Small, but Mighty
Though she was very small for her gestational age, today’s miracle fought very hard.
Micro Preemies are defined by many different criteria in many different sources. Basically, it’s a way to describe the smallest and earliest arriving babies. As I’ve mentioned before, a micro preemie (on this blog,) is a baby that is born before 28 weeks and/or under 2 lbs.
Today, we meet Nova. Even though she was born after 28 weeks, she was under 2 lbs, which is very small. It’s tiny. It’s actually hard to even imagine. I only know what it looks like because my little P was also under 2 lbs at birth.
While both age and weight can play a role in the baby’s survival and strength, neither takes away from the fact that they have to fight with everything they have. Whether it be 3 weeks early or 3 months early, 2 weeks in the NICU or 200 days in the NICU, every baby’s story is important. Premature birth needs more awareness, and I am so thankful to every person that shares their baby’s with us.
In addition, Rebecca, Nova’s mother’s premature birth was cause by a condition that many mother’s face. I will provide a definition, and a way to find out more information at the end.
Now, let’s meet our strong, fighter.
Nova Rinoa Elizabeth
1. Tell us about your baby?

2. How long was your NICU Stay? What was the hardest part?
Nova stayed for a total of 69 very long, very hard days. The hardest part was when we were told she may not survive the night, she was only about 2 days old. Her blood pressure was dropping rapidly and they were struggling to keep her O2 stats up. She ended up on an oscillator for over a week.
There are few things that haunt me in my life, one of those things is seeing my daughter hooked up to an oscillator. For parents who are fortunate enough to bypass this experience, the baby is sedated and they do not breathe in the conventional way. To put it bluntly, if it wasn’t for the machines telling me otherwise you would have thought she was dead.
The 2nd hardest part was being discharged from hospital, and knowing I was going home whilst she was still there.

3. Do you know what caused your premature birth?

4) How are you and the baby doing now?
We’re both doing great! Nova has been home for around 3 months now, and the NICU experience is nothing more than a distant nightmare. She is still very small her even her corrected age, but I think she is perfect.
She is such a happy, smiley girl, and I like to think that the hospital experience hasn’t affected her at all. It’s just me and dad who will remember that!

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

Hi Shann 🙂
Awwww, I am so glad this little angel has become healthy and is getting so cute! Enjoyed reading Nova’s story, thanks for sharing it 🙂
Rebecca offers great advice about the NICU. I also love her advice to mothers not to blame themselves. Nova is a wonderful fighter. I love the name Nova! I also think the educational information you provided about preeclampsia is so important.
Nova is a beautiful little girl. Oh, my goodness… I can’t even imagine giving birth to a baby under two pounds and how terrifying it must have been to see her attached to so many machines. She looks to be quite the fighter, however 🙂
Thanks for sharing this story, Shann. XOXO
Thank you so much for reading, Charlotte 🙂
What a beautiful little girl – such lovely photos! So happy she is healthy! Such a sweet angel!
It’s so tough to think about a baby weighting 2 pounds or less. I can only imagine how hard it must have been to see your new child hooked up to an incubator. I’m glad to see both mommy and Nova are doing well 🙂
Oh my gosh she’s so cute!!!! Every time I read about these babies I am so amazed! Truly a miracle!!
You have such beautiful stories. She is such a cutie.
Awwww what a cutie!!!!!!! Love hearing that things are going great for her now 🙂
What a beautiful little girl! So glad to see that she is doing so well!
First and foremost, I love her name! I couldn’t even imagine a baby that is less than 2 lb. at birth. Nova sounds like a fighter and is a cutie pie!
Oh my gosh, she is so cute! It sounds like such a scary experience, but what a little fighter! I am so glad it’s all a distant memory and you are both healthy! Thanks for sharing this story!
Nova is a real fighter. Thanks for sharing the story of this brave angel with us. 🙂