Miracle baby!

Three months ago on March 12, 2012, our newest grandbaby, Aenea, was born at 28 weeks. She plopped out into the hands of her mother and both were nearly instantly whisked off to the ER and the NICU. There did not ever appear to be anything wrong with baby girlie, but for some unknown reason, the spontaneous birth changed the family's life forever.

For the next 89 days, Aenea lived "in a box" as big brother Ronan put it while the NICU staff did what they do best--save these teeny, tiny little babies so their families can welcome home healthy and happy babies in days, weeks, or months to come.

Aenea weighed in at 2 pounds, 12 ounces and 14.4 inches long. As with most preemies that age, the lungs were a concern, but she had a will to live and her parents made certain she knew they were there from day one. A parent's touch is all that is allowed at that point and it isn't until they are off the ventilators that the parents can have more contact time. But Jocelyn and Tom maintained a daily vigil with their wee one. Big brother Ronan eventually decided to brave the screening and visited his sister. They posted pictures of Ronan and Whiskey the dog so Aenea could see them when she opened her eyes.

Aenea made it through, improving almost on a daily basis. The last hurdle was eating. I was not aware that feeding is a common problem with preemies. . . I supposed because they are fed through a nasal tube straight to their tummy. They have to "learn" to get hungry and "learn" what satisfies that hunger. That was her last challenge and that took some time. But finally that seemed to click and after the mandatory test time, she got her "get out of jail" free card. She now weighs over 7 pounds and is over 17 inches long.

Mom, Dad, and Ronan broke Aenea out of the "pokey" on June 9 and brought her home. She is a healthy, happy baby who now gets to live in her own home with her loving family.

Prayers have been answered!

Till next time. . .

Dale