Welcome to Micro Preemie Monday. I’m so happy you’re here. Today, I have Dayne’s story, as told by his mom, Dawn. I will also have a few definitions at the end of the post.
Now, let’s meet Dayne…
1.Tell us about your baby.
Dayne was 23 weeks 3 days & weighed 1 lb 4 oz 11 inches long.
2.How long was your NICU stay? What was the hardest part?
He stayed 93 days then was home 2 weeks & went back to NICU for ROP* (Retinopathy of Prematurity) laser eye surgery & ended up staying another 7 days due to blood pressure issues. The hardest part was leaving him. We lived an hour away, and his room was too small to be able to stay. I really didn’t feel like his mom until he was released!
3. Do you know the reason for his premature birth?
He was born due to my incompetent cervix*, unknown until too late, was 22 weeks with a bulging bag of water that caused me to abrupt & bleed, thankfully was able to hold of labor & keep him in until 23 weeks, which was viability at the hospital I was in!
4.How are you and your baby doing today?
Today we are great! Dayne will be 8 years old on Oct 27, and has no lasting effects of prematurity, except glasses! He is a great big brother to 2 sisters now, who thankfully with lots if extra monitoring and cerclages* were only 3 weeks early!
5.What advice do you have for other preemie parents?
Advice would be to be your child’s biggest advocate & do your research, other NICU patients are great for that & great support, wouldn’t have got through our stay if not for another mom of twins born a month before my son!
From The March of Dimes:
*ROP Retinopathy of prematurity (also called ROP) is an eye disease that affects many premature babies. A premature baby is one who is born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. ROP happens when a baby’s retinas don’t fully develop in the weeks after birth. The retina is the nerve tissue that lines the back of the eye. ROP usually affects both eyes.
*Incompetent Cervix Cervical insufficiency (also called CI) means that a woman’s cervix opens too early, before the baby is full term. This condition is also called incompetent cervix. The cervix is the opening to the uterus that sits at the top of the vagina. When the cervix is healthy, it thins out and opens at the end of pregnancy when labor begins. The baby then moves through the cervix and birth canal (vagina) to be born.With CI, the cervix opens without labor starting. Usually the woman has no symptoms. Few women know they have cervical insufficiency until they have a miscarriage or premature birth. The woman may give birth to the baby without feeling contractions.If you’ve had a pregnancy affected by CI, the condition is likely to happen again in later pregnancies.
*Cerclage This is a stitch that your provider puts in your cervix. The stitch may help keep your cervix closed so that your baby isn’t born too early. Your provider removes the stich at about 37 weeks of pregnancy. A cerclage is only used for certain women. For example, your provider may recommend a cerclage if you have a short cervix.
Thank you so much Dawn for sharing your story. Dayne is such a handsome young man!
Thanks for sharing your story and glad to hear everything is going well now 🙂
Reading this definitely gives hope to those who are in this situation.
Amazing story. I love your advice – no one is a better advocate for our kids than us!
Hearing stories like this make me feel better about my tiny little cousin who was born at 23 weeks. I think it’s awesome he’s a great big brother! Thanks for sharing your story.
Love sharing Dayne’s story & hopefully gives hope to those currently going through the NICU rollercoaster & hope to have a full term or near full term baby after a micro preemie!
Such a great story, so happy things are good for you guys now. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful story, thanks for sharing
I really love reading these stories. I’m so glad you give micro preemie moms a platform to tell their stories, Shann.
I agree with her – you have to be your child’s advocate! Dayne is adorable and glad he’s doing wonderfully!!
So glad to see he is doing so well!
Loved reading this story. My Sis-in-law has a weak cervix and I’ve never quite understood the stitch thing. Since I was to shy to ask, I’m grateful you answered all my questions! Glad everyone is doing great!
I’m so glad we could help 🙂 Thank you for reading!
I love hearing about these miracle babies! Thanks for sharing another wonderful story!
Thank you for sharing Dayne’s story. He was so tiny and now what a handsome young man he is!
Wishing Dawn and her family all the best!
Cori
Sweet story, I am happy to hear that Dayne is doing well and that he has younger siblings.
Love these stories! I just sent my sister-in-law this blog site; she is preg with twins and is at 14 weeks. I thought she could handle a motivating story or two 🙂
Awesome. If she ever has any questions, please feel free to have her message me.
Thanks for sharing this. It amazes me how these little preemies grow up to be healthy kids! Modern medicine is pretty amazing.
So glad everything worked out! He’s such a handsome kid, and it sounds like you did an amazing job!
High- five to all your mother. It is hard to be parents. It is even harder to parents of pre-mature
baby. Your baby turns out pretty good. You should be proud of your work.
– stella Chiu
These photos break my heart every week. But the stories are so uplifting! What an amazing thing to experience. Terrifying, sure. But amazing at the same time.
xo, Caitlin
And Possibly Dinosaurs