Growing Your Baby - Parenthood from Pregnancy to Pre-school » Amazing Baby Stories

Preemie Profile: 24 Week Twins Bryce and Chloe

Shannon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:19:22 +0000

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

Identical Triplets Born at 33 weeks, on Third Anniversary

Lisa — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:15:37 +0000

If having identical triplets wasn’t amazing enough, a Pennsylvania couple welcomed them at 33 weeks gestation on their third anniversary.

Matthew, Nathan and Michael arrived on September 30 each weighing just over 5lbs each.

New parents Amanda and Matt Faher spoke to The Today’s show host Ann Curry this morning about the amazing delivery and Amanda’s complicated pregnancy.

The Fahers learned that Amanda was carrying triplets during a routine ultrasound 18 weeks into her pregnancy. The technician saw two fetuses, then spotted another. Understandably, Amanda was shocked — but she still had the presence of mind to ask the technician to please not find any more.

As the pregnancy progressed, Amanda contracted preeclampsia, a condition associated with multiple embryos that causes high blood pressure and toxemia late in the pregnancy. She also developed gestational diabetes.

Despite the complications, Amanda continued working from home during her pregnancy until the preeclampsia intensified and she was admitted to hospital.

After only eight days, doctors made the decision to take the babies by Caesarean. Just by coincidence, that same say was Amanda’s 33rd week of pregnancy, and the couple’s wedding anniversary.

Identical triplets — which are called spontaneous triplets in the medical literature — are a rare occurrence. In the United States, the odds of such pregnancies are one in a million. In other countries, the odds go as high as one in 200 million, which is higher than the odds of winning the Powerball lottery.

Baby Slips Through Toilet Chute During Delivery and Survives

Shannon — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:40:24 +0000

Tuesday night 28 year old Rinku Devi and her husband Bhola Rai were aboard 8181 Tata Chappra Express heading to the home of her parents. They were expecting their little bundle in about four weeks.

Feeling some pain in her abdomen she had got up from her seat and headed to the washroom on the train. To her shock and horror she gave birth into the toilet. Things happened so quickly that before she could grab the baby, he slipped through the pan of the toilet and fell onto the tracks.

Immediately she ran from the washroom and jumped from the moving train. People aboard thought she was commiting suicide and pulled the emergency alarm. By the time the train came to a stop it had gone about 2km.

We got off the train and started looking for my wife. After an hour, we found Rinku sitting beside the track with the baby in her lap,” said husband Bhola Ray (33), a businessman from Rourkela.

The new mom and baby were taken to the nearest junction which was Purulia station just after midnight, from where they were taken to the hospital.

Swapan Sarkar, the medical superintendent of the Purulia Sadar Hospital, said both mother and baby were doing fine.

Wow, I can’t even imagine giving birth into a toilet on a train and watch in horror as the baby falls down to the moving tracks below. And then to jump from a moving train without any second thought. I am so happy that mom and baby are doing well. Incredible! – Shannon Strohm, Staff Writer

Baby Brings Mom Out Of Coma

Shannon — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:58:47 +0000

Karen Morrisroe-Clutton is a 32 year old mother. Back at the end of July she contracted the nasty E. Coli bug when her baby boy was only ten weeks old.

She was placed into an induced coma for five long weeks. During this time her husband Paul played tapes for her with the sound of their babies voice.

I did know that I was dying at one point. In fact because I was having all this treatment I knew it wasn’t working; at least something wasn’t working quite well.
I gave up. I wanted to die. But I heard Ollie.

I heard his voice because Paul was playing the tapes and I turned around and said I can’t do this. I need to live. I heard him and thankfully I pulled through.

Karen is now home after spending 67 days in hospital. She has almost made a full recovery since this whole entire nightmare began. She was desperately ill, suffered through seizures, kidney failure and then, of course, the coma.

For eight weeks while she lay fighting for her life in ICU she was not able to see her son Oliver because of risk of infection. However she did see him in lots of pictures and videos. Once out of ICU she was able to be reunited with her little bundle of joy.

He did remember me… sort of gave me a look and then this massive smile came… it was just wonderful.
She added that her consultant, Stuart Robertson, had been desperate to get her back with her baby to speed up her recovery.

He hoped it would help… it did… I had something to live for.

I absolutely LOVE reading stories like this. So amazing how things happen!!

- Shannon Strohm, Staff Writer (Mommy to Ashton, born at 24 weeks weighing 1lb 9oz on June 10th 2005. Now 4 years old with many special needs but an absolute awesome happy child! Also mommy to an angel, ^Hunter^ who was born on March 28th 2009 at only 18 weeks 4 days.)

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Preemie Survived To 94 Years Old!

Shannon — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:11:38 +0000

Agnes “Babe” Fuller thrived in the Florida sun. She was born on August 12th 1915 at her parents home in Clermont. She passed on September 21st at her home in Winter Park.

She was born premature and weighed only 2.5 pounds. Her parents set her outside in the Florida sun in a dresser drawer for ten minute intervals. They had nicknamed her “Babe” because of her preemie status.

“The “natural incubation” worked wonders, said her daughter, Marsha Fuller of Marietta, Ga., because her mother lived 94 years.”

There is no information on just how premature she was, but it is incredible to me that a 2.5lb baby born in the beginning of the 1900s was able to survive after being born at home so tiny. We all know how far doctors/medicine has come with premature babies and we know way back then there was really nothing much they would have been able to do for them.

-Shannon Strohm, Staff Writer (Mommy to Ashton, born at 24 weeks weighing 1lb 9oz on June 10th 2005. Now 4 years old with many special needs but an absolute awesome happy child! Also mommy to an angel, ^Hunter^ who was born on March 28th 2009 at only 18 weeks 4 days.)

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Doctors Perform Live-Saving Surgery on ‘Half Born’ Baby

Lisa — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:46:33 +0000

Doctors have saved the life of a Texas baby with an amazing surgery that allowed the baby to be half born called the Exit Procedure.

Baby Cagan was diagnosed with a huge mass in the chest in utero. Doctors were concerned because it was already pushing on the heart and most of the baby’s lung. If they left it untreated, he would have died because during pregnancy, the baby doesn’t have to breathe. The placenta does all of the work. But as soon as they are delivered, they have to take a breath, cry and do the things baby’s do, which is impossible to do if there is a ‘football’ lodged in their chest.

During the surgery, Cagan was “half” born, his head and shoulders were lifted out of his mom Marissa’s body, but he stayed connected to the umbilical cord.

“The baby’s being supported on the placenta. The baby doesn’t have to breathe,” said fetal surgeon Dr. Olutoye.

He removed the tumor which included one-third of Cagan’s lungs in just 18 minutes. Then the baby’s cord was cut, he was completely delivered, and he could breathe.

At Texas Children’s Hospital, they’ve done more than a dozen of these Exit Procedures to save babies who likely would not have survived after their birth.

Doctors say that Cagan’s lung will regenerate and he will look like a normal baby.

“The mass is out. His lungs are working well. He should have all this behind him,” said Dr. Olutoye.

The exciting part about all of this is that Cagan should be able to go home just two weeks after his original due date.

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Miracle Baby Born With Heart Outside His Chest

Lisa — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:42:21 +0000

A five-day old baby is being described as a miracle after he survived being born with heart outside of this chest.

Vibha Devi, who was born on Thursday in a remote rural village in India’s Bihar state, was rushed by 24hr train to the capital by his desperate father.

Leaving his wife behind, Chander Manjhi and his father-in-law travelled to Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to try to save the child’s life.

During a complete check-up doctors found the baby also has multiple disorders. Apart from the protruding heart, he also has a hole in his heart and has a single pump (for pumping blood). A normal heart has two pumps.

Suffering from a condition known as Ectopia Cordis, which causes the heart to be abnormally placed inside or outside of the body, most babies die within hours of being born.

However, there is guarded optimism for Vibha after the child survived the arduous 800-mile train journey from Muzaffarpur to Delhi.

“He is stable and is being treated for infection. Once the infection goes, we will do the surgery,” said Dr A.K. Bisoi, a cardiologist at the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Department at AIIMS.

“His parents are lucky the baby is still alive even after infection as it has spread to all body parts. We are trying our best to save the baby.”

Due to the family’s income and the rarity of the child’s condition, cardiologists at AIIMS, including Dr Bisoi, are providing treatment for free.

A team of five surgeons is on stand-by to operate should Vibha survive the next few weeks.

“The surgery is a multi-layered procedure and might take months,” said Dr Bisoi.

“We have to create space step by step and the chest wall has to be reconstructed.

“In India, no infant with such a defect has survived,” Dr Bisoi added.

‘There are only three survivors suffering from the disease in the world. But this baby is the only one with two heart defects,’ he said.

‘It’s a miracle and challenge for doctors. Every extra day he survives gives us an opportunity to deal with the rare disease and we are learning a lot from the case. We are doing our best to ensure the child lives,’ Bisoi said.

For now, the baby’s heart has been covered with a synthetic membrane and infected blood fully replaced from his body.

In 2006, doctors in Florida, U.S. carried out a similar operation on Naseem Hasni who was born with his heart outside his chest.

Doctors wrapped his heart in Gore-Tex, a waterproof, breathable fabric used in outdoor clothing and medical applications. His heart was then wrapped in a layer of his own skin, to substitute for his missing pericardium, the sac that encloses the heart.

The heart was then slowly eased inside his chest.

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Couple Marvels At Their Amazing Baby Who Survived Despite Extreme Complications

Lisa — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:28:54 +0000

Leigh Dumighan and David Newcombe have a lot to be thankful for just one year after their son Warwick was born.

The smiling birthday boy was born under extreme complications that meant if he survived he would have a difficult life ahead of him.

Born at 29 weeks gestation, Warwick arrived weighing just two pounds.

On arrival, he was diagnosed with a bleed on the brain, heart problems and spent an agonising three weeks in intensive care.

After a fungal infection gripped hold of his heart, doctors told the couple that if he pulled through he would still be severely disabled, not be able to see, hear, move around, or even know who they were.

Three weeks after his premature birth, Leigh and David made the heartbreaking decision to take him out of his incubator, withdraw his treatment and allow him to die with dignity in their arms.

They stayed with him in a private hospital room for eight days, giving him the cuddles they had been unable to and waiting for him to pass away.

But astonishingly, and despite him stopping breathing 18 times, he battled to survive and has celebrated the first birthday his parents thought they would never see.

Leigh said: “When we took the decision to let him pass away, it was the hardest thing we have ever had to do.

“The prognosis was highly likely that he would be deaf, blind, bedridden and quadriplegic – the quality of life he would have had would have just been unbearable.

“That’s why we decided to take him off treatment, I knew he’d had enough.

“We wanted to give him all the cuddles and kisses every baby needs and deserves without all the wires and pain.

“The hospital gave us a private room to say goodbye in and told us to get him baptised as quickly as possible.

“We stayed in that room waiting for him to die for eight days, there were times when he stopped breathing and his face went a shade of blue and we thought it was it.

“He was on a do not resuscitate order but he seemed to start himself back up.

“He stopped breathing 18 times, the heart rate monitor went off and we prepared ourselves for the worst.

“Warwick brought himself back to life, they didn’t even expect him to last one night – he had no drugs or treatment, nothing.

“He slept with me in a bed in that room for those eight days, hearing my heart beating as he lay beside me, his skin on mine.

“What happened to Warwick is a pure miracle, it’s as simple as that.”

After nine days in the care by parent room, doctors allowed Leigh and David to take tiny Warwick home to their house in Coventry, weighing just three pounds.

Three months later he was given the all-clear by medics, who said he was not going to die.

Leigh, who was a finance worker but is now involved with baby charity Bliss, said:

“We went to hospital on October 6 and saw a heart specialist and brain specialist.
“That’s when we had the amazing news that the heart infection had completely cleared up and that he was going to survive.

“Now when people see him who don’t know he has the palsy they have no idea there is anything wrong with him at all.

“When he gets older I know he will be able to crawl and talk and the fact he is celebrating his birthday is amazing when you think about what has happened to him.

“A year ago we made the right decision – I know that because he survived.

“He is not meant to be here, but he is and I think it is a miracle.

“I hope his story just gives hope to other mums of premature babies.”

While this is not the outcome for all babies in this situation, this little man has shown us that he is a fighter. Nurses will tell you that they spend hours a day tweaking a baby’s oxygen, pressures and feeds, just to have them do better on their own terms.

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Toddler Survives Being Pinned Under SUV

Lisa — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:04:56 +0000

Rachel and Anthony LaFauci have a lot to be thankful for today after their two-year-old daughter survived being pinned under their SUV, walking away with just a scratch.

Sophia’s mom, Rachel had just moved her vehicle out of the garage when she saw two tiny legs sprawled right under the tire.

Two-year-old Sophia was pinned on her back with the tire rolled up on her right leg, while the weight rested on her tiny body.

While trying to stay calm, Rachel gentle rolled the vehicle off of her daughter and then screamed her name.

The amazing tot responded simply with a quiet ‘mommy’.

The panicked mom said her daughter looked purple, and within minutes emergency officials had arrived.

“When we arrived the child was stripped to the diaper, had some obvious marks from the tire on her body,” said paramedic Erik Boie. “There appeared to be tire marks running length wise from the left side to her right arm.”

“We got an IV into her leg and gave her some oxygen. And I believe within 10 to 15 minutes of us arriving, she was in a helicopter on her way to Boston,” said paramedic Donald Mejia.

At the hospita,l doctors found that, not only was Sophia fine, but incredibly, she had no broken bones, no internal injuries and barely a scratch.

According to kidsandcars.org , Sophia is one of the lucky ones. More than 2,400 children visit emergency rooms each year after being struck by or rolled over by a vehicle backing up.

Good Morning America’s medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard credited her survival to the relative “elasticity” of the toddler’s soft tissue, but her parents have a simpler explanation: it was a miracle.

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via reader Nadia (thank you!)

Toddler Rides His Toy Truck 8 Miles Down The River

Lisa — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:32:06 +0000

A British Columbia toddler is safe after he floated solo nearly 8 miles downstream on his toy jeep last week.

Three-year-old Demetrius Jones was staying at his grandmother’s holiday trailer in Peace Island Park in Taylor, British Columbia, when he took his battery-operated truck into the Peace River, where he got swept up by a current.

His grandmother, Anita Neudorf, said she didn’t hear a sound when the boy left the trailer by himself earlier this week.

Gordon Rundle, a park worker, told the Vancouver Sun that once the tot was noticed missing, about 50 or 60 people started looking for him.

He was found couple hours later, with the toy car was floating in about 4.5m of water.

“His truck had turned over, and he had kind of swam back to it and used it as a boat,” Mr. Rundle. said “When they rescued him, they took him off [the truck]. He was ready to jump back in to go get his truck, so they had to rescue his truck too.”

When rescued, the unfazed tot, told his grandmother that he wanted to go back on his ‘boat.’

He was taken to hospital, but that didn’t last long. Within a couple of hours, the little adventurer was riding around on his toy again.

Other Amazing Toddlers

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