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You are here: Home / Blog / Micro Preemie Taliyah

Micro Preemie Taliyah

November 23, 2015 By Shann 27 Comments

Happy Monday! Today, we have an important person to meet, and  I’m so glad you’ve joined us again for another Micro Preemie Monday. If you missed last week, you can read about identical twins, Nicolas and Lucas HERE. You can also read my post for World Prematurity Day HERE. We still have a week of November left, so I will be trying to squeeze in more about Premature Birth Awareness…even if it’s just one fact every day.

Micro Preemie Taliyah

We will meet Taliyah. Her mom, Terry, was kind enough to share her story about her premature birth experience. Taliyah was actually born at the same gestation as my twins. So, let’s get right to it and meet Taliyah.

1. Please tell us about your baby.

My daughter Taliyah Marie was born October 24th 2008 at 25 weeks 5 days and weighed 1 lb 14 oz (was 1 lb 5 oz at her smallest) and 13 inches long. She was born at the wrong hospital as it was not equipped to take care of babies under 32 weeks gestation so a team had to come for her birth, stabilize her and move her to the proper hospital.

Micro Preemie Taliyah

2. How long was your NICU stay? What was the hardest part?

Taliyah stayed in the NICU for 99 days and came home 2 weeks before her due date. Unfortunately she caught RSV not long after coming home and was re-hospitalized for another 10 days. The hardest part about her stay at the NICU was probably the unknown and the seclusion. We had no idea what we were facing (there wasn’t the support there is now with FB when she was born 7 yrs ago) we didn’t have access to all the success stories or other parents to reach out to ask questions ect. That and spending her first Christmas in the hospital, although the NICU team went above and beyond as usual.

3. Do you know what caused your premature birth?

At the time we had no idea why she came so early. I went into the hospital with lower back pain and mild cramping at 2 am and ended up in full-blown labour and delivered by emergency c-section at 10 am. My second pregnancy, at my 19 week scan, they found that my cervix had shortened so they put me on bed rest and at my next scan 2 weeks later it was down to 0.4 cm! I had a rescue cerclage* placed at 22 weeks and put on strict bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. I carried my son until 38 weeks. At this point it looked pretty likely that I have an incompetent cervix. My third pregnancy I had a preventive cerclage placed at 14 weeks and carried my 2nd son to 38 weeks 3 days with no bed rest so I am confident in the diagnosis of an incompetent cervix*.

Micro Preemie Taliyah

4. How are you and your baby doing now?

Taliyah is now a happy and healthy 7-year-old. She just had her birthday Oct 24th. She still has a small heart murmur (PDA) that didn’t close so she is followed by a cardiologist we see every 2 yrs. She also has struggled with a severe speech delay her entire life and done countless amounts of speech therapy, but I am proud to say thanks to her hard work and determination, as of last year, she can finally communicate for the most part with everyone she meets. She still has a ways to go but this has made her day-to-day life much easier. Taliyah had laser eye surgery done while in the NICU for ROP and so far her vision is perfect. Her father and I are doing well. It was a very hard time on our family, but I think we came out stronger because of it. I suffered mildly with post partum depression when she was in the NICU and also PSTD. I am also left with severe anxiety although I find it’s getting somewhat better as the time goes by. We feel truly blessed that Taliyah is here, happy and healthy.

Micro Preemie Taliyah

 

5. What advice would you give to a new preemie parent?

Advice to a new preemie parent: take it one day at a time, celebrate every milestone big and small. Take care of yourself because your baby needs you to be strong. You are stronger than you think. Your people won’t understand what you’re going through but that’s okay, reach out to people who have been there or who have a baby in the NICU too. Ask questions, you have a right to know everything. Buy a parking pass. Don’t beat yourself up, you are only human, just do the best you can.

*Cerclage and Incompetent Cervix

From Wikipedia:

Cervical cerclage, also known as a cervical stitch, is a treatment for cervical incompetence or insufficiency, when the cervix starts to shorten and open too early during a pregnancy causing either a late miscarriage or preterm birth.

I really think that is great advice from Terry. I am so happy to see Taliyah is doing well, as it gives me hope for my boys. I hope it has brought you hope too.

Please feel free to leave any comments or questions for Terry below.

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Filed Under: Blog, Micro Preemie Mondays Tagged With: cerclage, incompetent cervix, micro preemie, micro preemie monday, micro preemie mondays, monday, NICU, preemie, Preemie Problems, pregnancy, premature birth, Prematurity, stitch

Comments

  1. Lindsay (@itssimplylinds) says

    November 23, 2015 at 9:13 am

    I love this series, Shann. I enjoy learning about others’ birth stories and learning about mico preemies. Such a beautiful story.

    Reply
    • Shann says

      November 23, 2015 at 11:01 am

      Thank you so much Lindsay!

      Reply
  2. My Urban Family says

    November 23, 2015 at 10:12 am

    She is so cute! And the advice of taking one day at a time seems like the best advice you could give!

    Reply
  3. Cindy Calzone (Hometown Queen Bee) says

    November 23, 2015 at 10:55 am

    Aww she is such a beautiful girl! Glad she is doing so well 7 years later! I hope her speech continues to improve! Best wishes to her and her family <3

    Reply
  4. Kim Munoz says

    November 23, 2015 at 11:01 am

    Sweet girl! A blessing! Thanks for sharing this story. My oldest was only 6 weeks early. But when I was diagnosed with liver disease during my last pregnancy, one of my drs said his advice was to abort or deliver at 28 weeks. I put my foot down and made it to 38. Im glad that your anxiety is getting better. And that you guys were able to unite and grow stronger together!

    Reply
    • Shann says

      November 23, 2015 at 11:03 am

      Wow. Thank you for sharing your story too, Kim. That is awesome that your fought your doctor and did what was best for you and your baby.

      Reply
  5. Becky @ Disney in your Day says

    November 23, 2015 at 11:24 am

    She has great advice. And her daughter is beautiful! Continued luck to them with the improvements she is making!

    Reply
  6. serenemomblog says

    November 23, 2015 at 11:47 am

    She is absolutely beautiful! I’m so glad to hear she’s doing well now.

    Reply
  7. Joan Harrington (@joantruesuccess) says

    November 23, 2015 at 12:14 pm

    Thank you Shann for sharing this inspiring story of this little premie named Taliyah 🙂 She has grown into a beautiful little girl! Awesome post!

    Reply
  8. momonthemove35 says

    November 23, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    Great story of strength and encouragement! Taliyah is beautiful! Hope all continues to go well!

    Reply
  9. nmiller00 says

    November 23, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    What a great story! My sister-in-law was hospitalized over the weekend and we aren’t sure if she will be leaving anytime soon. I’m sending her this story right now. She is at 21 weeks with twins. Love these stories! Over the weekend we looked at a few to keep reminding us to stay strong!

    Reply
    • Shann says

      November 23, 2015 at 3:31 pm

      Oh no! Please let me know if I can answer any questions or be of any help.

      Reply
  10. Mistle says

    November 23, 2015 at 12:51 pm

    Such a beautiful girl! I am so glad to hear that she is doing better and I hope she continues to grow. This series is so amazing! I love that you do this Shann!

    Reply
  11. Dana Peller (@Pellerini) says

    November 23, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    What a beautiful little girl! I am so glad to hear that she’s healthy and happy!

    Reply
  12. Emma Palmer says

    November 23, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    She’s adorable! Glad to hear that everything turned out well!

    Reply
  13. Anamika Ojha says

    November 23, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    Another great story Shann. Loved the story of this beautiful little angel. God bless her.

    Reply
  14. Beth@FrugalFroggie says

    November 23, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    So cool that you share this series. Hopefully a lot of parents feel better seeing all of these inspiring stories.

    Reply
  15. Susannah says

    November 23, 2015 at 11:38 pm

    <3<3<3 What a sweet little girl!!!

    Reply
  16. Rachel G says

    November 24, 2015 at 12:53 am

    So glad that she’s doing so good now! That’s for sharing her story!

    Reply
  17. Clare Speer says

    November 24, 2015 at 5:16 am

    I love this series and it blesses so many other women and families! You give all of us hope – so glad this beautiful girl – Taliyah – is thriving and well! Blessings!

    Reply
  18. Corina Ramos (@NotNowMomsBusy) says

    November 24, 2015 at 9:10 am

    Thanks for sharing Taliyah’s story with us. She was so tiny but look at her now…she is a beautiful little girl. I wish her and her family all the best.

    Cori

    Reply
  19. AlmostSexyMommy says

    November 24, 2015 at 10:04 am

    Oh my, your story is so similar to mine (except my micro-preemie is 10 now). So glad that she’s doing well! Things will continue to get better and better!

    Reply
  20. Inspiration Indulgence says

    November 24, 2015 at 11:17 am

    What a sweet angel. I love this series you have, Shann!

    Reply
  21. Tanisha @ ThriftyNYmom says

    November 24, 2015 at 5:38 pm

    Such a beautiful little girl! I’m so happy to hear how well she’s doing. This is a wonderful series you’ve got, its a great resource for parents who may be going through the same thing. 🙂

    Reply
  22. Alana says

    November 25, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    I had no idea an incompetent cervix was a condition. So amazing Taliyah is such a bright, beautiful little girl now and that the mom carried her second and third pregnancies to 38 weeks!

    Reply
  23. Jim Raymond says

    November 25, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    As the Grandfather of Taliyah & Father of Terry I would just like to say that I feel blessed having both of them in my life. They are fighters, both of them.

    Reply
  24. Neely (@Neelykins) says

    November 27, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    This is my favorite blog series ever. I love reading these stories and what a sweet girl she is!

    Reply

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Meet Shann

Shann Hi! I'm a mom, writer, and dancer. I love sharing my parenting experiences, my healthy living tips, my money saving ideas, and our travel plans. My passion to help other women inspired this blog. I hope you'll stay a while and come back often.

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