After 3 weeks of bed rest and a weekend of contractions, I decided that my Mommy had enough. I was ready to make my entrance. At 11:26am, I greeted my Mom and Dad. Because I was only 24 weeks and 3 days old, I only weighed 1lb and 10oz and was 12.5 inches long. Although the parents were happy to finally meet me, they were a little worried about my early arrival. Luckily, I have a wonderful team of doctors and nurses that are doing everything to help me make it through difficult time. I am stable, but I do need a little help with my breathing, so they have me on a ventilator. My small size awards me the right to be called a Micro-Preemie, a baby that is under 1 3/4 pounds and is generally born before 26 weeks gestation. The next couple of months will require a lot of medical intervention, but I am ready for the fight. Some of the many difficulties that a micropreemie experiences are immature lungs, an underdeveloped digestive system, cerebral hemorrhaging, high risk of infection, incomplete feeding reflexes, severe anemia, neurological delays, physical handicaps, and long term health issues. Because of so many problems associated with being a micropreemie, medical intervention to keep micropreemies alive include biliblankets, blood pressure monitors, cardiac monitors, endotracheal tubes, isolettes, intravenous pumps & tubes, nasal CPAPs, nasal gastric tubes, nasal prongs, oxyhoods, oxygen saturation monitors, phototherapy lights, pulse oximeters, respiratory monitors, synthetic surfactant, temperature probes, UACs, ultrasounds, UVCs, and ventilators. Whew, say that 10 times real fast.
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