications than mom can almost remember including an overdose of potassium at one hospital that sent her into cardiac arrest.

Charlotte had fluctuating electrolyte and mineral levels, multiple feeding issues, and reflux that we could not really control causing daily gagging/retching/choking. She also had issues with desaturations (A drop in oxygen levels due to apnea, obstruction or other medical conditions) daily.

The Lord was merciful to us and answered so many of our prayers for Charlotte. She never had any brain bleeds, all her cranial ultrasounds were normal, her eyes were developing appropriately as far as we knew despite long term oxygen therapy, she passed her hearing screening, and a spot on her kidney (which the doctors were watching very closely due to the high increase of kidney problems in two vessel cord babies & an elevated kidney hormone) completely disappeared! What a miracle! We always felt optimistic and overjoyed at each new milestone no matter at what age she achieved it.

After spending six and a half months at three different NICUs in the Atlanta area, Charlotte came home. Charlotte was on oxygen, was being fed with a feeding tube, and hooked up to the standard monitors for preemies (heart and oxygen saturation rates). She was on more than half a dozen meds. Charlotte still struggled with all the issues mentioned above and Kelley and Vann were led to believe that there was a chance that she would eventually outgrow and overcome the need for all her equipment-the oxygen, the feeding tube, as well as her reflux and heart defects.

Surgery was always on the radar for her heart if the holes did not close up as she grew. At nearly 7 months when she came home for the first and only time, she weighed in at just over 8 1/2 pounds. Charlotte was considered very medically fragile because of her lungs and heart and we were well aware that any respiratory illness could very well take her life. She was followed by a cardiologist, a pulmonologist, a gastrointerologist, and pediatrician. Despite all this, we were confident that–with time–she would have a full and enjoyable life and be able to do so many of the things that other children could do.

What mom and dad were not aware of (and uneducated about at the time) was the fact that her aspiration issues should have been addressed before coming home due to her reflux. Everything she was refluxing had the potential to be aspirated into her lungs.

After a mere six weeks at home, Charlotte developed an aspiration pneumonia that landed her back in the local Children’s hospital they had just left. A viral infection on top of this put her in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit). Her premature body had difficulty fighting things off and after one week in the hospital she suddenly became much worse. Her lungs with all of the damage were unable to sustain oxygen levels. This was even with the maximum amount of support available in the medical field. After four long weeks of fighting, being on the ventilator and oscillator, dealing with the infections and treatments and multiple resuscitations, sweet Charlotte went home to heaven. It was January 14th 2008 and she was 9 months and 7 days old.

Kelley and Vann lost another baby girl at only 12 weeks 2 days due to a possible infection. They were however recently blessed with the birth of their son Owen who was born at 36 weeks after preterm labor.

If Kelley had one piece of advice for a new preemie mom, it would be this: Educate yourself on your child’s issues. You are the best advocate for your child. Look for support from others–online groups or local support groups. Parents of preemies encounter problems that most parents never even hear about. It can be a lonely road and you need people around you who understand the unique issues surrounding preemies and the equally as unique set of emotions that comes with having one and caring for one.

I asked Kelley to describe Charlotte in one word and she said “FIGHTER.”

There is no doubt in my mind that Kelley is right in describing Charlotte. This story has always been a part of my heart and Kelley and Vann are just amazing parents who deserve nothing but the best in the future. Charlotte was so very loved and is missed tremendously by so many.

If you would like to read more about Charlotte and her journey you can go here to Charlotte Humphrey

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. In honor of this, some parents who have had babies prematurely have offered to tell their stories to create awareness about his important cause.

Our tenth profile is of a little beauty named Margaret “Maggie” Grace.

Maggie was born on August 25th 2005 at 25 weeks 2 days. Mom Dana had extremely low amniotic fluid. Maggie was also an IUGR (IntraUterine Growth Retardation) baby. Dana had developed severe pre-eclampsia (a condition characterized by pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and swelling (edema) due to fluid retention), which turned to HELLP syndrome (a complication of severe preeclampsia).

Maggie at birth weighed only 15 ounces which is about 425 grams. She was in three NICU’s. The first one she was in for two days, the second one for a week and then the last one for four and a half months. Maggie was born right before Hurricane Katrina and was evacuated from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Mom and dad did not see her for a week as they were in one hospital and she was in another.

Overall it was a rough four and a half months. Maggie was on and off of the vent and had many infections through her stay and almost didn’t make it several times. There were many nights spent sleeping in the NICU waiting room praying that no one would come tell mom and dad any bad news.

While there we met many people in the same situation. One was a family who lost their preemie four months after she was born. That was hard as Maggie was in the isolette right next to her and when Maggie had ups this little one had downs and vice versa.

Maggie had a fundoplication (a surgical operation for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in which the upper part of the stomach is wrapped around the lower esophagus) done along with a gastrostomy (A method to facilitate feeding in which a tube is surgically placed directly into the stomach, through the abdominal wall) while in the NICU. Maggie did nipple feed for a while but it was not going great and she suffered from aspiration (milk entering into the lungs) and the doctors felt this was the best option for her at the time. We had some of the best doctors and nurses we could ask for while in the NICU, who made the whole ordeal easier for us.

Mom and dad had clothes and blankets for Maggie made by volunteers and she always had decorations in her corner and on her isolette for every occasion. Mom and dad wanted to make it as close to home as they could. They found out after a month that by playing music-Disney Princess instrumentals in fact-from a CD player, it would calm her down and help her oxygen saturations.

All in all Maggie’s stay was a roller coaster. Ride up and down with the twists and turns. Thankfully this little fighter made it home safe and sound! The technology they have today is amazing and just miraculous in moms opinion!

As for lasting effects from her prematurity, Maggie is little but that is basically all. She had her feeding tube removed in May of 2009 and now eats by mouth. She has great vision and hearing and no other delays except for needing some speech therapy in school as she can not say some letters that well. Mom feels very blessed.

If Dana had one piece of advice for a new preemie mom, it would be this: Have Faith. Do what feels right to you and know that these babies are some of the strongest fighters ever!

I asked Dana to describe Maggie in one word and she said “AMAZING.”

What an ordeal with the NICUs! She sure is an amazing child!

Doctors are warning expectant parents that fetal heart rate monitors that can be bought personally and used at home should just be used for entertainment and not as an alternative to medical advice. They do not always provide an accurate picture of the health of the baby.

The devices may provide false reassurance in some situations, according to Abhijoy Chakladar, MD, of Princess Royal Hospital in West Sussex, England.

Dr. Chakladar highlighted a case that was recently published in British Medical Journal of one 34 –year-old expectant mother who noticed a reduction in her baby’s movement but delayed getting medical help after using a monitor.

When she was finally treated by doctors they found that the baby had passed away in-utero.

While the baby’s death may not have been avoidable, doctors from Brighton and Sussex University Hospital, who treated the woman, say that at the very least the monitor caused her to delay seeking help.

He said the stillbirth “may have been unavoidable,” but listening to the fetal heart monitor “certainly delayed presentation to the hospital.”

“Without training,” he added, sounds heard on the monitor “could easily be misinterpreted.” Likely, the mother had simply heard her own pulse or placental flow instead.

The home monitor devices give only a quick snap shot of the heart rate and nothing more. Moms are also not trained to listen to a baby’s heartbeat, therefore making this difficult.

Sales and use of at home fetal heart devices are on the rise says Rebecca Coombes, associate editor of BMJ. Many of these devices are being bought on the Internet and not all of them being offered/sold are of medical grade either.

Ms. Coombes said the regulated products use medical-grade ultrasound Doppler devices, which have to conform to medical standards and can cost $500 or more. But cheaper devices that do not use ultrasound retail for as little as $33.

“These are not considered medical devices,” she said.

Dr. Chakladar said that companies and manufacturers have an obligation to make this very clear to buyers.

I can totally relate with this article. I had my first son had 24 weeks in the summer of 2005. Just last October I found out I was expecting again. I was a nervous wreck because of all we went through the first time. Sadly, at only six weeks I miscarried. It was not long after that, at the end of December that I found myself pregnant again.

Once I passed the 6 week mark which I had miscarried at just prior, I started looking online to buy a fetal heart monitor. I received one in the mail when I hit 10 weeks and tried for hours that first night but couldn’t hear anything. Frustrated and upset, I emailed the company and they said by 12 weeks 98% of moms can find the heartbeat easily. So I waited.

At 12 weeks I tried and when I still heard nothing, I went for an ultrasound to make sure everything was fine.

Around 13 weeks I finally found the baby’s heartbeat. While I could pick mine up very easily, I can see how some moms could confuse theirs with the baby’s.

I would obsess and check every single day. There were many times I would wonder if something happened to the baby because I couldn’t get the heartbeat.

So, on the other side of “entertainment”, these can also cause unnecessary worry.

Don’t get me wrong, when I DID get the heartbeat it was absolutely awesome to listen to but I never would have “relied” on that at all. – Shannon, staff writer

SOURCE SOURCE

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. In honor of this, some parents who have had babies prematurely have offered to tell their stories to create awareness about his important cause.

Our nineth profile is of Bryce and Chloe.

Bryce and Chloe were born on May 26th 2009 at exactly 24 weeks. Dad Jason said “yes and no” to whether or not the reason was known for the premature birth of the babies. Jason said that he went in with his wife to the OB for a regular check up at 22 weeks. Her doctor discovered that she was 2 cm dilated and 100% effaced with bulging membranes (amniotic sac). This was less than two weeks after a completely normal ultrasound appointment. Christie was taken by ambulance to the University of Minnesota Medical Center, where the maternal-fetal medicine specialists told us that she was in serious danger of preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), and that the twins could be born at any time. She was put on hospital bed rest and constant monitoring from that moment on. Three days later, her membranes did rupture, but the twins held out for another 11 days before they developed complications and had to be delivered by emergency c-section.

Jason says that they still have no idea why Christie’s body effectively decided it was “time” nearly 18 weeks early. There were no signs of infection, and she didn’t have any complications or warning symptoms. Her OB-GYN speculated that since she has a rather small uterus, the size of the growing twins felt like a full-term baby to her body far too early.

At birth, Bryce weighed in at 580 grams and his sister Chloe was 555 grams. Until they were born, everyone thought that Bryce (Baby A’s) amniotic sac was ruptured, and that he was holding on for his little sister. As it turns out, it was Chloe’s sac that had ruptured, which may in part account for her slightly smaller size and subsequent complications. Both of the twins were stable after intubation in the delivery room, with Apgar scores of 4/8/9 for Bryce and 3/5/7 for Chloe.

In all but one respect, Bryce was always the stronger of the two. The day after he was born, they took him off the ventilator and he was breathing room air unassisted for close to four hours! Both twins started off on mechanical ventilators, and were then moved to high-frequency jet ventilators. They both had PDAs (patent ductus arteriosus), but Bryce’s closed with medication, while Chloe required surgery. Both twins had Grade 2 IVHs (brain bleeds), but Chloe’s was bilateral, while Bryce’s was only on one side and resolved very quickly. Bryce opened his eyes first, and was also the first to start receiving gavage feedings of Mama’s milk. When they found bacteria growing in their ventilator tubes and subsequently in their urine, Chloe’s was always more severe.

Bryce’s big challenge was low blood pressure. He was on dopamine for hypotension until he was nearly a month old; Chloe only needed the medication until she was about two weeks old.

In fact, our little princess looked like she was going to leap frog ahead of her big brother at three weeks of age, as she started gaining weight more steadily and her feedings increased faster.

Unfortunately, our daughter developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) at around 3.5 weeks; tragically, a suspected bowel perforation less than a day later resulted in a massive infection and heart failure that claimed her life very abruptly on day 26, despite heroic efforts on the part of the NICU staff.

Bryce was on the ventilator for a little more than five weeks, and then on a nasal cannula for an additional nine weeks. He developed stage three aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (AP-ROP), and was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Minnesota for laser surgery at 70 days of age. He recovered from the surgery well, and stayed in the hospital for another 38 days before he came home. Bryce also struggled with reflux and apnea/bradycardia spells when he started bottle/breast-feeding, and he suffers from protein-induced enterocolitis, which means that Mama is on a dairy-free/soy-free diet to this day. Bryce came home on an apnea monitor (which he is still on), but did not need oxygen or caffeine.

Bryce spent 108 days in the NICU before coming home. As for lasting effects, dad says it is a little early to say whether the issues will be mild or moderate. His growth started off slow, and he’s extremely small even for his adjusted age, but he’s been exceeding expectations for the past month. Bryce is likely hard of hearing, but he is not deaf, and part of his hearing trouble may be due to a small cleft palate which will eventually be repaired. Bryce had laser surgery for AP-ROP, and he will definitely need glasses someday, but he is not blind and we’re cautiously optimistic that he will have decent vision as he gets older. It’s too early to tell if he’ll have developmental issues, but odds are that he’ll have at least a few challenges to overcome.

Dad says that one of the hardest parts about having Bryce at home is how isolated they feel. Due to his small size and Chronic Lung Disease, which is damage to the lungs caused by the six weeks he spent on ventilators, we are constantly reminded that if Bryce gets sick, he’ll likely end up back in the hospital. This has been especially hard with all the fear surrounding this year’s cold & flu season, as dad feels like they have to keep him quarantined at home. Though he is nearly six months old, many of Bryce’s family have yet to meet him!

Bryce has his angel sister Chloe to look over him. He also has a big brother named Logan who is almost three years old. Logan was born at full term. Dad says he is a great kid and loves to help out his little brother.

If Jason had one piece of advice for a new preemie parent, it would be this: Be there for your child(ren) as much as you can. Yes, it’s scary and it’s stressful, but try to learn as much as you can about their care. The doctors and nurses at both our NICUs were fantastic, but even good people make mistakes, and you’ll notice little things about your child that the nurses might miss. Speak up if you have concerns, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t back down until you’re satisfied.

I asked Jason to describe Bryce and Chloe in one word and he said this: Bryce “TENACIOUS” and Chloe “DRAMATIC”.

I have to say that I am absolutely BEYOND impressed with Jason. It is not too often that you see a dad in an online group for premature babies. This is definitely a hands on dad and it is so refreshing to see!It seems to me that Bryce and Chloe came into a wonderful family full of love and hope. I wish Bryce nothing but the best, along with his mom, dad and brother in the future.

If you would like to read more about the twins or follow the journey that lies ahead, you can go here to A TWIN STORY

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. In honor of this, some parents who have had babies prematurely have offered to tell their stories to create awareness about his important cause.

Our eighth profile is of a gorgeous little guy named Emery.

Emery was born on December 18th 2006 at 26 weeks. Mom Sarah had severe early onset pre-eclampsia. (A condition characterized by pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and swelling (edema) due to fluid retention.) His growth had stunted because he was not receiving any nutrients through the placenta.

At birth Emery weighed a mere 597 grams. Upon birth, his lungs were very stiff and could not take a single breath. He received surfactant* and was put on a ventilator to help him breathe. He stayed on the ventilator for 4 months (this is a tad long for a preemie who would generally average 4 to 8 weeks on a ventilator.)

In his early days Emery had a PDA (patent ductus arteriosus), which meant his already underdeveloped lungs were being deprived of oxygen but being filled with blood instead. He received multiple doses of a drug called indamethicin to close it and it closed after a few weeks. He actually was put on the surgical schedule to have it closed 3 times, and each time before the surgery the surgeon would order a round of the medication only to have the PDA close the day of surgery. It would open with 24 hours and this whole process would start again.

Emery had 30+ blood transfusions and also had pneumonia. He got heel sticks 4 times a day while on the vent. Multiply that by 120 days – his poor heels were in shreds and to this day he has little feeling in them.

He received four courses of dexamethasone (a corticosteroid drug used to treat inflammation) to help him off the vent. He did finally come off the vent to CPAP, where he stayed for just shy of 3 months. During this time he had an episode of crying, dropped heart rate (bradycardia) and unusually high respirations (around 120 per minute) that scared one of the nurses. As luck would have it, his ARNP (nurse practitioner) worked in the PICU before she came to the NICU and ordered a renal scan on a whim, and it turned out she was right. Emery had an extremely large kidney stone in his ureter. This is extremely odd for a baby. In fact, it happens in roughly 1:1 million babies mom was told by his neprhologist. Yes, he’s one in a million. The stone was so large that an adult couldn’t have passed it, but no one had ever done a kidney stone removal in a baby before (he weighed around 9 pounds at the time) so he had a reconstructive urological surgeon do the procedure. It took about 5 hours. The docs were pretty nervous about it because of his extensive lung problems and the fact that he would need to be re-vented after it took so long to get him off the vent, but Emery handled it very well. He still has many kidney stones that are in the kidneys and has hypertension because of it. He is monitored every 3 to 6 months and has been stable since.

Emery finally got to a point where he was stable from a respiratory standpoint but couldn’t eat so it was decided to put a G-tube in. Mom had the option of him staying in the hospital a while longer (but at this point it was close to 8 months) or sending him home with a nasogastric tube to work on eating a while longer. Mom didn’t want to put him through any more trauma so she chose the G-tube. It was the best decision for him.

Emery was in the NICU for a total of 225 days before coming home. Today, he’s nearly 3 years old and still has lingering effects of his prematurity. He’s developmentally disabled (which in layman’s terms would mean he’s borderline autistic/mentally retarded.) Those things cannot be diagnosed until he’s much older so he’s simply being monitored for it and treated with multiple therapies. Emery is considered PDD or pervasive developmental disorder. Physically mom says he does very well and can even walk up to two miles independently.

Emery still has a G-tube and hates to eat. He has a severe feeding disorder and oral aversion. The months of being ventilated damaged his throat and he does not like the sensation of swallowing. He is also a chronic vomiter due to reflux and still vomits every day. His parents have to check his blood sugars fairly regularly as well. He has an issue where if his blood sugar gets too low he’s incapable of keeping anything down and needs intravenous nutrition.

Emery does also wear oxygen still although this is not full time. He is respiratory compromised because of his BPD (bronchopulmonary dysplasia.)

Every day he makes progress though, in many areas. For him, only time will tell what’s in store for him, but he is pretty resilient and faces challenges with a smile.

If Sarah had one piece of advice for a new preemie mom it would be this: To cherish each moment you have and not wish for it to be different, no matter how hard it sounds. No matter how hard it seems, you can bond with your premature baby.

I asked Sarah to describe Emery in one word and she said “CHARISMATIC .”

If you would like to read more about Emery and follow his life journey, you can go here to Littlemanbig: A Micropreemie Adventure

*A complex substance containing phospholipids and proteins. This surfactant acts like a detergent on the inner surface of the alveoli (air cells in the lungs), reducing the incidence of collapse. However, low surfactant can lead to lung collapse and atelectasis (inability of lungs to expand). Prolonged hypoxia and hypercapnia (increased amount of carbon dioxide in the blood due to decreased lung function and vasospasm) leads to acidosis.*

Despite warnings she is risking her life, Stacey Herald, the world’s smallest mother, is set to welcome her third baby.

Measuring just 2ft 4ins, Mrs. Herald has already defied doctors orders and gone on to deliver to have two healthy baby girls.

The 35-year-old from Dry Ridge, Kentucky, USA, suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which causes brittle bones and underdeveloped lungs, and means she failed to grow.

Now the determined mom, who uses a wheelchair, and her husband Will, who is 5ft 9ins, are awaiting the birth of their third child, due in the next four weeks.

Even thought she cannot hold her daughter because her belly gets in the way, and she admits being pregnant is “uncomfortable”, the couple says they want more children.

By the time the new addition, a boy, is one he will already tower over his mum.

Stacey and her husband met in 2000 while working for a supermarket in their home town and were desperate for a family after marrying in 2004.

But doctors warned them that a baby would grow so large inside her tiny body it would eventually crush her organs.

“It broke my heart that I couldn’t have kids,” she said.

“All my life my parents had told me that I could do anything. Then there were these doctors telling me that we couldn’t be a complete family. It really hurt.”

Eight months after their marriage, the couple was thrilled to discover they were expecting and decided to go ahead even though family and doctors begged them to reconsider.

After 28 weeks, doctors performed a cesarean section and daughter Kateri was born, weighing just 2lbs and 1oz in 2006.

She grew well but there was heartbreak for the family when they discovered Kateri had inherited Mrs Herald’s condition and would also never grow to a normal height.
Doctors tried to let the second baby stay in Mrs Herald’s body for as long as possible, letting her pregnancy go to 34 weeks before taking her into theatre.

Daughter Makaya who, at 18 inches was more than half her mum’s body length when she was born, weighed 4lbs and 7oz.

Now both girls are bigger than their mother, who is now 30 weeks pregnant with her first boy.

She said: “It’s getting tougher and tougher to move.

“At the moment because I’m getting really big again I can’t hold my youngest daughter because my belly gets in the way and I can’t get my arms around her.”

Mrs Herald added: “All my babies are miracles, but we haven’t thought about if we’re going to have some more, as they’re a real handful right now.

“We didn’t plan to have more than two kids, we just think that they’re a great gift to the world, and when I look at them I see Will and I feel so full of love, it’s tough not to want more.”

I hope that after the baby arrives, this couple just enjoys the three miracles they have. It would be foolish for them to keep testing the laws of nature.

Related Articles:

• Father Fights Mother Over Baby’s Right To Live
  
• Memory Loss Causes Mom To Forget Her Baby Every Couple Days
  
• Baby Brings Mom Out Of Coma

SOURCE