After a weekend helping the March of Dimes, I’m so happy to be bringing you another story of premature birth awareness. Today, you’ll get to meet the beautiful Olivia, as told by her mom, Shelby.
- Please tell us about your baby.
My daughter’s name is Olivia Evelyn Marie she was born on April 30th, 2014 at 24 weeks and 1 day and weighed 1 pound 2 ounces and 12 inches long at birth.
2. How long was your NICU stay? What was the hardest part?
Our nicu stay was 5 months long, approximately 141 days!!! Her nicu stay involved several X-rays and head sonograms, 5+ blood transfusions, 5+ picc lines, 56 days on ventilator, 90 days in a warm incubator, ng tube feedings, a sad amount of apnea and bradycardia events, a few neopuff resuscitations, numerous staff infections, a few cases of sepsis. Tons of medications including caffeine, and wayyyyy too much reflux and possible NEC. After a few months of trying the bottle with ultra preemie and preemie nipples she was getting too worn out and at high risk of aspiration so Olivia had her first surgery at only 4 1/2 months old, she got the g-tube placed on September 3rd, 2014 and was finally discharged on September 19th, 2014. (after 2 failed discharge attempts) She came home on oxygen, apnea monitor, oximeter, 5 different medications, and of course the g-tube*.
The hardest part of the entire journey was trying to remain positive and patient!
3. Do you know what caused your premature birth?
They are not sure why I went into pre-term labor, I just woke up on the 30th of April and starting bleeding, I went to the ER and they sent me straight to the L&D triage room where they found out I was dilated to a 5. Ultrasound showed baby was okay but laying transverse so they had to do an emergency c-section. They took her by ambulance immediately after birth to a level 3 NICU which is an hour away from home. Later they finally discussed with me what happened, and they believe I have Incompetent Cervix.
4. How are you both doing now?
Olivia and I are doing great, she is 14 months old (10 months adjusted) and weighs 17 pounds. She is a very happy baby. She was discharged from her oxygen, apnea monitor and oximeter in April 2015. She still has the g-tube and uses it daily. Feeding has been a big struggle for us but she is currently eating 2 ounces of baby food a day and still using bottles at stage 2 nipple. She loves to crawl, has 2 teeth and loves to be outside!
5. What advice would you give a new preemie mom?
New micropreemie moms i would definitely say to journal EVERYTHING!! Every feeling you have, write it down! Every milestone big or small write it down!! Even if it’s just a smile or a yawn write it down!!! And also take it day by day, never look too far into the future and never look way back into the past! Concentrate on the present and be patient and try to think POSITIVE!!
Thank you so much Shelby for sharing Olivia with us. She is so adorable, and I know we’re going to see great things from her. Please feel free to leave Shelby any comments or questions, and she will be able to respond.
*From Kidshealth.org
A gastrostomy tube (also called a G-tube) is a tube inserted through the abdomen that delivers nutrition directly to the stomach. It’s one of the ways doctors can make sure kids with trouble eating get the fluid and calories they need to grow.
You both are beautiful inside and out! What an inspiring story. My brother was born a few months premature. He weighed only two pounds and dropped to one pound. He was in the hospital for months. Your story is so similar to what my family went through. Today, however, he is strong and healthy at 27 years old. He does have CP and some problems associated with that but that’s it. We are so grateful as I’m sure you are! Thanks for sharing your story. Blessings to you and your lovely family. <3
Wow amazing! SO glad she is doing well too!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby that small! Crazy and so amazing that she is alive and well! Thanks for sharing! xox
What a beautiful story! Olivia is gorgeous, and that mom is so awesome to be positive and happy despite early challenges. So thankful for modern medicine!
Another inspiring story! Such a sweet baby and mamma!
She’s so precious! I can’t believe she was born so early! Beautiful story!
It took a lot of effort but was well worth it. olivia is charming!
Awww, little Olivia is so sweet. Love that she is doing so well.
Thank you everyone! She is my super hero!
Stay strong.Thank you for sharing your story.
She is precious <3 Just look at her grow!
Ugh, the first photos break my heart. But I’m so glad she’s doing well! She’s precious. 🙂
xo, Caitlin
And Possibly Dinosaurs
what a beautiful story 🙂 I’m so happy she is doing well. Such an amazing fighter! <3
Such a cutie. This is so amazing that she is doing so well.
these stories are always SO amazing. she was SO unbelievably tiny!! so glad she’s doing so well.
Amazing story! What a blessing she is!
Olivia is adorable! Thank you for sharing this beautiful story!
Amazing story! She’s such a strong mom, and I’m so happy that Olivia is doing good now.
Beautiful girl! Prayers for continued improving health. G-tubes are so hard, life savers, but hard. Great job mom!
I can’t imagine a 5 month hospital stay, what strength the parents must have. Wow.
What a strong family. Glad to hear that Olivia is doing so well – may she only continue to improve! All the best for a long and healthy life.
Special baby. Love the stories.
You are doing a marvellous thing highlighting the stories of these baby fighters!
Thank you Claudette 🙂
Oh my goodness!! Such a small baby. Glad the baby is healthy now.
Under 2 pounds and look at her today! Amazing!
She is adorable! I can’t even imagine trying to stay patient and positive all through this. Good job Mom!
Miracle what can be done now to care for premature babies. Thanks for sharing such a lovely story.
It’s really a challenge when dealing with premature labor. I admire parents who go through such.
She is beautiful. I’m in OB office nurse and one of the happiest parts of my job is watching families grow
Thank you for another inspiring story. Olivia is such a strong and beautiful baby. I also admire you for your strength.
What a tiny baby! Olivia is beautiful – I love her big eyes! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I love her name and she is so beautiful! I happy to know she is doing better and that she loves to crawl. To the momma, you are one STRONG woman. I read these stories weekly, I just do not know how you guys do it. It is truly a miracle!
Amazing and inspiring story. Thanks for sharing this to us!
It’s so inspiring to see how these little ones rebound and get so strong. I love the good news!
Bless you and your angel. I love reading stories like yours, it makes my heart sing with joy.
What a beautiful story. Shelby’s baby was so tiny but look at her now…she is just adorable! Thanks for sharing her story with us.
We had a sweet preemie here (my nephew’s daughter). It’s so heart wrangling at first, and such a joy when they’re growing and healthy.
Awww! Bless this sweetie pie. She is growing healthy and beautiful. I am so lucky that preemie son only stayed two days at the hostpital.
Oh my gosh, what a beautiful little girl! So glad you’re doing well!
My old friend had her daughter at 26 weeks. Seeing her go through that was horrible, seeing how my boyfriend helped I knew he was going to be a great dad for our kids.
That’s wonderful about your boyfriend. I hope your friends daughter is doing well now.
What amazing strong spirits are coming down to such delicate bodies.
Oh sweet baby girl! She was certainly a strong fighter to pull through and beat the odds. Amazing!
What a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing.
It’s amazing what fighters babies are. I have a friend whose baby is fighting for his life right now, he keeps amazing us with what he does and gets through!