Robert & Olivia’s Story

As told by Dad, Robert.

Olivia and I found out she was pregnant with our first child in May 2023.

During the pregnancy we learned that she had a septate uterus and was predisposed to pre-eclampsia, so we expected there might be a premature birth. Later, further complications were identified: our baby was measuring smaller than average, with a possible heart defect (VSD), only two vessels instead of three in the umbilical cord, and Olivia also had a shortened cervix. On top of this, our baby remained in a breech position until 30 weeks, along with a few other minor challenges, so it was considered a high-risk pregnancy from very early on.

In December 2023, Olivia was admitted to hospital with high blood pressure and was soon diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. At the time I was working 12-hour shifts and then driving back and forth from Kapiti to the hospital, which was stressful for me, and equally hard for Olivia not having me there as much as she needed.

By early January the monitoring and daily blood tests had increased, and we both had a gut feeling that a C-section or induction was getting closer.

On 9 January 2024, we were told an emergency C-section was needed for both mother and baby’s health. Within a matter of just four hours our son, Silas, was born at 31 weeks + 6 days, at 3.40pm, weighing 1510 grams.

Silas was taken straight to the Wellington NICU while Olivia remained in hospital until 15 January, which meant more daily trips from Kapiti to Wellington. Olivia tried expressing breast milk but with little success, so Silas was fed formula and donor milk during his stay. He had minor breathing problems and spent around a week on CPAP, as well as three days under blue light therapy for jaundice. After that, his main challenge was slow weight gain and needing a feeding tube.

I kept working at first, having originally planned leave around Silas’s due date in March. But with the constant travel and stress starting to take a toll, I arranged with my managers to take extra time off from 11 February. The NICU nurses and other families were incredibly kind and supportive, and we had many helpful and encouraging conversations during those weeks.

I returned to work in early April, while Olivia stayed on parental leave until August. Silas spent his first year slowly catching up on the growth charts for his corrected age. We would often remind ourselves that he was on his own journey and would do things in his own time. Today, he is a healthy boy, right in the average weight and height range for his age, and continues to thrive every day.

We remain so grateful for the excellent care we received from the Wellington NICU team, and it was special to return in March this year to catch up with the staff.