Siennas NICU journey

Hi my name is Sienna, I was born 11 weeks early on the 24th of April in Dunedin hospital. My mummy was diagnosed with preeclampsia and she had to have an emergency cesarean section to keep us both healthy and safe.

Here is a photo of my mum holding my hand.
I was born weighing 980 grams.

I was put on CPAP straight after being born and then I was taken down to the neonatal unit which became my home for the next 2 weeks before I was transferred down to the Invercargill neonatal unit. My dad came down to the unit to visit me lots while my mum was on bed rest for 24 hours. He took some photos of me to show my mum that I was safe and sound in my incubator.

I was 5 days old when I finally got to have skin to skin with my mum and dad.

Here is a picture of me being transported in the incubator via ambulance down to Invercargill where I spent a further 2 months in the neonatal unit. My mum and dad stayed in the Ronald McDonald house until it was time for us to go home as a family.

Finally on the 30th of June I was discharged and allowed to go home with my mum and dad.
Now I am one and I’ve absolutely blossomed into a wee character. I can say some words, I can crawl and pull myself up on furniture. I am loving life.

Thank you to the Dunedin and Invercargill Neonatal units for taking good care of our family and a big thank you to the Ronald McDonald house for putting food in our bellies and a roof over our head in such trying times.

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.

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If you want to help our support of families going through the stress and anxiety of a neonatal journey, you can donate via the link below.

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.
As we are a registered charity (CC56619) with Charities Services New Zealand we will send you an IRD compliant tax receipt – this will happen automatically by return email.

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