As told by mum, Jess,
Leading up to Addy’s birth I was much sicker than previous pregnancies. I was in and out of hospital for the first 20 weeks. As my pregnancy progressed I was able to manage my sickness and it eased a bit.
When labour began my husband and I dropped our older girls off at preschool and headed for Rotorua hospital. There it was decided that I needed to be helicoptered to Waikato where they would be better equipped to care for our baby should it be born early.
One evening things ramped up and I was moved downstairs. This labour was not what I planned. Being our 3rd, I knew what I was in for. I had been looking forward to my first homebirth, no interventions, being able to move as my body needed, a waterbirth and all those good things. But it didn’t work out that way.
Our Adeline Johanna Milsom was born at 28 weeks weighing just 1230gms. We chose her middle name especially because it means ‘God is gracious’. As Christians we know that he has shown us grace upon grace by blessing us with her.
For the next month she progressed steadily, increasing her feeds through NG tube and decreasing the amount of oxygen needed. After exactly a month she was transferred via ambulance to SCBU in Rotorua
I thought moving home would be a relief. It was, but it was also a hectic time of rushing around calling the SCBU nurses to check in and work out when I would come to feed Addy while juggling family life at home. After a month in SCBU it was almost time for her to come home. I stayed the few nights and prayed she would put on enough weight to reach the 2kg mark. When she did I cried with relief. Our baby could finally come home and we could get on with our lives and leave all this hospital business behind us.
Addy grew and developed well, however, at the beginning of winter, when she was 6 months corrected, she developed pneumonia and bronchiolitis. This time instead of the familiar SCBU she was admitted to ICU. This was such a scary time. She was so sick and I knew her stats weren’t good. She was back on CPAP and a feeding tube.
After a two week stay we finally came back home. Since then she’s been hit several times with RSV. She even spent her first birthday in hospital.
It has been a hard journey but we are so grateful for all the hospital staff and support we have received.
Addy is now 18 months old. She’s walking and eating well and loves playing with her older sisters.
We are so thankful that she is a part of our family.
Thanks so much for sharing your personal story
We get a lot of positive feedback from families in a neonatal unit who read these stories and feel strength, hope and positivity knowing that they are not alone going through these experiences and feeling certain emotions.
If you would like to discuss sharing the story of your neonatal journey, we’d love to hear from you. Please email info@littlemiraclestrust.org.nz
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- The Little Miracles Trust provides support to families of premature or sick full-term babies as they make their journey through Neonatal Intensive Care, the transition home, and onwards. We do not receive any Government funding and are entirely reliant on the generosity of individuals, companies and organisations in the form of donations, value-in-kind donations, grants, sponsorship and fundraising events to supplement operating costs and fund our services and initiatives.
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