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My Daughter was born at 24 weeks and weighed 1lb10 ounces. While going through the NICU process, It wasnt until the end that I realized I had a voice about the care of my daughter. Several incidents could have been prevented if I had only figure that out sooner. Although the hospital staff was exteremely knowledgable and can be thanked for saving my daughters life, sometimes I wasnt as heard as I shouldve been, because I was not trained in the medical field. I remember learning about Infiltrated I.V.s and noticed one day my daughters I.V. in her scalp was becoming "mushy" in the serrounding area. I brought this to the attention of her nurse and the nurse dismissed it. The next day it was again dismissed. On the third day I was given the news an I.V. had burst in my daughters scalp. My daughter is now 1 1/2 years old and has a scar larger than a quarter on her hairline. The lesson learned is be greatful for the wonderful nurses and doctors that save our babies, but we must be our childs voice and advocate as well, regardless of any medical training we may or may not have.

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Our son was born at 32 weeks and weighed 3 lbs-10 oz...luckily, due to the steriods, he never needed any respiratory support. He completed his rounds of antibiotics (due to PROM and placental abruption) at Desert Sam, spent a few weeks in NICU and CCN..the nurses and doctors were so awesome and supportive, they seemed to understand the difficulty we experienced and the vast number of emotions...needless to say, he has passed his due date of October 1, 2004, now weighs in at over 11 pounds, over 21 inches and is still begging for more food...so for all the older mothers and fathers out there, you can do it!! (Of course the younger parents can too....!!) Have faith in your healthcare providers, but never fail to be an advocate for your child-sometimes even doctors can make mistakes..... Our baby boy is a blessing to us and we hope and pray everyone else who is going through this experience, all the best for their little babies too! Terry

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I really appreciate the kindness and thoughtfulness of the people who have shared their preemie stories by starting websites for others to obtain support and information. I gave birth to my son, Tristin @ 25 wks, 5 days. I had given birth to his older brother @ 22 weeks nearly 2 years earlier but he did not survive. Oddly enough they both weighed in at a whopping 1 lb, 8 ozs. Tristin will be 8 weeks old tomorrow and he is doing much better. We have been off the ventilator 3x's and he's having a pretty good week so they are considering extubating him for a 4th and hopefully final time. He is maintaining his body temperature so they are thinking about taking him out of the isolette but we're not sure about that yet. He has a Grade 4 IVH, ROP (Stage 1), He had a PDA that was fixed by ligation. In spite of all the obstacles they have given him a pretty good prognosis. The IVH is an his motor skills side of the brain and he could have various problems with everyday functions but he's fighting so hard. He is now 2 lbs, 11.5 ozs and gaining everyday.

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Koreena Rae was born 01/05/04 at 28 wk gest 1 lb 9 oz 13 1/2 inches. I went in to my pregnancy with chronic high blood presure so we were for warned about the preemie posibility..never realized the real meaning of preemie!!! Koreena is our second child (my husband's first baby). Koreena only had ONE set back she got a staff infection (3 diff strands)from the line she had in her and had to be back on oxy for 3 days BUT our strong little angel pulled through that infection like a champ! Koreena was home in no time they said she would probably be in the hospital for at least 16 weeks and she showed them she was home 4 weeks before her due date (only 8 weeks old and 4 lbs 11 oz).... Koreena is almost 10 months old and we have one strong little girl. Koreena loves her brother Dakota. She crawls, pulls up, and eats really well!!! You would not even know she was born 3 months early. Koreena is truely a miracle!!!!

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My son was born in March at 28 weeks. He weighed 2 lbs. 6 ozs. and was 14 1/2" long. He was in the NICU for 9 weeks and came home 3 weeks before his due date weighing exactly 6 lbs. He had all of the normal preemie adventures - CPAP, open PDA duct, A's & B's, acid reflux, 1 transfusion. He just had went to a developmental clinic yesterday where he was evaluated on his developmental progress. His adjusted age is 4 months now, while his chronological age is 7 months. For his adjusted age, he is in the 90th percentile in height and 50th percentile in weight. I am happy to report that he scored at the 5+ month skill range for most things, and amazingly even went as high as a 7-month-old on a few skills. He is an extremely happy little guy and I'm sure that we will see big things from him in the future. What a little trooper he is! We count our blessings daily for his progress and his smile that he so readily gives us. Miracles really do happen!